ADBE vs WDAY Stock Comparison
ADBE currently leads WDAY in this stock comparison, with AIQ scores of 75 vs 66. The clearest difference is quality, while WDAY has the stronger risk resilience profile.
What is the main difference between ADBE and WDAY?
ADBE leads the current stock comparison as Adobe Inc., with the clearest separation coming from quality and the broader AIQ evidence mix.
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
Adobe Inc. vs Workday, Inc.
ADBE leads
ADBE leads by 9 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Value, having only recently taken the lead back from WDAY.
Fragile: 4 of 6 evidence groups support ADBE, the lead recently changed hands, and its current signal state is conflicted.
Adobe Inc.
Workday, Inc.
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors ADBE over WDAY, 75 versus 66 as of Oct 21, 2026. ADBE's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality and value, while WDAY holds the stronger risk resilience profile. ADBE also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 4 of 6 covered evidence groups favor ADBE today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the lead has already changed hands inside the comparison window. ADBE lead: Reversed — WDAY led by 2 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; ADBE now leads by 9.
Compare Adobe Inc. and Workday, Inc. across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.
Performance over time
Price return from daily closes; distributions are not included.
Price return comparison
Growth of $10,000, price only
Split-adjusted closes only. Distributions are excluded, which understates the return of any fund or stock that pays them.
Compare ADBE and WDAY against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Quality91 vs 68ADBE +23
- Risk Resilience46 vs 54WDAY +8
- Value68 vs 62ADBE +6
- Momentum82 vs 77ADBE +5
4 of 6 evidence groups favor ADBE. ADBE’s edge is concentrated in quality and value; WDAY keeps a meaningful risk resilience edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
Largest factor move: Momentum +24
New signals
- BB Upper Band Breach — bearish, volatility, short horizon
- Uptrend Structure Active — bullish, trend, long horizon
Largest factor move: Momentum +8
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 6 active signals are unchanged.
ADBE's lead widened by 4 AIQ points in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — ADBE and WDAY both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
ADBE (Adobe Inc.): the stronger current systematic profile, led by quality and value.
WDAY (Workday, Inc.): the counter-case, on risk resilience, technicals.
Which one fits your objective
The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.
Balanced
ADBEADBE on the overall AIQ Score, which weights Quality and Value most heavily.
Growth
WDAYWDAY on combined revenue and EPS growth.
Value
ADBEADBE on the peer-relative Value factor, by 6 points.
Momentum
ADBEADBE on the Momentum factor, by 5 points.
Lower downside
WDAYWDAY on Risk Resilience, by 8 points.
Analyst upside
ADBEADBE on implied upside to the consensus price target.
AIQ vs Wall Street
Where the systematic read and the analyst consensus line up — and where they do not.
| Measure | ADBE | WDAY | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implied upside to target | +4.1% | -3.8% | ADBE has more room |
| Target dispersion | +71.2% | +71.7% | Lower is tighter analyst agreement |
| Consensus | Hold | Hold | Context, not a primary driver |
| Analysts covering | 18 | 26 | Higher coverage generally improves confidence |
Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
4 of 6 covered evidence groups favor ADBE. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | ADBE | 75 vs 66 |
| Fundamentals | ADBEon balance | revenue growth 3.4% vs 4.2%; EPS growth -7.6% vs 193.1%; TTM ROE 62.4% vs 16.8%; gross margin 89.1% vs 75.8%; operating margin 36.1% vs 12% — ADBE takes 3 of 5 decided legs, not all of them |
| Valuation | ADBE | Value 68 vs 62 |
| Technicals | WDAY | Price vs 50-day -0.3% vs 5.6%; vs 200-day 1.3% vs 28.9% |
| Risk Resilience | WDAY | Risk Resilience 46 vs 54 |
| Analyst expectations | ADBE | Target upside 4.1% vs -3.8% |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of ADBE and WDAY and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.
- The AIQ gap is moderate at 9 points.
- The lead has already changed hands inside the comparison window. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- Analyst targets on the leader are widely dispersed. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on ADBE.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20ADBE lead: Reversed — WDAY led by 2 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; ADBE now leads by 9.
- Today
- ADBE +9
- 75 vs 66
- 7 sessions ago
- ADBE +5
- 70 vs 65
- 30 sessions ago
- WDAY +2
- 59 vs 61
- 90 sessions ago
- ADBE +3
- 68 vs 65
The lead has not changed hands in this window.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
3 bullish / 1 bearish, conflicted
No signal that the other name lacks.
4 bullish / 1 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only WDAY
- ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode — neutral, volatility, short horizon (3.65%)
- EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish — bullish, trend, medium horizon
Both carry 4 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, BB Upper Band Breach, Uptrend Structure Active, MACD Bullish Crossover.
ADBE leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Price is down while the AIQ Score moved up 6 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price -0.65%, AIQ +6 points).
Price is down while the AIQ Score moved up 2 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price -0.5%, AIQ +2 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1WDAY closes the Quality gap — currently 23 points behind, the largest single contributor to ADBE's edge.
- 2WDAY's BB Upper Band Breach resolves — a bearish volatility rule currently active against it.
- 3ADBE's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 3 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Fundamentals
ADBE leads on balance| Metric | ADBE | WDAY |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 3.4% | 4.2% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -7.6% | 193.1% |
| Gross margin | 89.1% | 75.8% |
| Operating margin | 36.1% | 12% |
| Return on equity (TTM) | 62.4% | 16.8% |
| Debt to equity | 0.61 | 0.58 |
Performance
WDAY leads 6 of 6 windows| Metric | ADBE | WDAY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | 8.7% | 9.7% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | 7.8% | 8.4% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 17.6% | 54% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 3.9% | 57.9% |
| Year to date | -26.6% | -5% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | -22% | -10.4% |
Technicals
WDAY has the stronger structure| Metric | ADBE | WDAY |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 63.8 | 63.5 |
| ADX (14) | 17.1 | 21.1 |
| Price vs 50-day | -0.3% | 5.6% |
| Price vs 200-day | 1.3% | 28.9% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 33.5% | 31.1% |
Risk
WDAY is the more resilient| Metric | ADBE | WDAY |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 0.34 | 0.32 |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.52 | -0.06 |
| Sortino ratio | -0.78 | -0.11 |
| Max drawdown | -46.3% | -54.2% |
| Current drawdown | -28.7% | -17% |
| Annualized volatility | 41.5% | 54.2% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -4.4% | -5.2% |
Straight answers
Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.
Which is better, ADBE or WDAY?
On the Algovestiq AIQ Score, ADBE is the stronger of the two as of Oct 21, 2026, scoring 75 against WDAY's 66. The edge comes from quality and value. WDAY is not without a case — it holds the better risk resilience profile, which matters more if that is the objective you are optimizing for. This is a systematic score, not a recommendation: it ranks the two on the same evidence, it does not know your holding period or tax position.
Is ADBE or WDAY the better buy right now?
ADBE carries the stronger systematic profile as of Oct 21, 2026, and the comparison is rated Fragile — 4 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. A Fragile rating means the conclusion is sensitive: the lead has already changed hands inside the comparison window. Treat the lead as provisional.
Why does the AIQ Score favor ADBE over WDAY?
The composite weights Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk Resilience. ADBE leads Quality by 23 points; WDAY leads Risk Resilience by 8 points; ADBE leads Value by 6 points. Where the two split, the factor with the larger weight carries the result.
Which has more analyst upside, ADBE or WDAY?
Analyst price targets imply +4.1% upside for ADBE and -3.8% for WDAY, so the Street currently favors ADBE. The model and the Street agree here, which is a broader base of evidence than either alone. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.
Which is better value, ADBE or WDAY?
ADBE is the better-valued of the two on the peer-relative Value factor. ADBE on the peer-relative Value factor, by 6 points. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.
Which has stronger growth, ADBE or WDAY?
WDAY on combined revenue and EPS growth. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.
Which has stronger momentum, ADBE or WDAY?
ADBE on the Momentum factor, by 5 points. Momentum is one of the four weighted factors in the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.
Which is riskier, ADBE or WDAY?
WDAY is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. WDAY on Risk Resilience, by 8 points. Risk Resilience is a weighted factor in the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.
Is ADBE more profitable than WDAY?
ADBE leads on the comparable margin measures — gross margin 89.1% vs 75.8%; operating margin 36.1% vs 12%; ttm roe 62.4% vs 16.8%.
Is ADBE's lead over WDAY getting stronger or weaker?
ADBE lead: Reversed — WDAY led by 2 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; ADBE now leads by 9. This is measured from 120 daily comparison snapshots between 2026-06-21 and 2026-10-20. The lead has not changed hands in that window.
What would change the ADBE vs WDAY verdict?
The result is a state, not a forecast, so it changes when the underlying evidence changes. Concretely: WDAY closes the Quality gap — currently 23 points behind, the largest single contributor to ADBE's edge; WDAY's BB Upper Band Breach resolves — a bearish volatility rule currently active against it; ADBE's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 3 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once; a regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
What do the current signals say about ADBE and WDAY?
ADBE: 3 bullish / 1 bearish, conflicted. WDAY: 4 bullish / 1 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on ADBE is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On WDAY it is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon).
Compare ADBE and WDAY with others
Continue your research
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How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.