LIVE
DOCN
DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. · Technology
$173.27
+15.50% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
DDOG
Datadog, Inc. · Technology
$223.00
+3.65% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
DOCN
2
DDOG
2
Comparison scoreboard
MIXED SETUPAI Score
DOCN 50.6
DDOG ✓53.0
1Y Return
DOCN ✓+523.05%
DDOG +71.49%
Fwd P/E
DOCN 98.60
DDOG ✓80.73
Target Up.
DOCN ✓+3.17%
DDOG +1.38%
Op. Margin
DOCN N/A
DDOG 0.80%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
DOCN vs DDOG Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
DigitalOcean and Datadog are both cloud infrastructure companies but in very different segments with very different execution tracks. DigitalOcean provides compute infrastructure with declining NRR; Datadog provides monitoring software with best-in-class NRR and accelerating AI workload demand. Datadog is the clear quality leader — DOCN is the value play in a challenged segment.
This comparison highlights the difference between infrastructure commodity (DOCN) and software platform with AI tailwinds (DDOG) — Datadog's consumption growth model and LLM observability positioning make it the clearly superior business.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
DOCN and DDOG are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly. DOCN has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+523.05% vs +71.49%), though DDOG trades at the lower forward P/E (80.73x vs 98.60x). Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +3.17% for DOCN and +1.38% for DDOG.
Normalized 1Y performance
DOCN
DDOG
Recent returns
DOCN
DDOG
Analyst price targets & sentiment
DOCN · 13 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.7/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$135.00
analyst high$200.00
analyst mean$178.77
current price$173.27
+3.2% upside to analyst mean
DDOG · 38 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.6/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$115.00
analyst mean$233.06
current price$223.00
+1.4% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
DOCN may suit investors who:
- →want value cloud infrastructure exposure at a much lower valuation than Datadog
- →believe GPU cloud and SMB AI workloads will reinvigorate DigitalOcean's growth trajectory
- →are building a diversified cloud infrastructure position across multiple tiers
- →are comfortable with slower growth and NRR pressure in exchange for improving profitability
DDOG may suit investors who:
- →want the leading cloud observability platform with demonstrated 120%+ NRR
- →believe AI workload monitoring (LLM observability) is a large new revenue layer
- →value consumption-based pricing models that grow organically with customer cloud usage
- →are comfortable paying a premium multiple for best-in-class software growth and retention
Performance & AI score
| Metric | DOCN | DDOG |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 50.6 | 53.0 |
| AI rank | #427 | #312 |
| Latest close | $173.27 | $223.00 |
| 1M return | +15.50% | +3.65% |
| 6M return | +294.69% | +63.12% |
| 1Y return | +523.05% | +71.49% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | DOCN | DDOG |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $62.3K (+523.0%) started 2025-06-18 | $17.15K (+71.5%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $36.87K (+268.7%) started 2021-06-18 | $21.6K (+116.0%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $40.77K (+307.7%) started 2021-03-24 | $59.39K (+493.9%) started 2019-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | DOCN | DDOG |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $18.08B | $81.84B |
| Trailing P/E | 76.00 | 589.49 |
| Forward P/E | 98.60 | 80.73 |
| Price/Sales | 19.06 | 14.88 |
| EV/Revenue | 19.97 | 21.34 |
| Analyst target | $178.77 | $233.06 |
| Target upside | +3.17% | +1.38% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | DOCN | DDOG |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 22.40% | 32.20% |
| Earnings growth | -61.70% | 104.00% |
| EPS growth | -61.70% | +104.00% |
| FCF margin | +16.61% | +25.51% |
| Operating margin | N/A | 0.80% |
| Profit margin | 24.96% | 3.69% |
| ROIC proxy | 70.00% | 3.93% |
| Return on equity | 70.00% | 3.93% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | N/A |
| Beta | 1.57 | 1.55 |
| Debt/equity | 169.95 | 32.22 |
| Current ratio | 1.46 | 3.40 |
| Quick ratio | 1.31 | 3.29 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
DOCN max drawdown24.11%
DDOG max drawdown48.62%
DOCN max wkly drop20.42%
DDOG max wkly drop18.04%
5Y risk snapshot
DOCN max drawdown84.78%
DDOG max drawdown68.11%
DOCN max wkly drop29.16%
DDOG max wkly drop23.41%
10Y risk snapshot
DOCN max drawdown84.78%
DDOG max drawdown68.11%
DOCN max wkly drop29.16%
DDOG max wkly drop30.02%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | DOCN | DDOG |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +523.05% | +71.49% |
| CAGR | +523.83% | +71.55% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 2.58 | 1.07 | |
| Max drawdown | 24.11% | 48.62% | |
| Max daily drop | 13.28% | 11.28% | |
| Max wkly drop | 20.42% | 18.04% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +268.66% | +115.96% |
| CAGR | +29.82% | +16.65% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.66 | 0.47 | |
| Max drawdown | 84.78% | 68.11% | |
| Max daily drop | 24.79% | 17.18% | |
| Max wkly drop | 29.16% | 23.41% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +307.69% | +493.87% |
| CAGR | +30.80% | +30.22% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.67 | 0.66 | |
| Max drawdown | 84.78% | 68.11% | |
| Max daily drop | 24.79% | 17.87% | |
| Max wkly drop | 29.16% | 30.02% |
Business comparison
| Category | DOCN | DDOG |
|---|---|---|
| Company | DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. | Datadog, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | Software - Application |
| Core business | DigitalOcean provides simplified IaaS cloud infrastructure to developers and SMBs, competing on simplicity and price against AWS and Azure. GPU cloud (Paperspace) and managed hosting (Cloudways) are recent additions expanding its product suite. | Datadog is the leading cloud-native observability platform providing infrastructure monitoring, APM, log management, security monitoring, and AI observability in a unified data platform. It charges on consumption (usage-based pricing), creating a direct correlation between customer cloud usage and Datadog revenue. Datadog's LLM Observability product monitors AI model performance, positioning it as the essential monitoring layer for AI applications. |
| Investor focus | Investors track net revenue retention, customer count growth, ARPU expansion, and free cash flow generation as DigitalOcean improves its profitability profile in a competitive market. | Investors track net revenue retention (historically 120%+), large customer ($1M+ ARR) additions, product adoption breadth (number of products per customer), and LLM observability early revenue as an AI growth catalyst. |
DOCN strengths
- →Unique SMB/developer focus with products designed for simplicity vs enterprise cloud complexity
- →GPU cloud via Paperspace addresses growing demand for SMB AI/ML workloads
- →Positive free cash flow trajectory differentiating DOCN from most infrastructure competitors
DDOG strengths
- →Best-in-class net revenue retention of 120%+ driven by consumption growth and cross-sell
- →Unified platform spanning 30+ products reduces vendor fragmentation for DevOps and security teams
- →LLM observability positions Datadog as the monitoring layer for AI model deployments
Risks to watch — DOCN
- →Net revenue retention declining below 100% in some quarters — customers not expanding spend
- →Large cloud providers improving their developer experience with simplified tiers
- →Growth deceleration from COVID tailwinds has been sharper than the market expected
Risks to watch — DDOG
- →Consumption-based model means revenue is sensitive to customer cloud usage fluctuations
- →Premium valuation (50x+ revenue) requires sustained 25%+ growth to justify
- →Competition from Dynatrace, New Relic, and Elastic in observability market
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