AVPT vs CVLT: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: CVLT is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AVPT and CVLT share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AVPT and CVLT exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

AvePoint, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVPT) is a data-management and governance software company headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, that sells a cloud-native platform (now marketed as the AvePoint Confidence Platform) to help organizations secure, back up, migrate, and govern their data across third-party SaaS ecosystems including Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Box, Dropbox, and AWS. Its products span backup and recovery, data migration, information lifecycle and records management, and governance and security controls, sold mostly on a recurring subscription (SaaS) basis to enterprises, government agencies, and increasingly to small and mid-sized businesses through a large channel-partner network. The company went public in 2021 via a SPAC merger with Apex Technology Acquisition Corp and is led by co-founder and CEO Dr. Tianyi Jiang.

Full AVPT guide

Commvault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT), founded in 1996 and headquartered in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, provides data protection, cyber resilience, and recovery software and SaaS solutions for enterprises operating across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Its unified platform, marketed as Commvault Cloud, integrates data security, identity resilience, and cyber recovery into a single cloud-native, AI-enabled offering. The company generates revenue primarily through subscriptions (including its Metallic SaaS suite) and, to a decreasing degree, legacy perpetual software licenses. More than 12,000 subscription customers relied on its platform as of the end of fiscal year 2025 (March 31, 2025), and the company reported that approximately 82% of Fortune 500 companies have used its solutions. ARR crossed the $1 billion milestone in September 2025, two quarters ahead of its original target.

Full CVLT guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AVPT drivers: Durable ARR growth toward a $1B target; 'Trust layer for AI' positioning.
• CVLT drivers: Subscription and SaaS Flywheel; Cyber Resilience as a Board-Level Imperative.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: AvePoint is heavily tied to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, so changes to Microsoft's own native backup, governance, or security features could compress the space AvePoint sells into. For CVLT, the most immediate risk is the wave of securities class action lawsuits filed in mid-2026, alleging that Commvault misled investors about ARR growth by not adequately disclosing the impact of a mix shift toward lower-priced SaaS deals and discounting.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AVPT if you believe its drivers more; CVLT if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AVPT and CVLT guides.

AVPT. AvePoint trades as a growth-oriented SaaS stock, so investors tend to value it on revenue and ARR multiples and the durability of that growth rather than on trailing earnings alone. The company reached GAAP profitability in 2025 and is debt-free with a solid cash position, but the shares have fallen well off prior highs on broad software multiple compression. Management has set a multi-year goal of $1 billion in ARR by 2029.

CVLT. Following a roughly 31% single-day stock drop on January 27, 2026 after the Q3 FY2026 ARR miss, CVLT's trailing P/E compressed substantially from its prior-year levels above 70-80x, and the forward P/E dropped to approximately 18x, a notable re-rating for a software company growing revenue at roughly 20% annually. The ~82% gross margin profile reflects the company's successful transition toward SaaS, but GAAP net income remains modest relative to revenue, as the company continues to invest heavily in sales, R&D, and its cloud platform. Full-year FY2026 revenue guidance was set at approximately $1.16-$1.17 billion, and the company has projected a path toward approximately $1.6 billion in revenue by 2029, though analyst confidence in ARR-linked growth targets has been shaken by the Q3 FY2026 disclosure events.

Headline figures (approximate, MAY 2026): AVPT shows revenue (ttm) ~$425 million, q1 2026 revenue ~$117 million (up ~26% YoY), annual recurring revenue (arr) ~$435 million (up ~26% YoY), saas revenue growth (q1 2026) ~35% YoY; CVLT shows revenue (ttm, approx.) ~$1.05B, revenue growth (ttm yoy) ~22%, annualized recurring revenue (arr) ~$1B+ (surpassed Oct 2025), gross margin (non-gaap, approx.) ~82%.

AVPT and CVLT are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AVPT and CVLT exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.