SDGR vs TEM: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of September 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.

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. SDGR and TEM 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 SDGR and TEM 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.

Schrödinger, Inc. has been building molecular simulation software since 1990, and its core products (Maestro, Glide, FEP+) predict how a candidate molecule will bind to a protein target before anyone synthesises it. Pharmaceutical and materials science customers license the platform, which produced ~$32.5 million of software revenue in the June 2026 quarter. The company also runs a second business that most software vendors do not: it uses its own platform to design drugs, then monetises them through collaborations, spin-outs and equity stakes rather than selling them itself. Eli Lilly's acquisition of Ajax Therapeutics, a company Schrödinger co-founded, for up to ~$2.3 billion produced a ~$45.9 million mark-up on Schrödinger's holding plus a ~$10 million milestone in Q2 2026. In September 2026 the same playbook repeated with Tectora Therapeutics, formed alongside New Enterprise Associates and RA Capital with a ~$55 million Series A, into which Schrödinger contributed two early-stage immunology programs for equity, milestones and royalties.

Full SDGR guide

Tempus AI (NASDAQ: TEM) is a Chicago-based technology company that applies artificial intelligence to precision medicine, primarily in oncology but increasingly across cardiology, neuropsychiatry, and hereditary conditions. It operates two interconnected business lines: a diagnostics segment that performs next-generation sequencing (NGS), PCR profiling, molecular pathology, and hereditary genetic tests through CAP-accredited, CLIA-certified laboratories, charging on a per-test basis; and a Data and Applications segment that licenses de-identified, linked clinical, molecular, and imaging datasets to life sciences companies (Insights), offers clinical trial matching (Trials), and deploys AI-powered algorithm products for physicians (Algos) and an AI platform called Next. Approximately 95% of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies use Tempus data or trial services, and the platform has integrations across more than 7,000 physicians and hundreds of research partners, creating a self-reinforcing network where clinical volume generates data that improves AI models and attracts more customers.

Full TEM guide

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

• SDGR drivers: Bunsen and the agentic AI product cycle; The hosted licensing transition and annual contract value.
• TEM drivers: Explosive Revenue Growth with a Clear Path to Profitability; Data Licensing as a High-Margin Flywheel.

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: The core software business is decelerating at precisely the moment the stock is being repriced for acceleration, and net dollar retention of ~100% means the installed base is no longer expanding on its own. For TEM, tempus remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis, with a full-year 2025 net loss of $245 million (which included $136 million in stock-based compensation), and the path to sustained GAAP profitability is long; Q1 2026 showed a net loss of $125.9 million, widening 85% year-over-year, and EPS missed analyst estimates by 34%.

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 SDGR if you believe its drivers more; TEM 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 SDGR and TEM guides.

SDGR. Full-year 2025 revenue was ~$256 million, up ~23%, so the trailing-twelve-month figure of roughly ~$260 million represents near-flat growth over the last four quarters even as ACV climbed. GAAP profitability is not a useful signal here: quarterly net income swings between a ~$43.2 million loss and a ~$6.0 million profit depending on how the equity stakes are marked, while adjusted EBITDA ran at about negative $114.9 million for 2025. Backing out the cash pile leaves roughly ~$1.9 billion of enterprise value, which the market is applying to a software franchise that generated ~$200 million in 2025 and shrank last quarter.

TEM. Tempus trades at roughly 6.6 times trailing twelve-month revenue, a premium that reflects the market pricing in a future where its data-licensing flywheel generates high-margin recurring revenue at scale. The P/E ratio is not meaningful today because the company is not yet GAAP profitable, but consensus estimates suggest the first meaningful earnings could arrive by 2028, and the company's own guidance calls for positive Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $65 million in 2026. The gross margin of approximately 63% is already at software-like levels and has expanded significantly as the higher-margin Data and Applications segment grows faster than diagnostics.

Headline figures (approximate, September 2026): SDGR shows revenue (ttm) ~$260 million, q2 2026 revenue ~$58.9 million, up ~8% year over year, software revenue (q2 2026) ~$32.5 million, down ~10%, cash and marketable securities ~$418.8 million; TEM shows revenue (fy2025, reported) ~$1.27 billion, revenue (ttm, as of q1 2026) ~$1.36 billion, q1 2026 revenue (most recent quarter) ~$348 million (up 36% YoY), gross margin (fy2025) ~63%.

SDGR and TEM 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 SDGR and TEM exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.