As the major CAD vendors hold their quarterly conference calls, one thing to watch is whether analysts are asking about PCB design tools.

For the most part, they aren’t.

So while Cadence’s PCB and IC packaging software lines saw good growth in 2012, with revenue climbing 11%, its hour-long call on Jan. 30 was devoted to fielding analyst questions on semiconductor and emulation products.

OK, we get it, we aren’t the tail that wags the dog. But given the market size and relative  profitability PCB tools generate, it would be nice to get a little more notice.