Apple Inc. vs CISCO SYSTEMS, INC., two Computer Hardware stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Apple and Cisco are both filed under hardware, but they are at different stages of life. Cisco carries the higher gross margin, 64% to Apple's 49, yet keeps less at the bottom, a 20% net margin to Apple's 27, the cost of a networking business with more competition lower in the stack. Cisco is the higher yielder, a 1.3% dividend to Apple's 0.4, but no longer the cheaper stock, near 41 times earnings to Apple's 36. Apple's return on equity dwarfs Cisco's 24%, but mostly through buybacks rather than better economics. The consumer juggernaut and the mature plumbing of the enterprise.
Comparison updated 2026-06-11.
| Metric | AAPL | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $315.32 | $121.24 |
| Market cap | $4.64T | $482.8B |
| Sector | Computer Hardware | Computer Hardware |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +32.1% | — |
| P/E | 38.2 | 40.3 |
| P/B | 43.60 | 9.88 |
| P/S | 10.29 | 7.95 |
| EV/EBITDA | 31.1 | 36.0 |
| Revenue growth | +12.4% | +9.2% |
| Gross margin | 49.3% | 63.6% |
| Operating margin | 32.3% | 25.0% |
| Net margin | 27.1% | 19.7% |
| Return on equity | 115.1% | 24.5% |
| Return on assets | 33.0% | 9.5% |
| Return on invested capital | 61.6% | 14.2% |
| FCF yield | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| Dividend yield | 0.3% | 1.3% |
| Debt / equity | 0.85 | 0.71 |
| Current ratio | 1.07 | 0.92 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.61 | 4.34 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.