Apple Inc. vs MICROSOFT CORPORATION. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
The two prices are making different bets. Apple at 40.4 times earnings is being paid for as a hardware annuity that never slips; Microsoft at 23.4 times carries the lower multiple despite the fatter margins, 46.3% operating against Apple's 32.3% and 36% net against 27.2%. Apple's 115% return on equity is mostly capital structure (years of buybacks have shrunk the book), so Microsoft's 27.6% on a real equity base is the cleaner number. Free cash yields are a wash at roughly 2.5%. Paying more for the hardware than the software is not the usual ordering, but it is the current one.
Comparison updated 2026-07-19.
| Metric | AAPL | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $308.52 | $463.20 |
| Market cap | $4.54T | $3.45T |
| Sector | Computer Hardware | Software |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +30.1% | — |
| P/E | 35.4 | 25.8 |
| P/B | 42.22 | 7.80 |
| P/S | 9.72 | 10.39 |
| EV/EBITDA | 29.1 | 18.1 |
| Revenue growth | +14.1% | +17.8% |
| Gross margin | 50.1% | 67.2% |
| Operating margin | 32.6% | 45.1% |
| Net margin | 27.6% | 37.1% |
| Return on equity | 119.9% | 27.8% |
| Return on assets | 33.6% | 16.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 63.3% | 25.6% |
| FCF yield | 3.0% | 1.9% |
| Dividend yield | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.87 | 0.11 |
| Current ratio | 1.00 | 1.23 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.57 | 7.28 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
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.