Dell Technologies Inc. vs NetApp, Inc., two Computer Hardware stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
NetApp's 94.5% return on equity against Dell's unreportable one is the rare comparison where both numbers need footnotes: NetApp's divides by equity shrunk with 1.84 turns of leverage and years of buybacks, and Dell's equity is negative, so the ratio does not exist at all. Returns on assets restore the picture, 11.9% for NetApp against 6.8% for Dell. The margin structures describe the businesses: NetApp's 70.1% gross margin is a storage-software franchise; Dell's 17.8% is high-volume hardware assembly with AI-server demand running through it. The market pays 31.4 times for Dell's earnings and 24 times NetApp's, taking the server cycle over the cash: NetApp yields 6.1% in free cash, Dell 3.7%. Scale versus margin, priced with scale ahead.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | DELL | NTAP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $394.31 | $152.40 |
| Market cap | $258.7B | $30.5B |
| Sector | Computer Hardware | Computer Hardware |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +17.3% |
| P/E | 31.4 | 24.0 |
| P/B | — | 22.56 |
| P/S | 1.93 | 4.40 |
| EV/EBITDA | 25.1 | 17.0 |
| Revenue growth | +39.2% | +5.2% |
| Gross margin | 17.8% | 70.1% |
| Operating margin | 8.3% | 27.3% |
| Net margin | 5.8% | 18.4% |
| Return on equity | — | 94.5% |
| Return on assets | 6.8% | 11.9% |
| Return on invested capital | 24.8% | 34.0% |
| FCF yield | 3.6% | 6.1% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| Debt / equity | — | 1.84 |
| Current ratio | 0.95 | 1.44 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.64 | 2.97 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 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.