AAPL
Apple Inc.
AAPL has the edge over FOUR overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
FOUR
Shift4 Payments, Inc.
FOUR offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
AAPL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AAPL's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
FOUR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
FOUR's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
AAPL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 26x | $230 | -35% |
| Fair | 31x | $279 | -21% |
| Expensive | 37x | $328 | -7.5% |
| Forward | 38x | $355 | — |
| Current | 40x | $355 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AAPL's PE is in its expensive range at 40x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 38x next year's earnings.
FOUR PE Valuation
FOUR has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
AAPL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for AAPL, but weaker profitability.
FOUR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
FOUR has the edge over AAPL on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
AAPL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.28 | +3.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.98 | +20% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.71 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.26 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.90 | +25% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.46 | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.59 | +0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.42 | -0.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.30 | -2% |
AAPL has the stronger earnings trend. Trailing diluted EPS is up 20% for AAPL versus FOUR up 5%.
FOUR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $7.29 | +331% |
| Q3 2024 | $1.69 | +5% |
| Q2 2024 | $1.64 | +3.1% |
| Q1 2024 | $1.48 | +14% |
| Q4 2023 | $1.36 | +37% |
| Q3 2023 | $1.61 | +360% |
| Q2 2023 | $1.59 | +$1.94 |
| Q1 2023 | $1.30 | +$1.73 |
| Q4 2022 | $0.99 | +$1.91 |
FOUR's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $1.69 over the past year, up 5% from the year before, and higher year over year every quarter since early 2022.
AAPL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $114.5B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $109.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $111.2B | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $143.8B | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $102.5B | +7.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $94B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $95.4B | +5.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $124.3B | +4% |
AAPL's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $114B last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 31% | -0.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 33% | +2.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 32% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 35% | +0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 30% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +0.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 34% | +0.7 points |
AAPL has the edge over FOUR on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FOUR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.3B | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +32% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.2B | +34% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $966.2M | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $848.3M | +20% |
| Q4 2024 | $887M | +26% |
FOUR has the edge over AAPL on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.9% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3% | -1.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.5% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | +1.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.7% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.6% | +1.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3% | 0 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.7% | +5.8 points |
FOUR's operating margin was 9.9% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
AAPL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $25.9B | -2.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.9B | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $26.7B | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $51.6B | +91% |
| Q3 2025 | $26.5B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $24.4B | -8.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.9B | +0.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $27B | -28% |
AAPL's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $136B over the past year, up 38% from the year before.
FOUR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $216M | -21% |
| Q2 2026 | $57M | -39% |
| Q1 2026 | $128M | +186% |
| Q4 2025 | $222.5M | +55% |
| Q3 2025 | $272.5M | +3.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $93M | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $44.8M | -50% |
| Q4 2024 | $143.8M | +97% |
FOUR has the edge over AAPL on cash flow, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
AAPL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +5.6M shares |
| 1 year | -1.9% | -284M shares |
| 3 years | -6.9% | -1.1B shares |
| 5 years | -13% | -2.1B shares |
| Available history | -17% | -3.1B shares |
AAPL has 14.7B diluted shares, down 1.9% from a year ago, with $86.4B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24.3B |
| Q2 2026 | $25.1B |
| Q1 2026 | $12.3B |
| Q4 2025 | $24.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $20.1B |
| Q2 2025 | $21.1B |
| Q1 2025 | $25.9B |
| Q4 2024 | $23.6B |
AAPL spent $86.4B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 4.8% from the year before.
FOUR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -5.1% | -4M shares |
| 1 year | -16% | -14.3M shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -9.5M shares |
| 5 years | -7.4% | -6M shares |
FOUR has the edge over AAPL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $190M |
| Q2 2026 | $26M |
| Q1 2026 | $295M |
| Q4 2025 | $304.8M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $85.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $62.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $110M |
FOUR spent $816M buying back its own shares over the past year, about three times what it spent the year before.
AAPL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.5x | Very low |
AAPL has the edge over FOUR on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
FOUR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.5x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 4.6x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 4.7x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.5x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 4.6x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 5.5x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 5.6x | High |
FOUR's net debt is about 4.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
AAPL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 68.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 85.0 | Overbought |
AAPL's weekly RSI is 68 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 85 (overbought).
FOUR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.7 | Neutral |
FOUR's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
AAPL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | AAPL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 40x | 28x | 42% above |
| PE % | 96 | 35 | 61 pts above |
AAPL is trading at 40x earnings, a 42% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
FOUR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | FOUR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
FOUR has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
AAPL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $343.1 | 3.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $329.0 | 7.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $295.6 | 20% above |
| 100 week MA | $262.4 | 35% above |
| 200 week MA | $226.3 | 57% above |
AAPL has the edge over FOUR on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
FOUR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $39.8 | 4.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $44.0 | 5.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $48.5 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $69.7 | 40% below |
| 200 week MA | $70.3 | 41% below |
FOUR has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 41% below its 200-week average.
AAPL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $72.5 | $132.0 | +82% |
| 2021 | $132.0 | $176.3 | +34% |
| 2022 | $176.3 | $131.9 | -25% |
| 2023 | $131.9 | $192.5 | +46% |
| 2024 | $192.5 | $255.6 | +33% |
| 2025 | $255.6 | $273.4 | +7% |
| 2026 YTD | $273.4 | $354.9 | +30% |
AAPL has the edge over FOUR on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
FOUR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.5 | $71.8 | +114% |
| 2021 | $71.8 | $59.2 | -18% |
| 2022 | $59.2 | $54.1 | -8.6% |
| 2023 | $54.1 | $74.3 | +38% |
| 2024 | $74.3 | $104.7 | +41% |
| 2025 | $104.7 | $65.2 | -38% |
| 2026 YTD | $65.2 | $41.5 | -36% |
FOUR has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 36% so far in 2026.