AAPL
Apple Inc.
AAPL has the edge over LPL overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
LPL
LG Display Co., Ltd.
LPL 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.
LPL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure |
LPL's revenue is currently stable, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are under pressure.
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.
LPL PE Valuation
LPL 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.
LPL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Decline | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect LPL's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, but its revenue to decline. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 edge over LPL on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LPL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.43 | -$0.18 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.01 | -$0.51 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.06 | +$1.54 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.17 | +$2.34 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.25 | +$1.18 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.50 | +$1.36 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.60 | +$0.63 |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.17 | +$0.77 |
LPL is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.43 per share over the past year, against $3.80 at its worst in mid-2023.
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 has the edge over LPL on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 LPL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LPL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.7B | -9.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.2B | +0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.1B | -8.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.4B | -8.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.2B | +2% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.2B | -17% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.5B | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.9B | +5.9% |
LPL's revenue has slid since its 2021 peak: $4.7B last quarter, down 9.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4% | -2.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | -1.9% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 2.6% | +2.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3% | +1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.2% | +7.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | -2.1% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.6% | +9.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1% | -0.7 points |
LPL's operating margin was 4% last quarter, down 2.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 has the edge over LPL on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
LPL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $517.7M | +$963.9M |
| Q1 2026 | -$547M | -432% |
| Q4 2025 | $582.1K | -100% |
| Q3 2025 | $173.9M | +78% |
| Q2 2025 | -$446.2M | -242% |
| Q1 2025 | $164.8M | +$1.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $873M | +$1B |
| Q3 2024 | $97.5M | -70% |
LPL still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2021 peak: $145M over the past year.
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 the edge over LPL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| 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.
LPL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | 0% | -- |
| 3 years | +28% | +221M shares |
| 5 years | +25% | +202M shares |
| Available history | +40% | +284M shares |
LPL has 1B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
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 LPL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LPL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q3 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
LPL's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.1 years 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).
LPL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 6.2 | Oversold |
LPL's weekly RSI is 35 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 6 (oversold).
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.
LPL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | LPL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
LPL 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 LPL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LPL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $2.74 | 6.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $3.08 | 17% below |
| 50 week MA | $3.87 | 34% below |
| 100 week MA | $3.80 | 32% below |
| 200 week MA | $4.27 | 40% below |
LPL is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 40% 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 LPL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
LPL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7.02 | $8.05 | +15% |
| 2021 | $8.05 | $9.64 | +20% |
| 2022 | $9.64 | $4.94 | -49% |
| 2023 | $4.94 | $4.82 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | $4.82 | $3.18 | -34% |
| 2025 | $3.18 | $4.22 | +33% |
| 2026 YTD | $4.22 | $2.57 | -39% |
LPL has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 39% so far in 2026.