AAPL
Apple Inc.
AAPL has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
MQ
Marqeta, Inc.
MQ has the edge over AAPL overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
AAPL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AAPL's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MQ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MQ's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
MQ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 15x | $18.03 | — |
| Forward | 39x | $18.03 | — |
| Cheap | 57x | $71.08 | +294% |
| Fair | 153x | $190 | +953% |
| Expensive | 383x | $474 | +2531% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MQ has the edge over AAPL in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
AAPL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for AAPL, but weaker profitability.
MQ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MQ, with profitability improving. 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 MQ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MQ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.47 | -62% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.24 | +$1.56 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.11 | +$0.63 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.04 | -90% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.12 | -160% |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.32 | -500% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.52 | -$0.44 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.40 | +$1.84 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.20 | +$1.88 |
MQ has returned to profit: it earned $1.24 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
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 MQ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MQ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $176.2M | +7.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $176M | +17% |
| Q1 2026 | $165.8M | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $172.1M | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $163.3M | +28% |
| Q2 2025 | $150.4M | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $139.1M | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $135.8M | +14% |
MQ has the edge over AAPL on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.6% | +9.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1% | +8.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3% | +15 points |
| Q4 2025 | -4.8% | +23 points |
| Q3 2025 | -6.3% | +27 points |
| Q2 2025 | -6.1% | -90 points |
| Q1 2025 | -13% | +29 points |
| Q4 2024 | -28% | +20 points |
MQ's operating margin was 3.6% last quarter, up 9.9 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2020.
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.
MQ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $26M | -70% |
| Q2 2026 | $63M | +416% |
| Q1 2026 | -$4.6M | -153% |
| Q4 2025 | $53.5M | +116% |
| Q3 2025 | $86.4M | +1118% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.2M | -51% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.7M | +$9.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $24.7M | +50% |
MQ generated $138M in free cash flow over the past year, up 4.4% from the year before.
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.
MQ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -5.7% | -6.4M shares |
| 3 years | -20% | -26.6M shares |
| 5 years | +80% | +47.1M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -15.1M shares |
MQ has the edge over AAPL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $54.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $39.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $96.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $163.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $111.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $16.7M |
MQ spent $202M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 35% from 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's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
MQ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -17.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -33.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -138.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -31.8x | Net Cash |
MQ has the edge over AAPL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
MQ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 71.8 | Neutral |
MQ's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 72 (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.
MQ PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MQ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 28x | 48% below |
| PE % | 0 | 43 | 43 pts below |
MQ has the edge over AAPL on valuation relative to its sector.
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 MQ on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MQ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $18.0 | 0.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $17.1 | 5.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $17.0 | 6.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $18.1 | 0.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $19.8 | 9% below |
MQ has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 9% 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 MQ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MQ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $126.0 | $69.8 | -45% |
| 2022 | $69.8 | $24.0 | -66% |
| 2023 | $24.0 | $27.9 | +16% |
| 2024 | $27.9 | $14.6 | -48% |
| 2025 | $14.6 | $19.4 | +33% |
| 2026 YTD | $19.4 | $18.0 | -7.3% |
MQ has finished lower in three of the last five years. It's down 7.3% so far in 2026.