AAPL
Apple Inc.
AAPL has a slight edge over NOVT overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
NOVT
Novanta Inc.
NOVT 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.
NOVT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
NOVT's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable, 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.
NOVT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 72x | $94.82 | -19% |
| Fair | 86x | $113 | -3.6% |
| Current | 89x | $117 | — |
| Expensive | 106x | $140 | +19% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NOVT 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.
NOVT Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for NOVT to show an outlook.
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 NOVT on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NOVT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.32 | -9.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.57 | -7.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.39 | -29% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.47 | -17% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.46 | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.69 | -1.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.95 | +1.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.77 | -12% |
NOVT's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.32 over the past year, against $2.13 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 NOVT on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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 NOVT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NOVT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $305M | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $265.8M | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $257.7M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $258.3M | +8.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $247.8M | +1.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $241M | +2.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $233.4M | +1.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $238.1M | +13% |
NOVT's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $305M last quarter, up 23% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.6% | -4.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.8% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -3.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.6% | -1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.8% | -4.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6.2% | -4.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | +1 points |
NOVT's operating margin was 4.6% last quarter, down 4.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom 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.
NOVT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $30.4M | +621% |
| Q2 2026 | $57.5M | +392% |
| Q1 2026 | $47.5M | +73% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.1M | -91% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.2M | -78% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.7M | -68% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.4M | +3.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $59.3M | +81% |
NOVT 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 the edge over NOVT 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.
NOVT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.8% | +1.5M shares |
| 1 year | +19% | +6.7M shares |
| 3 years | +19% | +6.7M shares |
| 5 years | +19% | +6.9M shares |
| Available history | +20% | +7.2M shares |
NOVT has 43M diluted shares, up 19% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $18.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $19.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $14.1M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $6.2M |
| Q4 2022 | — |
NOVT spent $38M buying back its own shares over the past year.
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 NOVT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NOVT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.3x | High |
| Q2 2026 | -3.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.8x | Healthy |
NOVT's net debt is about 4.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.3 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).
NOVT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 39.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.1 | Oversold |
NOVT's weekly RSI is 39 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 18 (oversold).
AAPL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | AAPL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 40x | 28x | 42% above |
| PE % | 96 | 35 | 61 pts above |
AAPL has the edge over NOVT on valuation relative to its sector.
NOVT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | NOVT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 89x | 28x | 219% above |
| PE % | 55 | 35 | 20 pts above |
NOVT is trading at 89x earnings, a 219% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
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 NOVT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NOVT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $137.8 | 15% below |
| 20 week MA | $145.1 | 19% below |
| 50 week MA | $138.9 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $132.3 | 11% below |
| 200 week MA | $147.5 | 20% below |
NOVT is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 20% 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 NOVT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NOVT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $89.8 | $120.8 | +34% |
| 2021 | $120.8 | $173.1 | +43% |
| 2022 | $173.1 | $137.9 | -20% |
| 2023 | $137.9 | $168.4 | +22% |
| 2024 | $168.4 | $154.7 | -8.1% |
| 2025 | $154.7 | $122.7 | -21% |
| 2026 YTD | $122.7 | $117.4 | -4.3% |
NOVT has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 4.3% so far in 2026.