AAPL
Apple Inc.
AAPL has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
PCTY
Paylocity Holding Corporation
PCTY 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.
PCTY Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PCTY'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.
PCTY PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $179 | — |
| Current | 35x | $179 | — |
| Cheap | 39x | $202 | +13% |
| Fair | 85x | $438 | +145% |
| Expensive | 150x | $770 | +330% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PCTY 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.
PCTY Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
PCTY has the edge over AAPL on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and 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 earned $8.98 per share over the past year, up 20% from the year before.
PCTY Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.45 | +84% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.13 | +28% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.92 | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.70 | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.26 | +9.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.00 | +2.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.02 | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.00 | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.89 | +32% |
PCTY's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $5.13 over the past year, up 28% from the year before, and higher year over year for 22 quarters in a row.
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 PCTY on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PCTY Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $451.7M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $444.7M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $502.3M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $416.1M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $408.2M | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $400.7M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $454.5M | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $377M | +16% |
PCTY has the edge over AAPL on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | 0 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 31% | +3.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | +4.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -1.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | -2.9 points |
PCTY's operating margin was 18% last quarter, about level with 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's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $136B over the past year, up 38% from the year before.
PCTY Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $76.6M | -7.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $91.3M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $209.5M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.6M | +122% |
| Q3 2025 | $82.7M | -7.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $81.1M | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $183.7M | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $51.2M | -29% |
PCTY 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.
PCTY Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.9% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -3.8% | -2.1M shares |
| 3 years | -5.6% | -3.2M shares |
| 5 years | -4.9% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -3.8% | -2.1M shares |
PCTY has the edge over AAPL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $152.5M |
| Q2 2026 | $48.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $50M |
| Q4 2025 | $100M |
| Q3 2025 | $200M |
| Q2 2025 | $58.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $82.7M |
PCTY spent $351M 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's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
PCTY Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
PCTY 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).
PCTY Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.6 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 87.5 | Overbought |
PCTY's weekly RSI is 71 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 87 (overbought).
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.
PCTY PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PCTY | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 35x | 28x | 25% above |
| PE % | 11 | 35 | 24 pts below |
PCTY 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 is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 57% above its 200-week average.
PCTY Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $163.5 | 9.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $148.9 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $131.5 | 36% above |
| 100 week MA | $156.3 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $165.9 | 7.9% above |
PCTY has climbed back above all five of its weekly moving averages, and it's now 7.9% above 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 PCTY on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PCTY Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $121.7 | $214.3 | +76% |
| 2021 | $214.3 | $239.4 | +12% |
| 2022 | $239.4 | $191.9 | -20% |
| 2023 | $191.9 | $164.9 | -14% |
| 2024 | $164.9 | $199.7 | +21% |
| 2025 | $199.7 | $153.7 | -23% |
| 2026 YTD | $153.7 | $178.9 | +16% |
PCTY has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 16% so far in 2026.