AAPL
Apple Inc.
AAPL has the edge over VECO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
VECO
Veeco Instruments Inc.
VECO offers stronger modeled upside, 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.
VECO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
VECO's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable.
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 has the edge over VECO in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
VECO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 15x | $40.33 | — |
| Cheap | 18x | $7.36 | -82% |
| Fair | 29x | $11.70 | -71% |
| Expensive | 86x | $34.57 | -14% |
| Current | 101x | $40.33 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VECO's PE is in its expensive range at 101x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 15x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
AAPL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for AAPL, but weaker profitability.
VECO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
VECO 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 has the edge over VECO on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VECO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.75 | +587% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.40 | -51% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.36 | -64% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.38 | -64% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.59 | -52% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.82 | -43% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.01 | -33% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.06 | +$1.42 |
| Q4 2024 | $1.23 | +$1.79 |
VECO's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.40 over the past year, against $2.71 in late 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 has the edge over VECO 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 VECO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
VECO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $209.4M | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $193.5M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $158.3M | -5.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $165M | -9.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $165.9M | -10% |
| Q2 2025 | $166.1M | -5.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $167.3M | -4.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $182.1M | +4.7% |
VECO's revenue has picked up after three years of holding roughly level: $209M last quarter, up 26% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.7% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.1% | -1.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | -1.7% | -10 points |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8% | -3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.4% | -6.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.5% | -2.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.5% | -4.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.1% | -12 points |
VECO's operating margin was 6.7% 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.
VECO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $53.6M | +314% |
| Q2 2026 | $47.7M | +776% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.8M | -79% |
| Q4 2025 | $21.7M | -6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $13M | -4.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.4M | -1% |
| Q1 2025 | $13.2M | +293% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.2M | +24% |
VECO generated $126M in free cash flow over the past year, up 129% 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 the edge over VECO 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.
VECO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -628K shares |
| 1 year | +8.5% | +5.2M shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +6.5M shares |
| 5 years | +23% | +12.2M shares |
| Available history | +39% | +18.7M shares |
VECO has 66M diluted shares, up 8.5% from a year ago.
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 VECO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
VECO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
VECO's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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).
VECO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.7 | Oversold |
VECO's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (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 VECO on valuation relative to its sector.
VECO PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | VECO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 101x | 28x | 262% above |
| PE % | 84 | 35 | 49 pts above |
VECO is trading at 101x earnings, a 262% 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 VECO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
VECO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $48.0 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $44.7 | 9.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $34.3 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $32.1 | 26% above |
VECO has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 26% 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 finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 30% so far in 2026.
VECO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $14.8 | $19.0 | +28% |
| 2021 | $19.0 | $26.9 | +41% |
| 2022 | $26.9 | $18.4 | -32% |
| 2023 | $18.4 | $31.0 | +69% |
| 2024 | $31.0 | $27.6 | -11% |
| 2025 | $27.6 | $29.3 | +6.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $29.3 | $40.3 | +38% |
VECO has the edge over AAPL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.