AMAT
Applied Materials, Inc.
AMAT has the edge over MS overall, supported by stronger valuation.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
AMAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AMAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
MS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MS.
AMAT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $205 | -46% |
| Forward | 20x | $381 | — |
| Fair | 21x | $263 | -31% |
| Expensive | 29x | $365 | -4.1% |
| Current | 30x | $381 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AMAT's PE is 30x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
MS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $134 | -29% |
| Fair | 14x | $178 | -5.7% |
| Forward | 14x | $189 | — |
| Current | 15x | $189 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $223 | +18% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MS has the edge over AMAT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
AMAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for AMAT, with profitability improving.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
AMAT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $18.83 | +49% |
| Q4 2026 | $12.62 | +46% |
AMAT has the edge over MS in the latest year-over-year earnings comparison.
MS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.39 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.60 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.37 | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.04 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.21 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.76 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.84 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.53 | +55% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.95 | +53% |
MS's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $12.60 over the past year, up 29% from the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
AMAT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | $10.4B | +53% |
| Q3 2026 | $9.1B | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.9B | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $7B | -2.1% |
AMAT's revenue is growing: $10.4B last quarter, up 53% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 34% | +3.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 32% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 26% | -4.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 25% | N/A |
| Q3 2025 | 31% | N/A |
| Q2 2025 | 31% | N/A |
| Q1 2025 | 30% | N/A |
AMAT has the edge over MS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.3B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.9B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.7B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | +26% |
MS's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $20.3B last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +5.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +14 points |
MS's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
AMAT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $210M | -80% |
| Q1 2026 | $1B | +91% |
AMAT and MS do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
MS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$46B | -$42.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.7B | -123% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.1B | +$16.9B |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.4B | -120% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.3B | +$14B |
| Q2 2025 | $11.8B | +368% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24B | -650% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.8B | +$29.6B |
MS's free cash flow was −$58.3B over the past year, against −$3.7B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
AMAT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +1M shares |
| 1 year | -0.2% | -2M shares |
AMAT has 800M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $440M |
| Q2 2026 | $400M |
| Q1 2026 | $337M |
| Q4 2025 | $851M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.3B |
AMAT spent $2B buying back its own shares over the past year.
MS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -77M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -246M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -74M shares |
MS has the edge over AMAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
AMAT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
AMAT has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9x | High |
MS's net debt is about 7.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.4 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
AMAT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.8 | Oversold |
AMAT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
MS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.7 | Oversold |
MS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
AMAT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | AMAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 30x | 28x | 8.4% above |
| PE % | 85 | 35 | 50 pts above |
AMAT has the edge over MS on valuation relative to its sector.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS is trading at 15x earnings, a 15% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
AMAT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $427.8 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $477.9 | 20% below |
| 50 week MA | $418.0 | 8.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $298.5 | 28% above |
| 200 week MA | $232.1 | 64% above |
AMAT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 64% above its 200-week average.
MS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $186.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $203.3 | 6.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.9 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $129.3 | 46% above |
MS has the edge over AMAT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
AMAT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.2 | $85.3 | +39% |
| 2021 | $85.3 | $155.5 | +82% |
| 2022 | $155.5 | $97.2 | -37% |
| 2023 | $97.2 | $162.1 | +67% |
| 2024 | $162.1 | $166.8 | +2.9% |
| 2025 | $166.8 | $261.9 | +57% |
| 2026 YTD | $261.9 | $381.0 | +45% |
AMAT has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $51.1 | $68.1 | +33% |
| 2021 | $68.1 | $99.3 | +46% |
| 2022 | $99.3 | $86.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $86.1 | $93.3 | +8.3% |
| 2024 | $93.3 | $126.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $126.8 | $181.9 | +43% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.9 | $189.2 | +4% |
MS has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 4% so far in 2026.