APP
AppLovin Corporation
APP has the edge over META overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
META has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
APP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
APP's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
META Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
META's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
APP PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $394 | — |
| Current | 26x | $394 | — |
| Cheap | 42x | $618 | +57% |
| Fair | 66x | $978 | +148% |
| Expensive | 137x | $2,040 | +418% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
APP has the edge over META in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
META PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $624 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $613 | -1.7% |
| Current | 21x | $624 | — |
| Fair | 27x | $803 | +29% |
| Expensive | 32x | $934 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
META's PE is in its cheap range at 21x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
APP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
APP has the edge over META on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
META Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for META, but weaker profitability. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
APP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $19.62 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $14.86 | +81% |
| Q2 2026 | $13.01 | +85% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.64 | +110% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.75 | +115% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.23 | +151% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.03 | +202% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.53 | +233% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.53 | +362% |
APP has the edge over META on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
META Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $32.16 | +9.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $29.32 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $26.54 | -3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $27.50 | +7.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.49 | -1.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $22.58 | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $27.56 | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $25.58 | +47% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.86 | +60% |
META earned $29.32 per share over the past year, up 30% from the year before.
APP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.2B | +55% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | +53% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.4B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +40% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +44% |
APP has the edge over META on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 78% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 78% | +1.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 78% | +33 points |
| Q4 2025 | 77% | +33 points |
| Q3 2025 | 77% | +32 points |
| Q2 2025 | 76% | +40 points |
| Q1 2025 | 45% | +13 points |
| Q4 2024 | 44% | +16 points |
APP has the edge over META on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
META Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.6B | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.8B | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $56.3B | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $59.9B | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $51.2B | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $47.5B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $42.3B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.4B | +21% |
META's revenue has grown year over year for 15 quarters in a row: $64.6B last quarter, up 26% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | -20 points |
| Q2 2026 | 31% | -12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 41% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | -7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 40% | -2.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 43% | +5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 41% | +3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 48% | +7.4 points |
META's operating margin was 20% last quarter, down 20 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
APP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $869M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.3B | +55% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +91% |
| Q2 2025 | $772.2M | +70% |
| Q1 2025 | $831.7M | +112% |
| Q3 2024 | $550.7M | +177% |
| Q2 2024 | $454.5M | +101% |
APP has the edge over META on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
META Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.2B | -110% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.2B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.8B | +9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.2B | -32% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.1B | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.6B | +16% |
META usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$1.2B, but it generated $28.6B over the past year.
APP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -2.3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.8% | -6.2M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -22.1M shares |
| 5 years | -13% | -49.6M shares |
| Available history | +67% | +134M shares |
APP has the edge over META on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B |
| Q2 2026 | $551.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $981.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $417.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $501.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $271.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $1B |
| Q4 2024 | $625,000 |
APP spent $3.2B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 82% from the year before.
META Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +7M shares |
| 1 year | 0% | +1M shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -68M shares |
| 5 years | -10% | -286M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -303M shares |
META has 2.6B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $3.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $10.2B |
| Q1 2025 | $12.8B |
| Q4 2024 | — |
META hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
APP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.2x | Healthy |
APP has the edge over META on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
META Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
META's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
APP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 56.4 | Neutral |
APP's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 56 (neutral).
META Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.7 | Neutral |
META's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
APP PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | APP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 28x | 4.9% below |
| PE % | 7 | 42 | 35 pts below |
APP has the edge over META on valuation relative to its sector.
META PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | META | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 16x | 29% above |
| PE % | 18 | 26 | 8 pts below |
META is trading at 21x earnings, a 29% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
APP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $299.5 | 31% above |
| 20 week MA | $344.0 | 14% above |
| 50 week MA | $443.5 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $429.4 | 8.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $250.0 | 57% above |
APP has the edge over META on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
META Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $674.9 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $634.5 | 1.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.8 | 1.1% below |
| 100 week MA | $647.8 | 3.7% below |
| 200 week MA | $517.5 | 21% above |
META has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 21% above its 200-week average.
APP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $61.0 | $93.8 | +54% |
| 2022 | $93.8 | $9.84 | -90% |
| 2023 | $9.84 | $39.9 | +305% |
| 2024 | $39.9 | $335.2 | +741% |
| 2025 | $335.2 | $714.2 | +113% |
| 2026 YTD | $714.2 | $393.7 | -45% |
APP's yearly returns have swung widely, from +741% in 2024 to −90% in 2022. It's down 45% so far in 2026.
META Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $208.1 | $267.4 | +28% |
| 2021 | $267.4 | $335.2 | +25% |
| 2022 | $335.2 | $118.0 | -65% |
| 2023 | $118.0 | $354.0 | +200% |
| 2024 | $354.0 | $599.8 | +69% |
| 2025 | $599.8 | $663.3 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $663.3 | $623.6 | -6% |
META has the edge over APP on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.