ARM
Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares
ARM has the edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
ARM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
ARM's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
ARM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 167x | $147 | -27% |
| Fair | 224x | $197 | -1.4% |
| Current | 227x | $200 | — |
| Expensive | 361x | $317 | +59% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ARM has the edge over BABA in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA's PE is 21x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
ARM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for ARM, with profitability improving.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BABA, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
ARM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $0.88 | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.98 | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.85 | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.75 | -1.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.78 | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.75 | +159% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.76 | +850% |
| Q3 2024 | $0.60 | +233% |
ARM has the edge over BABA on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
BABA's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $4.42 over the past year, against $9.27 in mid-2025. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
ARM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +27% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.3B | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.2B | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +34% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.1B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | +34% |
| Q4 2024 | $983M | +19% |
ARM has the edge over BABA on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 14% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.1% | -3.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | -3.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | -2.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | +6.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | -8.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 33% | +31 points |
| Q4 2024 | 18% | +1.5 points |
ARM has the edge over BABA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA's revenue has grown year over year for 16 quarters in a row: $40.2B last quarter, up 8.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA's operating margin was 7.2% last quarter, down 6.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ARM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $135M | -69% |
| Q2 2026 | $705M | +296% |
| Q1 2026 | $186M | +1.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $186M | -48% |
| Q3 2025 | $429M | +$476M |
| Q2 2025 | $178M | +$497M |
| Q1 2025 | $184M | -72% |
| Q4 2024 | $360M | +25% |
ARM has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
ARM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +10M shares |
| 3 years | +5.2% | +53.7M shares |
ARM has 1.1B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
BABA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +11.1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +21.4M shares |
| 3 years | -6.2% | -161M shares |
| 5 years | -12% | -339M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -221M shares |
BABA has 2.4B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $269.8M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
BABA spent $270M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none the year before.
ARM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
ARM has more cash than debt.
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
ARM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.0 | Oversold |
ARM's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 11 (oversold).
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
ARM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | ARM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 227x | 28x | 715% above |
| PE % | 51 | 23 | 28 pts above |
ARM is trading at 227x earnings, a 715% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA has the edge over ARM on valuation relative to its sector.
ARM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $237.8 | 16% below |
| 20 week MA | $257.3 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $213.9 | 6.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $176.5 | 13% above |
ARM has stronger trend alignment. ARM is above 1 of 4 weekly averages versus BABA above 0 of 5.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
ARM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $60.8 | $75.2 | +24% |
| 2024 | $75.2 | $129.2 | +72% |
| 2025 | $129.2 | $110.3 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $110.3 | $199.8 | +81% |
ARM has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.