ARM
Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares
ARM's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over ARM overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
ARM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
ARM's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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's PE is in its fair range at 227x.
MSFT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 25x | $523 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $525 | +0.4% |
| Current | 27x | $523 | — |
| Fair | 34x | $652 | +25% |
| Expensive | 37x | $711 | +36% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSFT has the edge over ARM in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ARM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
ARM has the edge over MSFT on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MSFT, with profitability holding steady.
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 earned $0.88 per share over the past year, up 13% from the year before.
MSFT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $20.79 | +8.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.15 | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.95 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.80 | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $15.99 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.06 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.64 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.93 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.41 | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over ARM on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 MSFT 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's operating margin was 14% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
MSFT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92.3B | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $90B | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $82.9B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $81.3B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $77.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $76.4B | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $70.1B | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $69.6B | +12% |
MSFT's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $92.3B last quarter, up 19% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 50% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 45% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 47% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 49% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 45% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 46% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 45% | +1.9 points |
MSFT has the edge over ARM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 MSFT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MSFT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.6B | -27% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.6B | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.8B | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.9B | -9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.7B | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.6B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.3B | -3.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.5B | -29% |
MSFT's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $60B over the past year, down 23% from the year before.
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 | — |
MSFT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -7M shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -20M shares |
| 3 years | -0.2% | -16M shares |
| 5 years | -1.6% | -121M shares |
| Available history | -3.2% | -245M shares |
MSFT has the edge over ARM on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q1 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $7.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.8B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
MSFT spent $21B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 5.2% from the year before.
ARM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
ARM has more cash than debt.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT'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).
MSFT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 68.0 | Neutral |
MSFT's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 68 (neutral).
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.
MSFT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MSFT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 2% below |
| PE % | 16 | 35 | 19 pts below |
MSFT 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 |
MSFT has stronger trend alignment. ARM is above 1 of 4 weekly averages versus MSFT above 4 of 5.
MSFT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $524.7 | 0.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $484.8 | 7.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $446.9 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $453.8 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $411.5 | 27% above |
MSFT's trend is up, with a small recent dip: it's below only its 8-week average, and 27% above 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 MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MSFT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $159.0 | $222.8 | +40% |
| 2021 | $222.8 | $334.7 | +50% |
| 2022 | $334.7 | $238.7 | -29% |
| 2023 | $238.7 | $376.0 | +58% |
| 2024 | $376.0 | $430.5 | +14% |
| 2025 | $430.5 | $487.7 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $487.7 | $523.0 | +7.2% |
MSFT has finished higher in five of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's up 7.2% so far in 2026.