BDC
Belden Inc.
BDC trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over BDC overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
BDC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
BDC's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
BDC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 11x | $102 | — |
| Cheap | 15x | $65.72 | -36% |
| Fair | 21x | $94.82 | -7.2% |
| Current | 23x | $102 | — |
| Expensive | 28x | $123 | +21% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BDC's PE is in its fair range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 11x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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 BDC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
BDC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for BDC, but weaker profitability.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
MSFT has the edge over BDC on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
BDC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.58 | +115% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.45 | -21% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.15 | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.94 | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.91 | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.62 | +31% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.51 | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.17 | +1.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.80 | -15% |
BDC's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $4.45 over the past year, against $6.67 in mid-2023.
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 BDC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BDC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $966M | +38% |
| Q2 2026 | $750.2M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $696.4M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $720.1M | +8.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $698.2M | +6.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $672M | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $624.9M | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $666M | +21% |
BDC's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $966M last quarter, up 38% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7% | -9.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +1.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | +1.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 11% | -0.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 12% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +1.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 10% | +2.4 points |
BDC's operating margin was 1.7% last quarter, down 9.2 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
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 has the edge over BDC on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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 BDC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BDC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $81.8M | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $88.6M | +56% |
| Q1 2026 | -$63.1M | -$38.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $121.3M | +4.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $65.3M | -2.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $56.9M | -6.7% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24.8M | -$3.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $116.4M | +11% |
BDC 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.
BDC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -203K shares |
| 1 year | -2.6% | -1.1M shares |
| 3 years | -8.3% | -3.5M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -6.3M shares |
| Available history | -7.9% | -3.3M shares |
BDC has the edge over MSFT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
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 7.4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| 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.
BDC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.0x | Healthy |
BDC's net debt is about 5.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.3 years a year ago.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT has the edge over BDC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BDC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.0 | Oversold |
BDC's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 15 (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).
BDC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | BDC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 28x | 18% below |
| PE % | 61 | 35 | 26 pts above |
BDC has the edge over MSFT on valuation relative to its sector.
MSFT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MSFT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 2% below |
| PE % | 16 | 35 | 19 pts below |
MSFT is trading at 27x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x.
BDC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $105.9 | 3.4% below |
| 20 week MA | $113.0 | 9.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $117.6 | 13% below |
| 100 week MA | $115.8 | 12% below |
| 200 week MA | $103.4 | 1.1% below |
BDC is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 1.1% below its 200-week average.
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 has the edge over BDC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BDC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $55.5 | $41.6 | -25% |
| 2021 | $41.6 | $63.7 | +53% |
| 2022 | $63.7 | $73.2 | +15% |
| 2023 | $73.2 | $77.3 | +5.5% |
| 2024 | $77.3 | $113.5 | +47% |
| 2025 | $113.5 | $118.4 | +4.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $118.4 | $102.2 | -14% |
BDC has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 14% so far in 2026.
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 the edge over BDC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.