CRNC
Cerence Inc.
CRNC offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over CRNC overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
CRNC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CRNC's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
CRNC PE Valuation
CRNC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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's PE is in its cheap range at 27x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x next year's earnings.
CRNC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Decline | |
| Decline | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect CRNC's earnings and revenue to decline, though with profitability holding steady.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
MSFT has the edge over CRNC on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and revenue expectations.
CRNC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.82 | — |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.31 | +$0.35 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.40 | +$7.70 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.02 | +$15.24 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.43 | +$13.69 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.66 | +$13.26 |
| Q1 2025 | -$8.10 | -$1.27 |
| Q4 2024 | -$15.22 | -$14.40 |
| Q3 2024 | -$14.12 | -$12.72 |
CRNC is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.31 per share over the past year, against $15.22 at its worst in late 2024.
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 CRNC on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
CRNC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $69.6M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $64.2M | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $115.1M | +126% |
| Q3 2025 | $60.6M | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $62.2M | -12% |
| Q1 2025 | $78M | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $50.9M | -63% |
| Q3 2024 | $54.8M | -32% |
CRNC's revenue is recovering but still below its 2023 peak: $70M last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 2.7% | +4.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | -3.8% | -26 points |
| Q4 2025 | 25% | +59 points |
| Q3 2025 | -2.9% | +32 points |
| Q2 2025 | -1.5% | +502 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | +412 points |
| Q4 2024 | -33% | -76 points |
| Q3 2024 | -35% | -40 points |
CRNC's operating margin was 2.7% last quarter, up 4.2 points from 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 has the edge over CRNC on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 CRNC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CRNC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $19.6M | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.6M | +3.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $35.6M | +352% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.7M | +109% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.1M | +33% |
| Q1 2025 | $13.1M | +$13.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $7.9M | +$11.6M |
| Q3 2024 | $4.7M | -52% |
CRNC 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.
CRNC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.8% | +845K shares |
| 1 year | +10% | +4.5M shares |
| 3 years | +18% | +7.4M shares |
| 5 years | +21% | +8.4M shares |
| Available history | +31% | +11.4M shares |
CRNC has 48M diluted shares, up 10% from a year ago, despite $8M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $52,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $13,000 |
| Q4 2025 | $7.5M |
| Q3 2025 | $180,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $29,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $802,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4M |
| Q3 2024 | $8,000 |
CRNC spent $8M buying back its own shares over the past year, about four times what it spent the year before.
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 CRNC 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.
CRNC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2019 | 0.0x | Very low |
CRNC 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).
CRNC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 31.1 | Neutral |
CRNC's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 31 (neutral).
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).
CRNC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CRNC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
CRNC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
CRNC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $8.27 | 1.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $8.62 | 5.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $9.28 | 12% below |
| 100 week MA | $9.87 | 17% below |
| 200 week MA | $12.9 | 37% below |
CRNC is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 37% 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 CRNC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
CRNC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.0 | $105.1 | +401% |
| 2021 | $105.1 | $78.9 | -25% |
| 2022 | $78.9 | $18.6 | -76% |
| 2023 | $18.6 | $19.7 | +5.9% |
| 2024 | $19.7 | $8.49 | -57% |
| 2025 | $8.49 | $11.1 | +30% |
| 2026 YTD | $11.1 | $8.16 | -26% |
CRNC's yearly returns have swung widely, from +401% in 2020 to −76% in 2022. It's down 26% 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 CRNC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.