FLEX
Flex Ltd.
FLEX offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over FLEX overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
FLEX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
FLEX's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is under pressure.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
FLEX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $31.01 | -60% |
| Forward | 13x | $78.12 | — |
| Fair | 16x | $43.16 | -45% |
| Current | 28x | $78.12 | — |
| Expensive | 29x | $81.26 | +4% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FLEX's PE is in its expensive range at 28x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 13x 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 FLEX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
FLEX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
FLEX 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.
FLEX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.25 | +126% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.77 | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.59 | +14% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.33 | +9.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.23 | -10% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.26 | 0% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.28 | +2.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.12 | -7.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.48 | +47% |
FLEX earned $2.77 per share over the past year, up 23% 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 FLEX on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FLEX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $8.5B | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.9B | +21% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.5B | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.1B | +7.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.8B | +4% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.6B | +4.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.4B | +3.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.6B | -7.7% |
FLEX's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $8.5B last quarter, up 25% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.9% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.9% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 5.5% | +0.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.3% | -0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.7% | +1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.8% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 5.1% | +0.2 points |
FLEX's operating margin was 4.9% last quarter, up 0.5 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 FLEX 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 FLEX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FLEX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $260M | -14% |
| Q2 2026 | $40M | -85% |
| Q1 2026 | $211M | -34% |
| Q4 2025 | $272M | -9.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $303M | +40% |
| Q2 2025 | $266M | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $321M | -46% |
| Q4 2024 | $301M | +95% |
FLEX 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.
FLEX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -1.6% | -6M shares |
| 3 years | -17% | -74M shares |
| 5 years | -23% | -113M shares |
| Available history | -27% | -136M shares |
FLEX has the edge over MSFT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $200M |
| Q4 2025 | $200M |
| Q3 2025 | $297M |
| Q2 2025 | $247M |
| Q1 2025 | $299M |
| Q4 2024 | $201M |
FLEX spent $400M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 62% from 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 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.
FLEX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2019 | 1.9x | Healthy |
FLEX's net debt is about a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT has the edge over FLEX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
FLEX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 39.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.8 | Oversold |
FLEX's weekly RSI is 39 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (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).
FLEX PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | FLEX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 28x | 1.2% above |
| PE % | 80 | 35 | 45 pts above |
FLEX is trading at 28x earnings, in line with 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 FLEX on valuation relative to its sector.
FLEX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $94.1 | 17% below |
| 20 week MA | $109.0 | 28% below |
| 50 week MA | $96.6 | 19% below |
| 100 week MA | $71.6 | 9.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $49.6 | 57% above |
FLEX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 57% above 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 FLEX on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
FLEX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $12.7 | $18.2 | +43% |
| 2021 | $18.2 | $17.8 | -2.1% |
| 2022 | $17.8 | $21.5 | +21% |
| 2023 | $21.5 | $22.2 | +3.2% |
| 2024 | $22.2 | $39.1 | +77% |
| 2025 | $39.1 | $63.3 | +62% |
| 2026 YTD | $63.3 | $78.1 | +23% |
FLEX 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.