FORM
FormFactor, Inc.
FORM has the edge over MSFT overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
FORM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
FORM's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
FORM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 22x | $92.32 | — |
| Cheap | 28x | $60.70 | -34% |
| Fair | 41x | $90.72 | -1.7% |
| Current | 42x | $92.32 | — |
| Expensive | 80x | $176 | +90% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FORM's PE is in its fair range at 42x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 22x 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 FORM in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
FORM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
FORM 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.
FORM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.11 | +88% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.19 | +321% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.46 | +161% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.87 | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.69 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.52 | -70% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.56 | -64% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.69 | -47% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.89 | -15% |
FORM's earnings per share have jumped to their highest in seven years: $2.19 over the past year, up from $0.52 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 FORM on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FORM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $280.5M | +38% |
| Q2 2026 | $258.2M | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $226.1M | +32% |
| Q4 2025 | $215.2M | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $202.7M | -2.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $195.8M | -0.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $171.4M | +1.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $189.5M | +13% |
FORM's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $281M last quarter, up 38% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +20 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +16 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.4% | +5.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | +6.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.9% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6.3% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 1.9% | -11 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.1% | -44 points |
FORM's operating margin was 29% last quarter, up 20 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top 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 FORM 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 FORM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FORM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.6M | +232% |
| Q2 2026 | $52.2M | +$99.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $29.8M | +501% |
| Q4 2025 | $34.7M | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.5M | +9.5% |
| Q2 2025 | -$47.4M | -451% |
| Q1 2025 | $5M | -75% |
| Q4 2024 | $28.3M | +$28.9M |
FORM 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.
FORM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -160K shares |
| 1 year | +2.2% | +1.7M shares |
| 3 years | +1.3% | +1M shares |
| 5 years | +0.5% | +418K shares |
| Available history | +1.8% | +1.4M shares |
FORM has 79M diluted shares, up 2.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $1.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $22.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $16.1M |
FORM hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
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 FORM 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.
FORM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
FORM has the edge over MSFT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
FORM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.3 | Oversold |
FORM's weekly RSI is 44 (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).
FORM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | FORM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 42x | 28x | 51% above |
| PE % | 52 | 35 | 17 pts above |
FORM is trading at 42x earnings, a 51% 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 FORM on valuation relative to its sector.
FORM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $110.4 | 16% below |
| 20 week MA | $112.1 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $105.7 | 13% below |
| 100 week MA | $70.9 | 30% above |
| 200 week MA | $55.3 | 67% above |
FORM has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 67% 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 FORM on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
FORM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $26.0 | $42.6 | +64% |
| 2021 | $42.6 | $44.5 | +4.5% |
| 2022 | $44.5 | $21.5 | -52% |
| 2023 | $21.5 | $41.7 | +94% |
| 2024 | $41.7 | $45.9 | +10% |
| 2025 | $45.9 | $58.1 | +26% |
| 2026 YTD | $58.1 | $92.3 | +59% |
FORM 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.