KN
Knowles Corporation
KN offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over KN overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
KN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Unavailable | |
| Strong |
KN's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy. There isn't enough data to rate its cash flow.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
KN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 19x | $15.29 | -55% |
| Forward | 21x | $33.99 | — |
| Fair | 35x | $28.13 | -17% |
| Current | 42x | $33.99 | — |
| Expensive | 68x | $55.04 | +62% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KN's PE is in its fair range at 42x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 21x 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 KN in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
KN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
KN 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.
KN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.63 | +102% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.81 | +65% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.76 | +153% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.63 | +$3.32 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.50 | +$3.14 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.49 | +$2.83 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.30 | +$2.47 |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.69 | -406% |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.64 | -434% |
KN's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.81 over the past year, against $1.65 in early 2022.
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 KN on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
KN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $184M | +20% |
| Q2 2026 | $166.8M | +14% |
| Q1 2026 | $153.1M | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $162.2M | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $152.9M | +7.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $145.9M | -29% |
| Q1 2025 | $132.2M | -33% |
| Q4 2024 | $142.5M | -34% |
KN's revenue is recovering but still below its 2020 peak: $184M last quarter, up 20% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | -0.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | +4.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 10% | +7.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 16% | +5.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 17% | +3.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 10% | +125 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | +4.5 points |
KN's operating margin was 17% 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 has the edge over KN 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 KN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
KN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $37.3M | +74% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.7M | -31% |
| Q1 2026 | -$11.5M | -$8.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $21.4M | -56% |
| Q2 2025 | $31.3M | +44% |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.7M | -119% |
| Q3 2024 | $49.1M | +36% |
| Q2 2024 | $21.7M | +$25.2M |
KN still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2024 peak: $69M over the past year.
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.
KN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -200K shares |
| 1 year | +0.5% | +400K shares |
| 3 years | -4% | -3.7M shares |
| 5 years | -6.8% | -6.4M shares |
| Available history | -6.1% | -5.7M shares |
KN has 88M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $25M |
| Q2 2026 | $15M |
| Q1 2026 | $7.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $10M |
| Q3 2025 | $20M |
| Q2 2025 | $30M |
| Q1 2025 | $5M |
| Q4 2024 | $24.2M |
KN spent $58M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 27% 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 the edge over KN 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.
KN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2024 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2023 | 2.4x | Moderate |
KN's net debt is less than 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 KN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
KN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 20.7 | Neutral |
KN's weekly RSI is 49 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 21 (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).
KN PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | KN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 42x | 28x | 51% above |
| PE % | 53 | 35 | 18 pts above |
KN 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 KN on valuation relative to its sector.
KN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $34.9 | 2.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $35.8 | 4.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $31.6 | 7.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $25.4 | 34% above |
| 200 week MA | $21.1 | 61% above |
KN has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 61% 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 KN on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
KN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $20.9 | $18.0 | -14% |
| 2021 | $18.0 | $22.7 | +26% |
| 2022 | $22.7 | $16.3 | -28% |
| 2023 | $16.3 | $17.9 | +10% |
| 2024 | $17.9 | $20.0 | +12% |
| 2025 | $20.0 | $21.9 | +9.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $21.9 | $34.0 | +55% |
KN 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.