LITE
Lumentum Holdings Inc.
LITE has a slight edge over MSFT overall, supported by stronger fundamentals.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
LITE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
LITE'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.
LITE PE Valuation
LITE 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.
LITE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
LITE 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.
LITE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $29.10 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$89.47 | -5589% |
| Q2 2026 | -$92.96 | -25224% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.54 | +$12.02 |
| Q4 2025 | $3.40 | +$11.12 |
| Q3 2025 | $1.63 | +$9.94 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.37 | +$8.49 |
| Q1 2025 | -$6.48 | -$1.22 |
| Q4 2024 | -$7.72 | -$3.77 |
LITE has swung to a loss: it lost $89.47 per share over the past year, after a profit 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 LITE on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LITE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +137% |
| Q2 2026 | $1B | +109% |
| Q1 2026 | $808.4M | +90% |
| Q4 2025 | $665.5M | +65% |
| Q3 2025 | $533.8M | +58% |
| Q2 2025 | $480.7M | +56% |
| Q1 2025 | $425.2M | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $402.2M | +9.7% |
LITE has the edge over MSFT on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +27 points |
| Q2 2026 | 28% | +30 points |
| Q1 2026 | 22% | +31 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.7% | +23 points |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3% | +26 points |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8% | +42 points |
| Q1 2025 | -8.9% | +22 points |
| Q4 2024 | -13% | +16 points |
LITE's operating margin was 29% last quarter, up 27 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's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $92.3B last quarter, up 19% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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 LITE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LITE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $37.9M | +$56.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $196.2M | +1843% |
| Q1 2026 | $79.1M | +$143.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $43.1M | +$59M |
| Q3 2025 | -$18.3M | +$16.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $10.1M | -7.3% |
| Q1 2025 | -$64.4M | -$37.8M |
| Q4 2024 | -$15.9M | +$16.6M |
LITE 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.
LITE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +5.7% | +5.5M shares |
| 1 year | +46% | +32.1M shares |
| 3 years | +49% | +33.4M shares |
| 5 years | +31% | +24.2M shares |
| Available history | +30% | +23.7M shares |
LITE has 102M diluted shares, up 46% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | $139.8M |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | $35.8M |
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 LITE 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.
LITE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 7.9x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 21.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 22.7x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 27.9x | High |
| Q3 2023 | -34.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -7.2x | Net Cash |
LITE's net debt is about 1.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from more than 20 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 LITE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LITE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 22.8 | Neutral |
LITE's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 23 (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).
LITE PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | LITE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
LITE 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.
LITE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $839.3 | 26% below |
| 20 week MA | $838.6 | 26% below |
| 50 week MA | $732.7 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $422.7 | 48% above |
| 200 week MA | $237.9 | 163% above |
LITE has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 163% 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 LITE on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LITE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $79.0 | $98.3 | +24% |
| 2021 | $98.3 | $104.5 | +6.3% |
| 2022 | $104.5 | $50.6 | -52% |
| 2023 | $50.6 | $52.4 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | $52.4 | $84.4 | +61% |
| 2025 | $84.4 | $390.8 | +363% |
| 2026 YTD | $390.8 | $624.7 | +60% |
LITE 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.