LPL
LG Display Co., Ltd.
LPL trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over LPL overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
LPL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure |
LPL's revenue is currently stable, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are under pressure.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
LPL PE Valuation
LPL 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.
LPL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Decline | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect LPL's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, but its revenue to decline. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
LPL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.43 | -$0.18 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.01 | -$0.51 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.06 | +$1.54 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.17 | +$2.34 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.25 | +$1.18 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.50 | +$1.36 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.60 | +$0.63 |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.17 | +$0.77 |
LPL is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.43 per share over the past year, against $3.80 at its worst in mid-2023.
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 LPL on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LPL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.7B | -9.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.2B | +0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.1B | -8.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.4B | -8.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.2B | +2% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.2B | -17% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.5B | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.9B | +5.9% |
LPL's revenue has slid since its 2021 peak: $4.7B last quarter, down 9.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4% | -2.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | -1.9% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 2.6% | +2.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3% | +1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.2% | +7.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | -2.1% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.6% | +9.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1% | -0.7 points |
LPL's operating margin was 4% last quarter, down 2.2 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 LPL 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 LPL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LPL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $517.7M | +$963.9M |
| Q1 2026 | -$547M | -432% |
| Q4 2025 | $582.1K | -100% |
| Q3 2025 | $173.9M | +78% |
| Q2 2025 | -$446.2M | -242% |
| Q1 2025 | $164.8M | +$1.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $873M | +$1B |
| Q3 2024 | $97.5M | -70% |
LPL 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.
LPL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | 0% | -- |
| 3 years | +28% | +221M shares |
| 5 years | +25% | +202M shares |
| Available history | +40% | +284M shares |
LPL has 1B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
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 LPL 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.
LPL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q3 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
LPL's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.1 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 LPL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LPL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 6.2 | Oversold |
LPL's weekly RSI is 35 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 6 (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).
LPL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | LPL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
LPL 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.
LPL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $2.74 | 6.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $3.08 | 17% below |
| 50 week MA | $3.87 | 34% below |
| 100 week MA | $3.80 | 32% below |
| 200 week MA | $4.27 | 40% below |
LPL is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 40% 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 LPL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LPL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7.02 | $8.05 | +15% |
| 2021 | $8.05 | $9.64 | +20% |
| 2022 | $9.64 | $4.94 | -49% |
| 2023 | $4.94 | $4.82 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | $4.82 | $3.18 | -34% |
| 2025 | $3.18 | $4.22 | +33% |
| 2026 YTD | $4.22 | $2.57 | -39% |
LPL has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 39% 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 LPL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.