MAX
MediaAlpha, Inc.
MAX offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
TMUS
T-Mobile US, Inc.
TMUS has the edge over MAX overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
MAX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
MAX's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is under pressure.
TMUS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
TMUS's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
MAX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.1x | $14.77 | -0.3% |
| Current | 8.1x | $14.81 | — |
| Forward | 13x | $14.81 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $46.73 | +216% |
| Expensive | 64x | $116 | +685% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MAX's PE is 8.1x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
TMUS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 13x | $171 | — |
| Current | 16x | $171 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $218 | +27% |
| Fair | 26x | $274 | +60% |
| Expensive | 56x | $581 | +240% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
TMUS has the edge over MAX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MAX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MAX, with profitability holding steady.
TMUS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
TMUS has the edge over MAX on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and profitability expectations.
MAX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.17 | -36% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.82 | +$1.84 |
| Q2 2026 | $1.62 | +$1.73 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.64 | +121% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.39 | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.02 | -112% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.11 | +$0.18 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.29 | +$0.97 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.31 | +$1.20 |
MAX has the edge over TMUS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
TMUS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.49 | +30% |
| Q3 2026 | $10.37 | -0.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.56 | -9.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.41 | -8.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.72 | +0.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.39 | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.59 | +33% |
| Q1 2025 | $10.24 | +39% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.66 | +39% |
TMUS earned $10.37 per share over the past year, about the same as the year before.
MAX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $375.9M | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $316.9M | +26% |
| Q1 2026 | $310M | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $291.2M | -3.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $306.5M | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $251.6M | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $264.3M | +109% |
| Q4 2024 | $300.6M | +157% |
MAX's revenue is growing: $376M last quarter, up 23% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.7% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.3% | +14 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.2% | +7.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.7% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.4% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | -8% | -12 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.1% | +5.7 points |
MAX's operating margin was 7.7% last quarter, up 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
TMUS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $23.6B | +7.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $22.8B | +7.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $23.1B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $24.3B | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $22B | +8.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $21.1B | +6.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.9B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $21.9B | +6.8% |
TMUS's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $23.6B last quarter, up 7.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 24% | +3.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 24% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | -3.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | -5.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | -3.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 23% | +2.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +4 points |
TMUS has the edge over MAX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MAX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $21.5M | -8.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $41.8M | +64% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.6M | -107% |
| Q4 2025 | -$7.5M | -152% |
| Q3 2025 | $23.6M | +194% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.5M | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $23.6M | +1338% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.5M | +174% |
MAX still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2026 peak: $54M over the past year.
TMUS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.1B | +5.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.8B | +4.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.6B | +4.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.2B | +25% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.8B | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.6B | +32% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.4B | +79% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.3B | +2% |
TMUS generated $18.7B in free cash flow over the past year, up 8.8% from the year before.
MAX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +759K shares |
| 1 year | +11% | +6.2M shares |
| 3 years | +36% | +16.6M shares |
| 5 years | +2.7% | +1.6M shares |
MAX has 63M diluted shares, up 11% from a year ago, despite $64M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $20.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $20.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $14.4M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | $1.6M |
MAX spent $64M buying back its own shares over the past year.
TMUS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -10.8M shares |
| 1 year | -4.9% | -55M shares |
| 3 years | -8.8% | -103M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -182M shares |
| Available history | +24% | +207M shares |
TMUS has the edge over MAX on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $2.3B |
| Q1 2026 | $4.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $2.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B |
| Q1 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q4 2024 | $4.7B |
TMUS spent $12B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 1.7% from the year before.
MAX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 5.2x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.4x | Moderate |
MAX's net debt is about 1.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 5.2 years a year ago.
TMUS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 2.4x | Moderate |
TMUS has the edge over MAX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MAX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 85.1 | Overbought |
MAX's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 85 (overbought).
TMUS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 42.1 | Neutral |
TMUS's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 42 (neutral).
MAX PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | MAX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 8.1x | 16x | 51% below |
| PE % | 18 | 27 | 9 pts below |
MAX has the edge over TMUS on valuation relative to its sector.
TMUS PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | TMUS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 16x | Same PE |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
TMUS is trading at 16x earnings, in line with the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
MAX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $12.0 | 23% above |
| 20 week MA | $12.5 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $11.0 | 34% above |
| 100 week MA | $10.9 | 36% above |
| 200 week MA | $12.1 | 22% above |
MAX has the edge over TMUS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
TMUS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $159.1 | 7.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $172.0 | 0.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $187.8 | 8.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $212.9 | 20% below |
| 200 week MA | $188.7 | 9.4% below |
TMUS has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 9.4% below its 200-week average.
MAX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.8 | $45.0 | +33% |
| 2021 | $45.0 | $15.4 | -66% |
| 2022 | $15.4 | $9.97 | -35% |
| 2023 | $9.97 | $11.2 | +12% |
| 2024 | $11.2 | $11.1 | -0.1% |
| 2025 | $11.1 | $12.7 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $12.7 | $14.8 | +17% |
MAX has the edge over TMUS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
TMUS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $77.2 | $132.9 | +72% |
| 2021 | $132.9 | $119.9 | -9.8% |
| 2022 | $119.9 | $140.0 | +17% |
| 2023 | $140.0 | $160.3 | +15% |
| 2024 | $160.3 | $223.0 | +39% |
| 2025 | $223.0 | $201.0 | -9.9% |
| 2026 YTD | $201.0 | $171.0 | -15% |
TMUS has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 15% so far in 2026.