MKSI
MKS Inc.
MKSI has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
PLTR
Palantir Technologies Inc.
PLTR has the edge over MKSI overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
MKSI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
MKSI's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
PLTR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PLTR's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
MKSI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $222 | — |
| Cheap | 15x | $125 | -44% |
| Current | 26x | $222 | — |
| Fair | 29x | $245 | +11% |
| Expensive | 50x | $422 | +90% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MKSI's PE is in its fair range at 26x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
PLTR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 75x | $172 | — |
| Current | 120x | $172 | — |
| Cheap | 165x | $236 | +37% |
| Fair | 251x | $359 | +109% |
| Expensive | 452x | $646 | +277% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLTR has the edge over MKSI in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MKSI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MKSI, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
PLTR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for PLTR, with profitability improving.
MKSI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $19.24 | +128% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.43 | +104% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.27 | +59% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.78 | +42% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.37 | +56% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.13 | +798% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.95 | +3192% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.36 | +$30.04 |
| Q4 2024 | $2.81 | +$30.35 |
MKSI's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $8.43 over the past year, up 104% from the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
PLTR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.30 | +61% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.43 | +240% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.17 | +290% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.89 | +287% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.63 | +232% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.42 | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.30 | +76% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.23 | +92% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.19 | +111% |
PLTR's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $1.43 over the past year, about three times what it earned the year before, and higher year over year every quarter since late 2021.
MKSI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +43% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $988M | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $973M | +9.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $936M | +7.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $934M | +4.7% |
MKSI's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $1.4B last quarter, up 43% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +9.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | +6.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | +2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | -0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +12 points |
MKSI's operating margin was 23% last quarter, up 9.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PLTR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.3B | +96% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | +93% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +85% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B | +70% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +63% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | +48% |
| Q1 2025 | $883.9M | +39% |
| Q4 2024 | $827.5M | +36% |
PLTR has the edge over MKSI on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 47% | +14 points |
| Q2 2026 | 47% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +26 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | +40 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +18 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +11 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +7.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3% | -9.5 points |
PLTR has the edge over MKSI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MKSI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $243M | +66% |
| Q2 2026 | $189M | +39% |
| Q1 2026 | $28M | -77% |
| Q4 2025 | $92M | -26% |
| Q3 2025 | $146M | +3.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $136M | +43% |
| Q1 2025 | $123M | +151% |
| Q4 2024 | $125M | -15% |
MKSI generated $552M in free cash flow over the past year, up 4.2% from the year before.
PLTR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +139% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +126% |
| Q1 2026 | $891.8M | +193% |
| Q4 2025 | $764M | +67% |
| Q3 2025 | $500.9M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $531.6M | +276% |
| Q1 2025 | $304.1M | +140% |
| Q4 2024 | $457.2M | +54% |
PLTR has the edge over MKSI on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MKSI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -200K shares |
| 1 year | +7.2% | +4.9M shares |
| 3 years | +8% | +5.4M shares |
| 5 years | +30% | +16.8M shares |
| Available history | +32% | +17.4M shares |
MKSI has 73M diluted shares, up 7.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $45M |
MKSI hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
PLTR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +5.2M shares |
| 1 year | +0.1% | +2.9M shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +248M shares |
| 5 years | +31% | +610M shares |
| Available history | +184% | +1.7B shares |
PLTR has the edge over MKSI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $18.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $18M |
| Q4 2024 | $18.6M |
| Q3 2024 | $18.9M |
| Q2 2024 | $17.7M |
| Q1 2024 | $9M |
MKSI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 4.4x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 4.5x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 4.6x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 4.8x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.9x | High |
MKSI's net debt is about 2.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.5 years a year ago.
PLTR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
PLTR has the edge over MKSI on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MKSI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 17.0 | Oversold |
MKSI's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 17 (oversold).
PLTR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.4 | Neutral |
PLTR's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (neutral).
MKSI PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MKSI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 28x | 5.7% below |
| PE % | 41 | 35 | 6 pts above |
MKSI has the edge over PLTR on valuation relative to its sector.
PLTR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLTR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 120x | 28x | 331% above |
| PE % | 1 | 38 | 37 pts below |
PLTR is trading at 120x earnings, a 331% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
MKSI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $229.0 | 3.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $272.4 | 19% below |
| 50 week MA | $260.8 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $182.8 | 21% above |
| 200 week MA | $143.8 | 54% above |
MKSI has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 54% above its 200-week average.
PLTR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $185.8 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $167.6 | 2.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $157.1 | 9.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $143.8 | 19% above |
| 200 week MA | $83.3 | 106% above |
PLTR has the edge over MKSI on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MKSI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $110.4 | $149.9 | +36% |
| 2021 | $149.9 | $169.2 | +13% |
| 2022 | $169.2 | $83.7 | -51% |
| 2023 | $83.7 | $102.9 | +23% |
| 2024 | $102.9 | $106.2 | +3.2% |
| 2025 | $106.2 | $164.2 | +55% |
| 2026 YTD | $164.2 | $221.5 | +35% |
MKSI has the edge over PLTR on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PLTR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.20 | $27.8 | +202% |
| 2021 | $27.8 | $18.9 | -32% |
| 2022 | $18.9 | $6.29 | -67% |
| 2023 | $6.29 | $17.2 | +173% |
| 2024 | $17.2 | $79.1 | +361% |
| 2025 | $79.1 | $188.7 | +139% |
| 2026 YTD | $188.7 | $171.6 | -9.1% |
PLTR's yearly returns have swung widely, from +361% in 2024 to −67% in 2022. It's down 9.1% so far in 2026.