MLAB
Mesa Laboratories, Inc.
MLAB offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has a slight edge over MLAB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
MLAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
MLAB's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MLAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $135 | — |
| Current | 118x | $135 | — |
| Cheap | 142x | $163 | +20% |
| Fair | 301x | $346 | +156% |
| Expensive | 570x | $656 | +385% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MLAB's PE is in its cheap range at 118x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings.
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 MLAB in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MLAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect MLAB's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
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.
MLAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.01 | +858% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.15 | +$1.46 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.85 | +$0.98 |
| Q1 2026 | $1.21 | +$1.57 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.65 | +$46.97 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.31 | +$45.31 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.13 | +$46.35 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.36 | +$46.84 |
| Q4 2024 | -$46.32 | -25833% |
MLAB has returned to profit: it earned $1.15 per share over the past year, after losing money 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 MLAB on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MLAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $62.3M | +2.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.1M | +1% |
| Q1 2026 | $63.7M | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $65.1M | +3.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $60.7M | +5% |
| Q2 2025 | $59.5M | +2.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $62.1M | +5.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $62.8M | +18% |
MLAB's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $62M last quarter, up 2.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | +5.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +6.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.3% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | +3.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.8% | +1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.2% | -4.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4% | +463 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.2% | +9.3 points |
MLAB's operating margin was 13% last quarter, up 5.7 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 has the edge over MLAB on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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 MLAB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MLAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7M | -48% |
| Q2 2026 | $14.2M | +1504% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.5M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $18M | +2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.1M | +105% |
| Q2 2025 | $884K | -91% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.9M | -3.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $17.6M | +69% |
MLAB 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.
MLAB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +3K shares |
| 1 year | +4.1% | +225K shares |
| 3 years | +6.9% | +373K shares |
| 5 years | +7.8% | +416K shares |
| Available history | +32% | +1.4M shares |
MLAB has 6M diluted shares, up 4.1% from a year ago.
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 MLAB 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.
MLAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2023 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
MLAB's net debt is about 1.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.2 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 MLAB on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MLAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 72.9 | Neutral |
MLAB's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 73 (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).
MLAB PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MLAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 118x | 28x | 322% above |
| PE % | 12 | 35 | 23 pts below |
MLAB is trading at 118x earnings, a 322% 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 MLAB on valuation relative to its sector.
MLAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $129.6 | 4.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $118.6 | 14% above |
| 50 week MA | $102.2 | 32% above |
| 100 week MA | $101.9 | 33% above |
| 200 week MA | $112.8 | 20% above |
MLAB has the edge over MSFT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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's trend is up, with a small recent dip: it's below only its 8-week average, and 27% above its 200-week average.
MLAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $247.3 | $284.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $284.8 | $328.9 | +15% |
| 2022 | $328.9 | $162.8 | -50% |
| 2023 | $162.8 | $104.8 | -36% |
| 2024 | $104.8 | $133.1 | +27% |
| 2025 | $133.1 | $80.5 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $80.5 | $135.2 | +68% |
MLAB 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.