MQ
Marqeta, Inc.
MQ offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has a slight edge over MQ overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
MQ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MQ's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MQ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 15x | $18.03 | — |
| Forward | 39x | $18.03 | — |
| Cheap | 57x | $71.08 | +294% |
| Fair | 153x | $190 | +953% |
| Expensive | 383x | $474 | +2531% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MQ has the edge over MSFT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
MQ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MQ, with profitability improving. 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.
MQ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.47 | -62% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.24 | +$1.56 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.11 | +$0.63 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.04 | -90% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.12 | -160% |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.32 | -500% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.52 | -$0.44 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.40 | +$1.84 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.20 | +$1.88 |
MQ has returned to profit: it earned $1.24 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 MQ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MQ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $176.2M | +7.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $176M | +17% |
| Q1 2026 | $165.8M | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $172.1M | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $163.3M | +28% |
| Q2 2025 | $150.4M | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $139.1M | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $135.8M | +14% |
MQ has the edge over MSFT on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.6% | +9.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1% | +8.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3% | +15 points |
| Q4 2025 | -4.8% | +23 points |
| Q3 2025 | -6.3% | +27 points |
| Q2 2025 | -6.1% | -90 points |
| Q1 2025 | -13% | +29 points |
| Q4 2024 | -28% | +20 points |
MQ's operating margin was 3.6% last quarter, up 9.9 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2020.
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 MQ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MQ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $26M | -70% |
| Q2 2026 | $63M | +416% |
| Q1 2026 | -$4.6M | -153% |
| Q4 2025 | $53.5M | +116% |
| Q3 2025 | $86.4M | +1118% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.2M | -51% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.7M | +$9.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $24.7M | +50% |
MQ 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.
MQ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -5.7% | -6.4M shares |
| 3 years | -20% | -26.6M shares |
| 5 years | +80% | +47.1M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -15.1M shares |
MQ has the edge over MSFT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $54.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $39.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $96.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $163.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $111.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $16.7M |
MQ spent $202M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 35% from the year before.
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 7.4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| 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.
MQ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -17.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -33.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -138.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -31.8x | Net Cash |
MQ has the edge over MSFT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
MQ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 71.8 | Neutral |
MQ's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 72 (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).
MQ PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MQ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 28x | 48% below |
| PE % | 0 | 43 | 43 pts below |
MQ has the edge over MSFT on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
MQ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $18.0 | 0.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $17.1 | 5.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $17.0 | 6.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $18.1 | 0.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $19.8 | 9% below |
MQ has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 9% 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 MQ on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MQ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $126.0 | $69.8 | -45% |
| 2022 | $69.8 | $24.0 | -66% |
| 2023 | $24.0 | $27.9 | +16% |
| 2024 | $27.9 | $14.6 | -48% |
| 2025 | $14.6 | $19.4 | +33% |
| 2026 YTD | $19.4 | $18.0 | -7.3% |
MQ has finished lower in three of the last five years. It's down 7.3% 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 MQ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.