MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over MXL overall, supported by stronger valuation.
MXL
MaxLinear, Inc.
MXL's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MXL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Stable |
MXL's revenue is currently strong, and its profitability and balance sheet are stable, but its cash flow is under pressure.
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.
MXL PE Valuation
MXL has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
MXL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MXL has the edge over MSFT on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
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 MXL on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
MXL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.06 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$0.37 | +$1.72 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.19 | +$1.28 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.52 | +$1.11 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.58 | +$1.35 |
| Q3 2025 | -$2.09 | +$0.65 |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.47 | -$0.14 |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.63 | -$0.72 |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.93 | -$2.02 |
MXL is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.37 per share over the past year, against $2.93 at its worst in late 2024.
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 MXL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MXL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $218.1M | +72% |
| Q2 2026 | $168.8M | +55% |
| Q1 2026 | $137.2M | +43% |
| Q4 2025 | $136.4M | +48% |
| Q3 2025 | $126.5M | +56% |
| Q2 2025 | $108.8M | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $95.9M | +0.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $92.2M | -26% |
MXL's revenue is recovering but still below its 2022 peak: $218M last quarter, up 72% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 14% | +47 points |
| Q2 2026 | -2.5% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | -13% | +36 points |
| Q4 2025 | -11% | +34 points |
| Q3 2025 | -33% | +50 points |
| Q2 2025 | -23% | +22 points |
| Q1 2025 | -48% | +30 points |
| Q4 2024 | -45% | -11 points |
MXL's operating margin was 14% last quarter, up 47 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 has the edge over MXL on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
MXL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$19.5M | -544% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.5M | -73% |
| Q1 2026 | -$10.3M | +$3.1M |
| Q4 2025 | $6.7M | +$36.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $4.4M | +$39.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $9.3M | +$15M |
| Q1 2025 | -$13.4M | -276% |
| Q4 2024 | -$30M | -$12.2M |
MXL's free cash flow was −$21M over the past year, against −$30M 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 the edge over MXL 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.
MXL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +381K shares |
| 1 year | +12% | +10.5M shares |
| 3 years | +20% | +16.5M shares |
| 5 years | +22% | +17.9M shares |
| Available history | +38% | +26.7M shares |
MXL has 98M diluted shares, up 12% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | $5.2M |
| Q1 2022 | $26.3M |
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT has the edge over MXL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MXL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2023 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2023 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2023 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2022 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | 0.2x | Very low |
MXL's net debt is about 2.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt a year ago.
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).
MXL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.3 | Oversold |
MXL's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
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.
MXL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MXL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
MXL has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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 MXL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MXL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $75.8 | 22% below |
| 20 week MA | $75.4 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $55.0 | 7.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $35.0 | 69% above |
| 200 week MA | $28.7 | 106% above |
MXL has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 106% above its 200-week average.
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.
MXL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.4 | $36.7 | +71% |
| 2021 | $36.7 | $74.1 | +102% |
| 2022 | $74.1 | $33.9 | -54% |
| 2023 | $33.9 | $23.8 | -30% |
| 2024 | $23.8 | $20.5 | -14% |
| 2025 | $20.5 | $17.7 | -14% |
| 2026 YTD | $17.7 | $59.0 | +233% |
MXL has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.