MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over NTAP overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
NTAP
NetApp, Inc.
NTAP offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
NTAP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
NTAP's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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 NTAP in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
NTAP PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 13x | $90.96 | -51% |
| Forward | 18x | $186 | — |
| Fair | 19x | $133 | -29% |
| Expensive | 26x | $181 | -2.9% |
| Current | 26x | $186 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NTAP's PE is in its expensive range at 26x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
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.
NTAP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for NTAP, with profitability holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 NTAP on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
NTAP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $10.17 | +44% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.08 | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.35 | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.97 | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.74 | +5.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.65 | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.67 | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.39 | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.43 | +69% |
NTAP's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $7.08 over the past year, up 25% from the year before, and higher year over year for eight quarters in a row.
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 NTAP 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 NTAP on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NTAP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.8B | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.7B | +4.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +2.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | +1.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B | +3.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.6B | +2.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.7B | +6.1% |
NTAP's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $1.8B last quarter, up 17% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 27% | +6.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 27% | +7.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 25% | +3.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 23% | +2.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +1.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 20% | -1.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +1.3 points |
NTAP's operating margin was 27% last quarter, up 6.8 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's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $60B over the past year, down 23% from the year before.
NTAP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $401M | -35% |
| Q2 2026 | $900M | +41% |
| Q1 2026 | $271M | -20% |
| Q4 2025 | $78M | +30% |
| Q3 2025 | $620M | +107% |
| Q2 2025 | $640M | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $338M | -25% |
| Q4 2024 | $60M | -38% |
NTAP has the edge over MSFT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
NTAP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -3M shares |
| 3 years | -7.4% | -16M shares |
| 5 years | -13% | -29M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -36M shares |
NTAP has the edge over MSFT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $200M |
| Q2 2026 | $200M |
| Q1 2026 | $200M |
| Q4 2025 | $250M |
| Q3 2025 | $300M |
| Q2 2025 | $250M |
| Q1 2025 | $200M |
| Q4 2024 | $300M |
NTAP spent $850M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 19% from the year before.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT has the edge over NTAP on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NTAP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.3x | Very low |
NTAP's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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).
NTAP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 52.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 29.8 | Neutral |
NTAP's weekly RSI is 52 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 30 (neutral).
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.
NTAP PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | NTAP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 28x | 5.7% below |
| PE % | 86 | 35 | 51 pts above |
NTAP has the edge over MSFT on valuation relative to its sector.
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 NTAP on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NTAP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $204.8 | 9.1% below |
| 20 week MA | $191.5 | 2.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $146.4 | 27% above |
| 100 week MA | $127.0 | 46% above |
| 200 week MA | $110.0 | 69% above |
NTAP has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 69% 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.
NTAP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.4 | $65.8 | +7.1% |
| 2021 | $65.8 | $90.6 | +38% |
| 2022 | $90.6 | $59.0 | -35% |
| 2023 | $59.0 | $88.2 | +49% |
| 2024 | $88.2 | $117.0 | +33% |
| 2025 | $117.0 | $110.5 | -5.5% |
| 2026 YTD | $110.5 | $186.1 | +68% |
NTAP has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.