MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over ONTO overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
ONTO
Onto Innovation Inc.
ONTO offers stronger modeled upside, 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.
ONTO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure |
ONTO's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet 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 has the edge over ONTO in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ONTO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 17x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 22x | $66.59 | -68% |
| Fair | 43x | $130 | -38% |
| Current | 69x | $210 | — |
| Expensive | 82x | $249 | +19% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ONTO's PE is in its expensive range at 69x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 17x next year's earnings, in its cheap 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.
ONTO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
ONTO 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 ONTO on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ONTO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.99 | +293% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.05 | -14% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.67 | -34% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.15 | -51% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.78 | -32% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.54 | -4.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.04 | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.42 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.06 | +65% |
ONTO's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.05 over the past year, against $4.49 in late 2022.
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 ONTO on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 ONTO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ONTO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $409.7M | +88% |
| Q2 2026 | $343.1M | +35% |
| Q1 2026 | $291.9M | +9.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $266.9M | +1.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $218.2M | -13% |
| Q2 2025 | $253.6M | +4.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.6M | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $263.9M | +21% |
ONTO's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $410M last quarter, up 88% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +12 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +5.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 5.2% | -11 points |
| Q3 2025 | 11% | -10 points |
| Q2 2025 | 13% | -7.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 16% | +3.2 points |
ONTO's operating margin was 23% last quarter, up 12 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.
ONTO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $77.2M | -5.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $57.9M | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $22.7M | -73% |
| Q4 2025 | $89.9M | +75% |
| Q3 2025 | $82M | +39% |
| Q2 2025 | $44.2M | -17% |
| Q1 2025 | $83.7M | +67% |
| Q4 2024 | $51.4M | -13% |
ONTO 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 the edge over ONTO 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.
ONTO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -426K shares |
| 1 year | +0.3% | +150K shares |
| 3 years | -0.3% | -145K shares |
| 5 years | -1% | -506K shares |
| Available history | +13% | +5.6M shares |
ONTO has 49M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $205M |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $75M |
| Q4 2024 | $25.1M |
ONTO spent $205M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 105% 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 ONTO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ONTO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
ONTO's net debt is about 3.6 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).
ONTO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.5 | Oversold |
ONTO's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
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 ONTO on valuation relative to its sector.
ONTO PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | ONTO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 69x | 28x | 147% above |
| PE % | 74 | 35 | 39 pts above |
ONTO is trading at 69x earnings, a 147% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
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 ONTO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ONTO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $239.2 | 12% below |
| 20 week MA | $268.5 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $246.0 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $187.8 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $169.1 | 24% above |
ONTO has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 24% 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.
ONTO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $36.3 | $48.0 | +32% |
| 2021 | $48.0 | $99.1 | +106% |
| 2022 | $99.1 | $67.9 | -32% |
| 2023 | $67.9 | $152.9 | +125% |
| 2024 | $152.9 | $170.7 | +12% |
| 2025 | $170.7 | $160.6 | -5.9% |
| 2026 YTD | $160.6 | $209.7 | +31% |
ONTO has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.