MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
PCTY
Paylocity Holding Corporation
PCTY has the edge over MSFT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
PCTY Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PCTY'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 PCTY in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PCTY PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $179 | — |
| Current | 35x | $179 | — |
| Cheap | 39x | $202 | +13% |
| Fair | 85x | $438 | +145% |
| Expensive | 150x | $770 | +330% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PCTY's PE is in its cheap range at 35x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
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.
PCTY Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
PCTY 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 PCTY on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
PCTY Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.45 | +84% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.13 | +28% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.92 | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.70 | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.26 | +9.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.00 | +2.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.02 | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.00 | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.89 | +32% |
PCTY's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $5.13 over the past year, up 28% from the year before, and higher year over year for 22 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 PCTY 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 PCTY on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PCTY Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $451.7M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $444.7M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $502.3M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $416.1M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $408.2M | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $400.7M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $454.5M | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $377M | +16% |
PCTY's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $452M last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | 0 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 31% | +3.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | +4.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -1.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | -2.9 points |
PCTY's operating margin was 18% last quarter, about level with 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.
PCTY Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $76.6M | -7.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $91.3M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $209.5M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.6M | +122% |
| Q3 2025 | $82.7M | -7.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $81.1M | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $183.7M | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $51.2M | -29% |
PCTY 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.
PCTY Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.9% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -3.8% | -2.1M shares |
| 3 years | -5.6% | -3.2M shares |
| 5 years | -4.9% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -3.8% | -2.1M shares |
PCTY has the edge over MSFT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $152.5M |
| Q2 2026 | $48.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $50M |
| Q4 2025 | $100M |
| Q3 2025 | $200M |
| Q2 2025 | $58.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $82.7M |
PCTY spent $351M buying back its own shares over the past year.
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).
PCTY Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
PCTY has the edge over MSFT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
PCTY Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.6 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 87.5 | Overbought |
PCTY's weekly RSI is 71 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 87 (overbought).
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 PCTY on valuation relative to its sector.
PCTY PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PCTY | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 35x | 28x | 25% above |
| PE % | 11 | 35 | 24 pts below |
PCTY is trading at 35x earnings, a 25% 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's trend is up, with a small recent dip: it's below only its 8-week average, and 27% above its 200-week average.
PCTY Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $163.5 | 9.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $148.9 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $131.5 | 36% above |
| 100 week MA | $156.3 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $165.9 | 7.9% above |
PCTY has the edge over MSFT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
PCTY Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $121.7 | $214.3 | +76% |
| 2021 | $214.3 | $239.4 | +12% |
| 2022 | $239.4 | $191.9 | -20% |
| 2023 | $191.9 | $164.9 | -14% |
| 2024 | $164.9 | $199.7 | +21% |
| 2025 | $199.7 | $153.7 | -23% |
| 2026 YTD | $153.7 | $178.9 | +16% |
PCTY has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.