MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over ST overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
ST
Sensata Technologies Holding plc
ST offers stronger valuation, 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.
ST Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
ST's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet are stable.
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.
ST PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 9.9x | $39.41 | — |
| Current | 16x | $39.41 | — |
| Cheap | 18x | $46.39 | +18% |
| Fair | 26x | $66.46 | +69% |
| Expensive | 77x | $194 | +393% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ST has the edge over MSFT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
MSFT has the edge over ST on the outlook, with more favorable revenue and profitability expectations.
ST Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect ST's earnings to grow, but its profitability to weaken.
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 ST on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ST Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.97 | +57% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.52 | +$2.71 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.62 | -18% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.33 | -60% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.21 | -75% |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.19 | +$0.33 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.76 | +1167% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.82 | +$0.91 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.85 | +$0.88 |
ST has returned to profit: it earned $2.52 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
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 ST 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 ST on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ST Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B | +7.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $990.6M | +5% |
| Q1 2026 | $934.8M | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $917.9M | +1.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $932M | -5.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $943.4M | -8.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $911.3M | -9.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $907.7M | -8.5% |
ST's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $1B last quarter, up 7.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | +31 points |
| Q2 2026 | 17% | +2.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 15% | +1.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | +2.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | -13% | +7.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +2.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | -1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.1% | +28 points |
ST's operating margin was 17% last quarter, up 31 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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.
ST Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $198.3M | +46% |
| Q2 2026 | $186.4M | +61% |
| Q1 2026 | $104.6M | +21% |
| Q4 2025 | $151.9M | +9.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $136.2M | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $115.5M | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $86.6M | +35% |
| Q4 2024 | $138.9M | +145% |
ST 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 ST 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.
ST Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +300K shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +1.3M shares |
| 3 years | -3.5% | -5.4M shares |
| 5 years | -7.8% | -12.5M shares |
| Available history | -9.2% | -15M shares |
ST has 147M diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $25.1M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $20.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $100.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $21.6M |
ST spent $25M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 82% 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 ST on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ST Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 4.4x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 4.9x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 6.0x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 6.0x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 5.6x | High |
ST's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.9 years 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).
ST Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 10.0 | Oversold |
ST's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 10 (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.
ST PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | ST | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 28x | 44% below |
| PE % | 5 | 35 | 30 pts below |
ST 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 ST on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ST Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $41.0 | 3.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $43.1 | 8.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $40.9 | 3.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $34.6 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $36.8 | 7.2% above |
ST has slipped below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, though it's still 7.2% 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.
ST Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $53.7 | $52.2 | -2.8% |
| 2021 | $52.2 | $59.8 | +15% |
| 2022 | $59.8 | $39.8 | -34% |
| 2023 | $39.8 | $37.6 | -5.5% |
| 2024 | $37.6 | $27.4 | -27% |
| 2025 | $27.4 | $33.6 | +23% |
| 2026 YTD | $33.6 | $39.4 | +17% |
ST has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.