MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over VECO overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
VECO
Veeco Instruments Inc.
VECO 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.
VECO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
VECO's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is 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 has the edge over VECO in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
VECO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 15x | $40.33 | — |
| Cheap | 18x | $7.36 | -82% |
| Fair | 29x | $11.70 | -71% |
| Expensive | 86x | $34.57 | -14% |
| Current | 101x | $40.33 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VECO's PE is in its expensive range at 101x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 15x 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.
VECO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
VECO 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 VECO on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VECO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.75 | +587% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.40 | -51% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.36 | -64% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.38 | -64% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.59 | -52% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.82 | -43% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.01 | -33% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.06 | +$1.42 |
| Q4 2024 | $1.23 | +$1.79 |
VECO's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.40 over the past year, against $2.71 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 VECO 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 VECO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
VECO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $209.4M | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $193.5M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $158.3M | -5.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $165M | -9.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $165.9M | -10% |
| Q2 2025 | $166.1M | -5.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $167.3M | -4.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $182.1M | +4.7% |
VECO's revenue has picked up after three years of holding roughly level: $209M last quarter, up 26% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.7% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.1% | -1.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | -1.7% | -10 points |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8% | -3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.4% | -6.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.5% | -2.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.5% | -4.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.1% | -12 points |
VECO's operating margin was 6.7% 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.
VECO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $53.6M | +314% |
| Q2 2026 | $47.7M | +776% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.8M | -79% |
| Q4 2025 | $21.7M | -6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $13M | -4.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.4M | -1% |
| Q1 2025 | $13.2M | +293% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.2M | +24% |
VECO 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 VECO 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.
VECO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -628K shares |
| 1 year | +8.5% | +5.2M shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +6.5M shares |
| 5 years | +23% | +12.2M shares |
| Available history | +39% | +18.7M shares |
VECO has 66M diluted shares, up 8.5% from a year ago.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT has the edge over VECO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
VECO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
VECO'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).
VECO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.7 | Oversold |
VECO's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (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 VECO on valuation relative to its sector.
VECO PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | VECO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 101x | 28x | 262% above |
| PE % | 84 | 35 | 49 pts above |
VECO is trading at 101x earnings, a 262% 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 VECO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
VECO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $48.0 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $44.7 | 9.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $34.3 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $32.1 | 26% above |
VECO has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 26% 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.
VECO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $14.8 | $19.0 | +28% |
| 2021 | $19.0 | $26.9 | +41% |
| 2022 | $26.9 | $18.4 | -32% |
| 2023 | $18.4 | $31.0 | +69% |
| 2024 | $31.0 | $27.6 | -11% |
| 2025 | $27.6 | $29.3 | +6.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $29.3 | $40.3 | +38% |
VECO has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.