MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
MU has the edge over NOVT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
NOVT
Novanta Inc.
NOVT trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
MU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
MU's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
NOVT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
NOVT's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
MU PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 4.6x | $798 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $777 | -2.7% |
| Current | 11x | $798 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $1,646 | +106% |
| Expensive | 32x | $2,404 | +201% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MU's PE is in its cheap range at 11x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 4.6x next year's earnings.
NOVT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 72x | $94.82 | -19% |
| Fair | 86x | $113 | -3.6% |
| Current | 89x | $117 | — |
| Expensive | 106x | $140 | +19% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NOVT has the edge over MU in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Broad | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MU, with profitability improving.
NOVT Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for NOVT to show an outlook.
MU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $174.95 | +135% |
| Q3 2026 | $74.33 | +879% |
| Q2 2026 | $44.17 | +693% |
| Q1 2026 | $21.18 | +405% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.52 | +201% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.59 | +984% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.57 | +$6.99 |
| Q1 2025 | $4.19 | +$7.64 |
| Q4 2024 | $3.49 | +$9.77 |
MU has the edge over NOVT on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NOVT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.32 | -9.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.57 | -7.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.39 | -29% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.47 | -17% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.46 | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.69 | -1.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.95 | +1.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.77 | -12% |
NOVT's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.32 over the past year, against $2.13 in mid-2023.
MU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54.2B | +379% |
| Q2 2026 | $41.5B | +346% |
| Q1 2026 | $23.9B | +196% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.6B | +57% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +46% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.3B | +37% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.1B | +38% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.7B | +84% |
MU has the edge over NOVT on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 81% | +48 points |
| Q2 2026 | 80% | +57 points |
| Q1 2026 | 68% | +46 points |
| Q4 2025 | 45% | +20 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +13 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | +19 points |
| Q4 2024 | 25% | +49 points |
MU has the edge over NOVT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NOVT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $305M | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $265.8M | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $257.7M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $258.3M | +8.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $247.8M | +1.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $241M | +2.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $233.4M | +1.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $238.1M | +13% |
NOVT's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $305M last quarter, up 23% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.6% | -4.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.8% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -3.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.6% | -1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.8% | -4.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6.2% | -4.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | +1 points |
NOVT's operating margin was 4.6% last quarter, down 4.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
MU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $32.9B | +45543% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.6B | +951% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.5B | +$5.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | +7853% |
| Q3 2025 | $72M | -75% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B | +322% |
| Q1 2025 | -$113M | +$52M |
| Q4 2024 | $38M | +$433M |
MU has the edge over NOVT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NOVT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $30.4M | +621% |
| Q2 2026 | $57.5M | +392% |
| Q1 2026 | $47.5M | +73% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.1M | -91% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.2M | -78% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.7M | -68% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.4M | +3.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $59.3M | +81% |
NOVT's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $140M over the past year, up 37% from the year before.
MU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | +1.6% | +18M shares |
| 3 years | +4.6% | +50M shares |
| 5 years | +0.2% | +2M shares |
| Available history | +1.2% | +14M shares |
MU has the edge over NOVT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $350M |
| Q4 2025 | $300M |
| Q3 2024 | $300M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
MU has spent almost nothing on buybacks in the past year.
NOVT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.8% | +1.5M shares |
| 1 year | +19% | +6.7M shares |
| 3 years | +19% | +6.7M shares |
| 5 years | +19% | +6.9M shares |
| Available history | +20% | +7.2M shares |
NOVT has 43M diluted shares, up 19% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $18.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $19.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $14.1M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $6.2M |
| Q4 2022 | — |
NOVT spent $38M buying back its own shares over the past year.
MU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
MU has the edge over NOVT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NOVT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.3x | High |
| Q2 2026 | -3.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.8x | Healthy |
NOVT's net debt is about 4.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.3 years a year ago.
MU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.9 | Neutral |
MU's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
NOVT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 39.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.1 | Oversold |
NOVT's weekly RSI is 39 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 18 (oversold).
MU PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 28x | 61% below |
| PE % | 18 | 35 | 17 pts below |
MU has the edge over NOVT on valuation relative to its sector.
NOVT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | NOVT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 89x | 28x | 219% above |
| PE % | 55 | 35 | 20 pts above |
NOVT is trading at 89x earnings, a 219% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
MU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $914.5 | 13% below |
| 20 week MA | $931.0 | 14% below |
| 50 week MA | $685.9 | 16% above |
| 100 week MA | $405.4 | 97% above |
| 200 week MA | $246.0 | 225% above |
MU has the edge over NOVT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NOVT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $137.8 | 15% below |
| 20 week MA | $145.1 | 19% below |
| 50 week MA | $138.9 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $132.3 | 11% below |
| 200 week MA | $147.5 | 20% below |
NOVT is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 20% below its 200-week average.
MU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $54.0 | $70.6 | +31% |
| 2021 | $70.6 | $94.4 | +34% |
| 2022 | $94.4 | $50.2 | -47% |
| 2023 | $50.2 | $85.3 | +70% |
| 2024 | $85.3 | $88.6 | +3.9% |
| 2025 | $88.6 | $284.8 | +221% |
| 2026 YTD | $284.8 | $798.4 | +180% |
MU has the edge over NOVT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NOVT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $89.8 | $120.8 | +34% |
| 2021 | $120.8 | $173.1 | +43% |
| 2022 | $173.1 | $137.9 | -20% |
| 2023 | $137.9 | $168.4 | +22% |
| 2024 | $168.4 | $154.7 | -8.1% |
| 2025 | $154.7 | $122.7 | -21% |
| 2026 YTD | $122.7 | $117.4 | -4.3% |
NOVT has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 4.3% so far in 2026.