MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
MU has the edge over PANW overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
PANW
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
PANW 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.
PANW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PANW's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its profitability is stable.
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 has the edge over PANW in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PANW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 48x | $19.37 | -94% |
| Forward | 74x | $323 | — |
| Fair | 117x | $46.90 | -85% |
| Expensive | 344x | $138 | -57% |
| Current | 807x | $323 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PANW's PE is in its expensive range at 807x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 74x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
MU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Broad | |
| Moderate |
MU has the edge over PANW on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
PANW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PANW, but weaker profitability.
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 PANW on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PANW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.34 | +985% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.40 | -75% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.21 | -32% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.80 | +0.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.57 | -59% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.60 | -56% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.77 | -49% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.79 | -44% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.85 | +333% |
PANW's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.40 over the past year, against $3.85 in late 2024.
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 PANW 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 PANW on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PANW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.4B | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $3B | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.5B | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.5B | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.3B | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.3B | +14% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.1B | +14% |
PANW's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $3.4B last quarter, up 34% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5% | -15 points |
| Q2 2026 | -6.1% | -16 points |
| Q1 2026 | 15% | +4.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +8.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.6% | +0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | +7.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +1.9 points |
PANW's operating margin was 5% last quarter, down 15 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 PANW on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PANW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $788M | +41% |
| Q1 2026 | $384M | -25% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +15% |
| Q3 2025 | $934.5M | +101% |
| Q2 2025 | $560.4M | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $509.4M | -22% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | -1.6% |
PANW's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $4.1B over the past year, up 19% 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 PANW 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.
PANW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -4.6% | -37M shares |
| 1 year | +7.7% | +54.7M shares |
| 3 years | +12% | +79.4M shares |
| 5 years | +32% | +186M shares |
| Available history | +32% | +184M shares |
PANW has 764M diluted shares, up 7.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | $500M |
| Q1 2024 | — |
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 more cash than debt.
PANW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -2.2x | Net Cash |
PANW has the edge over MU on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
PANW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.8 | Oversold |
PANW's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (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 PANW on valuation relative to its sector.
PANW PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PANW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 807x | 28x | 2,795% above |
| PE % | 89 | 35 | 54 pts above |
PANW is trading at 807x earnings, a 2795% 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 pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 225% above its 200-week average.
PANW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $365.2 | 12% below |
| 20 week MA | $355.8 | 9.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $260.9 | 24% above |
| 100 week MA | $225.6 | 43% above |
| 200 week MA | $182.3 | 77% above |
PANW has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 77% above 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 PANW on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PANW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $38.9 | $61.2 | +57% |
| 2021 | $61.2 | $93.6 | +53% |
| 2022 | $93.6 | $70.6 | -25% |
| 2023 | $70.6 | $147.4 | +109% |
| 2024 | $147.4 | $186.2 | +26% |
| 2025 | $186.2 | $188.5 | +1.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $188.5 | $322.7 | +71% |
PANW has finished higher in five of the last six years, three of them by more than 50%. It's up 71% so far in 2026.