MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
MU has the edge over PAYC overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
PAYC
Paycom Software, Inc.
PAYC's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
MU's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
PAYC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
PAYC's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
PAYC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 17x | $249 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $216 | -13% |
| Current | 24x | $249 | — |
| Fair | 57x | $591 | +138% |
| Expensive | 127x | $1,325 | +433% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PAYC 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.
PAYC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PAYC, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 PAYC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PAYC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $14.94 | +43% |
| Q3 2026 | $10.43 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.40 | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.64 | +23% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.08 | -9.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.06 | -2.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.41 | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.03 | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.92 | +52% |
PAYC earned $10.43 per share over the past year, up 29% from the year before.
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 PAYC 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 PAYC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PAYC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $543.8M | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $531.2M | +9.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $571.9M | +7.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $544.3M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $493.3M | +9.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $483.6M | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $530.5M | +6.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $493.9M | +14% |
PAYC's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $544M last quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 36% | +13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 32% | +8.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 37% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 29% | -1.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +1.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 35% | -22 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +5.5 points |
PAYC's operating margin was 36% last quarter, up 13 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 generated $59B in free cash flow over the past year, more than ten times what it generated the year before.
PAYC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $163.8M | +105% |
| Q2 2026 | $190.1M | +213% |
| Q1 2026 | $182.6M | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $122.6M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $79.8M | +79% |
| Q2 2025 | $60.8M | -30% |
| Q1 2025 | $144.8M | +43% |
| Q4 2024 | $109M | +41% |
PAYC generated $659M in free cash flow over the past year, up 67% 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 1.1B diluted shares, up 1.6% from a year ago.
| 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.
PAYC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -3.1% | -1.4M shares |
| 1 year | -21% | -11.9M shares |
| 3 years | -23% | -13.5M shares |
| 5 years | -24% | -13.7M shares |
| Available history | -24% | -13.9M shares |
PAYC has the edge over MU on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $335.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B |
| Q4 2025 | $106.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $1,000 |
| Q3 2024 | $42M |
| Q4 2023 | $211.6M |
| Q4 2022 | — |
PAYC spent $1.5B 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 PAYC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
PAYC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
PAYC's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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).
PAYC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 73.3 | Neutral |
PAYC's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 73 (neutral).
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 PAYC on valuation relative to its sector.
PAYC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PAYC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 28x | 14% below |
| PE % | 20 | 35 | 15 pts below |
PAYC is trading at 24x earnings, a 14% discount 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.
PAYC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $243.8 | 2.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $213.2 | 17% above |
| 50 week MA | $167.3 | 49% above |
| 100 week MA | $191.7 | 30% above |
| 200 week MA | $209.8 | 19% above |
PAYC has the edge over MU on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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 PAYC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PAYC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $268.9 | $462.1 | +72% |
| 2021 | $462.1 | $423.8 | -8.3% |
| 2022 | $423.8 | $305.2 | -28% |
| 2023 | $305.2 | $206.7 | -32% |
| 2024 | $206.7 | $206.7 | 0% |
| 2025 | $206.7 | $160.4 | -22% |
| 2026 YTD | $160.4 | $248.8 | +55% |
PAYC is up 55% so far in 2026, after finishing lower in five of the previous six years.