MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
MU has the edge over PCTY overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
PCTY
Paylocity Holding Corporation
PCTY'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.
PCTY Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PCTY'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.
PCTY PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $179 | — |
| Current | 35x | $179 | — |
| Cheap | 39x | $202 | +13% |
| Fair | 85x | $438 | +145% |
| Expensive | 150x | $770 | +330% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PCTY 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.
PCTY Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PCTY, with profitability improving.
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's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $74.33 over the past year, about 10 times what it earned the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
PCTY Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.45 | +84% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.13 | +28% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.92 | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.70 | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.26 | +9.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.00 | +2.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.02 | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.00 | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.89 | +32% |
PCTY's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $5.13 over the past year, up 28% from the year before, and higher year over year for 22 quarters in a row.
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 PCTY 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 PCTY on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PCTY Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $451.7M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $444.7M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $502.3M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $416.1M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $408.2M | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $400.7M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $454.5M | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $377M | +16% |
PCTY's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $452M last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | 0 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 31% | +3.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | +4.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -1.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | -2.9 points |
PCTY's operating margin was 18% last quarter, about level with 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 PCTY on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PCTY Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $76.6M | -7.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $91.3M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $209.5M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.6M | +122% |
| Q3 2025 | $82.7M | -7.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $81.1M | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $183.7M | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $51.2M | -29% |
PCTY generated $491M in free cash flow over the past year, up 23% 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.
PCTY Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.9% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -3.8% | -2.1M shares |
| 3 years | -5.6% | -3.2M shares |
| 5 years | -4.9% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -3.8% | -2.1M shares |
PCTY has the edge over MU on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $152.5M |
| Q2 2026 | $48.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $50M |
| Q4 2025 | $100M |
| Q3 2025 | $200M |
| Q2 2025 | $58.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $82.7M |
PCTY spent $351M 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 PCTY on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
PCTY Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
PCTY has more cash than debt.
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).
PCTY Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.6 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 87.5 | Overbought |
PCTY's weekly RSI is 71 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 87 (overbought).
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 PCTY on valuation relative to its sector.
PCTY PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PCTY | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 35x | 28x | 25% above |
| PE % | 11 | 35 | 24 pts below |
PCTY is trading at 35x earnings, a 25% 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.
PCTY Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $163.5 | 9.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $148.9 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $131.5 | 36% above |
| 100 week MA | $156.3 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $165.9 | 7.9% above |
PCTY 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 PCTY on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PCTY Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $121.7 | $214.3 | +76% |
| 2021 | $214.3 | $239.4 | +12% |
| 2022 | $239.4 | $191.9 | -20% |
| 2023 | $191.9 | $164.9 | -14% |
| 2024 | $164.9 | $199.7 | +21% |
| 2025 | $199.7 | $153.7 | -23% |
| 2026 YTD | $153.7 | $178.9 | +16% |
PCTY has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 16% so far in 2026.