MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
MU has the edge over PLAB overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
PLAB
Photronics, Inc.
PLAB'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.
PLAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PLAB's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its revenue 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'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.
PLAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 9.9x | $27.88 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $28.49 | +2.2% |
| Fair | 13x | $37.09 | +33% |
| Forward | 13x | $27.88 | — |
| Expensive | 22x | $62.33 | +124% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLAB 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 |
MU has the edge over PLAB on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and revenue expectations.
PLAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect PLAB's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
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 PLAB on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PLAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.09 | -26% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.83 | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.73 | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.34 | -0.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.28 | +9.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.76 | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.92 | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.35 | +5.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.09 | +3% |
PLAB earned $2.83 per share over the past year, up 61% 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 PLAB on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 PLAB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PLAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $216M | +2.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $209.9M | -0.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $225.1M | +6.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $215.8M | -3.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $210.4M | -0.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $211M | -2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $212.1M | -1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $222.6M | -2.1% |
PLAB's revenue grew through 2022 and has held roughly level since: $216M last quarter, up 2.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 21% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | -6.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 24% | -0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 26% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 25% | -2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 25% | -3.4 points |
PLAB's operating margin was 21% last quarter, down 1.8 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 PLAB on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PLAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $39.4M | +56% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2M | +$30.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $49.6M | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $20.3M | -19% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.2M | -50% |
| Q2 2025 | -$29.1M | -152% |
| Q1 2025 | $43.3M | +$45.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $25.2M | -54% |
PLAB still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $110M over the past year.
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.
PLAB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -27K shares |
| 1 year | +1.1% | +650K shares |
| 3 years | -5.3% | -3.3M shares |
| 5 years | -4.5% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -10.4M shares |
PLAB has the edge over MU on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $20.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $72.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
PLAB hasn't bought back shares in 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 more cash than debt.
PLAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
PLAB 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).
PLAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.9 | Oversold |
PLAB's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
MU PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 28x | 61% below |
| PE % | 18 | 35 | 17 pts below |
MU is trading at 11x earnings, a 61% discount to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
PLAB PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 9.9x | 28x | 65% below |
| PE % | 14 | 35 | 21 pts below |
PLAB has the edge over MU on valuation relative to its sector.
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 PLAB on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
PLAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $28.8 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $29.5 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $34.6 | 19% below |
| 100 week MA | $27.9 | 0.1% below |
| 200 week MA | $25.7 | 8.3% above |
PLAB has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 8.3% 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 PLAB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PLAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $15.8 | $11.0 | -30% |
| 2021 | $11.0 | $18.5 | +68% |
| 2022 | $18.5 | $16.4 | -11% |
| 2023 | $16.4 | $31.4 | +91% |
| 2024 | $31.4 | $23.9 | -24% |
| 2025 | $23.9 | $33.7 | +41% |
| 2026 YTD | $33.7 | $27.9 | -17% |
PLAB has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 17% so far in 2026.