STX
Seagate Technology Holdings plc
STX has the edge over VZ overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
STX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
STX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
STX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.9x | $188 | -65% |
| Forward | 12x | $545 | — |
| Fair | 17x | $318 | -42% |
| Current | 29x | $545 | — |
| Expensive | 43x | $823 | +51% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
STX's PE is in its expensive range at 29x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ has the edge over STX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
STX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
STX has the edge over VZ on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
STX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $46.99 | +147% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.06 | +145% |
| Q2 2026 | $13.90 | +105% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.54 | +51% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.84 | +60% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.79 | +101% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.77 | +328% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.96 | +$8.26 |
| Q4 2024 | $5.51 | +$9.02 |
STX has the edge over VZ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.93 over the past year, against $5.34 in late 2021.
STX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.2B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.6B | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.1B | +44% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.8B | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.6B | +21% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.4B | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.2B | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +50% |
STX has the edge over VZ on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 49% | +22 points |
| Q2 2026 | 43% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 32% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 30% | +8.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | +7.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +6.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +11 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +13 points |
STX has the edge over VZ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ's revenue has held roughly level: $34.3B last quarter, up 1.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ's operating margin was 25% last quarter, up 1.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
STX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.5B | +246% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | +163% |
| Q1 2026 | $953M | +341% |
| Q4 2025 | $607M | +305% |
| Q3 2025 | $427M | +1481% |
| Q2 2025 | $425M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $216M | +69% |
| Q4 2024 | $150M | +52% |
STX has the edge over VZ on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $39B over the past year, up 1.5% from the year before.
STX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.3% | +3M shares |
| 1 year | +2.7% | +6M shares |
| 3 years | +12% | +24M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +1M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -33M shares |
STX has 232M diluted shares, up 2.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $400M |
| Q2 2026 | $117M |
| Q1 2026 | $30M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $29M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
STX spent $547M buying back its own shares over the past year.
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over STX on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
STX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.8x | Moderate |
STX has the edge over VZ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 years a year ago.
STX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 8.3 | Oversold |
STX's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
STX PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | STX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 28x | 2.7% above |
| PE % | 75 | 35 | 40 pts above |
STX is trading at 29x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ has the edge over STX on valuation relative to its sector.
STX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $683.6 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $785.0 | 31% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.7 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $387.3 | 41% above |
| 200 week MA | $234.4 | 133% above |
STX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 133% above its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ has the edge over STX on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
STX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $59.6 | $63.0 | +5.7% |
| 2021 | $63.0 | $111.4 | +77% |
| 2022 | $111.4 | $50.5 | -55% |
| 2023 | $50.5 | $85.4 | +69% |
| 2024 | $85.4 | $87.4 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $286.2 | +228% |
| 2026 YTD | $286.2 | $545.1 | +90% |
STX has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.