Apple Inc. (AAPL) vs Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

A side-by-side look at how these two compare on valuation, profitability and shareholder returns.

Apple vs Microsoft at a glance

Both companies operate in the Information Technology sector, so these figures are broadly like-for-like.

MetricAAPLMSFT
Market cap$4.71T$3.83T
Price$319.70$513.53
P/E ratio (TTM)33.5820.79
P/B ratio (MRQ)51.026.28
P/S ratio (TTM)9.048.38
Revenue growth (1Y)6.43%17.79%
Return on equity (TTM)151.91%30.23%
Return on invested capital (TTM)64.34%27.12%
Gross margin (TTM)48.65%67.94%
Net margin (TTM)27.62%40.31%
Dividend yield (TTM)0.34%0.71%

How they differ

Apple is the larger company at $4.71T versus $3.83T, making them close in size.

On trailing earnings, Microsoft is the cheaper of the two at 20.79 against 33.58 for Apple.

On sales, Microsoft is the cheaper of the two at 8.38 against 9.04 for Apple.

Microsoft leads on revenue growth over the past year, 17.79% against 6.43%.

Apple leads on return on invested capital, 64.34% against 27.12%.

Microsoft leads on gross margin, 67.94% against 48.65%.

Microsoft offers the higher yield at 0.71% against 0.34%.

Go deeper

Ratios describe the past. Whether either is worth owning depends on what you pay today.

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