Microsoft (MSFT) Competitors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, media sentiment, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts recommend AAPL or MSFT?

Apple currently has a consensus price target of $235.25, indicating a potential upside of 2.73%. Microsoft has a consensus price target of $503.03, indicating a potential upside of 21.07%. Given Microsoft's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Microsoft is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	22 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.61
Microsoft	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	27 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93

Is AAPL or MSFT a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Microsoft pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Apple pays out 16.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Microsoft pays out 27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Apple has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Microsoft has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years. Microsoft is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to AAPL or MSFT?

In the previous week, Microsoft had 11 more articles in the media than Apple. MarketBeat recorded 220 mentions for Microsoft and 209 mentions for Apple. Apple's average media sentiment score of 1.11 beat Microsoft's score of 1.00 indicating that Apple is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	148 Very Positive mention(s)	19 Positive mention(s)	21 Neutral mention(s)	17 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Microsoft	142 Very Positive mention(s)	16 Positive mention(s)	43 Neutral mention(s)	18 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AAPL or MSFT more profitable?

Microsoft has a net margin of 35.61% compared to Apple's net margin of 23.97%. Apple's return on equity of 152.94% beat Microsoft's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	23.97%	152.94%	29.98%
Microsoft	35.61%	34.56%	18.19%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AAPL or MSFT?

60.4% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.1% of Microsoft shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Microsoft shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer AAPL or MSFT?

Apple received 4115 more outperform votes than Microsoft when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 82.11% of users gave Apple an outperform vote while only 72.75% of users gave Microsoft an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Apple	Outperform Votes 7314 82.11%	Underperform Votes 1594 17.89%
Microsoft	Outperform Votes 3199 72.75%	Underperform Votes 1198 27.25%

Which has more volatility & risk, AAPL or MSFT?

Apple has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Microsoft has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AAPL or MSFT?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than Microsoft. Microsoft is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apple, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apple	$391.04B	8.85	$93.74B	$6.08	37.66
Microsoft	$254.19B	12.15	$88.14B	$12.12	34.28

Summary

Apple beats Microsoft on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.