Microsoft (MSFT) Competitors

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

Do analysts prefer AAPL or MSFT?

Apple currently has a consensus target price of $204.11, indicating a potential upside of 11.30%. Microsoft has a consensus target price of $452.61, indicating a potential upside of 11.30%. Given Microsoft's higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Apple is more favorable than Microsoft.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	21 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Microsoft	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	32 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94

Which has higher valuation & earnings, AAPL or MSFT?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than Microsoft. Apple is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Microsoft, 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	$383.29B	7.39	$97.00B	$6.43	28.52
Microsoft	$211.92B	14.26	$72.36B	$11.55	35.21

Does the media favor AAPL or MSFT?

In the previous week, Apple had 75 more articles in the media than Microsoft. MarketBeat recorded 231 mentions for Apple and 156 mentions for Microsoft. Apple's average media sentiment score of 0.60 beat Microsoft's score of 0.55 indicating that Microsoft is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	99 Very Positive mention(s)	28 Positive mention(s)	51 Neutral mention(s)	32 Negative mention(s)	5 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Microsoft	70 Very Positive mention(s)	21 Positive mention(s)	33 Neutral mention(s)	17 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, AAPL or MSFT?

Apple has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Microsoft has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in AAPL or MSFT?

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

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer AAPL or MSFT?

Apple received 4086 more outperform votes than Microsoft when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 82.24% of users gave Apple an outperform vote while only 72.55% of users gave Microsoft an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Apple	Outperform Votes 7245 82.24%	Underperform Votes 1565 17.76%
Microsoft	Outperform Votes 3159 72.55%	Underperform Votes 1195 27.45%

Is AAPL or MSFT more profitable?

Microsoft has a net margin of 36.43% compared to Microsoft's net margin of 26.31%. Microsoft's return on equity of 153.25% beat Apple's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	26.31%	153.25%	28.93%
Microsoft	36.43%	37.54%	19.02%

Is AAPL or MSFT a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Microsoft pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Apple pays out 14.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Microsoft pays out 26.0% 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 raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Microsoft has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Microsoft is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

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