How Does Apple Stock Stack Up Against Its Peers?
Apple‘s stock has delivered moderate returns over the past year, but how does its premium valuation truly stack up against peers accelerating in the AI and cloud innovation race? A closer look reveals robust profitability and strong free cash flow, yet its revenue growth lags many tech giants. Maintaining a dominant ecosystem, its higher PE ratio and modest growth present limited upside compared to faster-scaling rivals like Microsoft and Google.
- AAPL’s 31.9% operating margin is robust but trails MSFT’s 46.3%, reflecting software/cloud’s superior profitability over premium hardware.
- AAPL’s 6.0% revenue growth is moderate, lagging cloud-driven MSFT, GOOGL, AMZN, and AI server leader DELL, contrasting its mature hardware.
- AAPL’s 12.7% gain and 38.2 PE show steady appeal, yet GOOGL delivered stronger returns, boosted by market’s focus on its AI leadership.
Here’s how Apple stacks up across size, valuation, and profitability versus key peers.
| AAPL | MSFT | GOOGL | AMZN | DELL | HPQ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap ($ Bil) | 4,147.2 | 3,556.9 | 3,738.1 | 2,406.0 | 95.1 | 25.6 |
| Revenue ($ Bil) | 408.6 | 293.8 | 385.5 | 670.0 | 104.1 | 55.3 |
| PE Ratio | 38.2 | 36.7 | 23.6 | 33.1 | 18.3 | 10.1 |
| LTM Revenue Growth | 6.0% | 15.6% | 13.4% | 10.9% | 10.8% | 3.2% |
| LTM Operating Margin | 31.9% | 46.3% | 32.2% | 11.4% | 6.7% | 6.6% |
| LTM FCF Margin | 23.5% | 26.6% | 19.1% | 2.0% | 4.3% | 5.1% |
| 12M Market Return | 12.7% | 7.2% | 61.8% | -1.2% | 11.0% | -26.1% |
For more details on Apple, read Buy or Sell AAPL Stock. Below we compare AAPL’s growth, margin, and valuation with peers across years
Revenue Growth Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | 6.0% | – | 2.0% | -2.8% | 7.8% |
| MSFT | 15.6% | 14.9% | 15.7% | 6.9% | |
| GOOGL | 13.4% | – | 13.9% | 8.7% | 9.8% |
| AMZN | 10.9% | – | 11.0% | 11.8% | 9.4% |
| DELL | 10.8% | 8.1% | -13.6% | 1.1% | |
| HPQ | 3.2% | 3.2% | -0.3% | -14.6% |
Operating Margin Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | 31.9% | – | 31.5% | 29.8% | 30.3% |
| MSFT | 46.3% | 45.6% | 44.6% | 41.8% | |
| GOOGL | 32.2% | – | 32.1% | 27.4% | 26.5% |
| AMZN | 11.4% | – | 10.8% | 6.4% | 2.4% |
| DELL | 6.7% | 6.5% | 6.1% | 5.6% | |
| HPQ | 6.6% | 6.6% | 7.8% | 7.9% |
PE Ratio Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | 38.2 | – | 41.0 | 31.3 | 21.1 |
| MSFT | 36.7 | 30.8 | 31.7 | 24.7 | |
| GOOGL | 23.6 | – | 23.3 | 23.9 | 19.2 |
| AMZN | 33.1 | – | 38.8 | 51.5 | -314.4 |
| DELL | 18.3 | 17.7 | 16.3 | 12.1 | |
| HPQ | 10.1 | 12.2 | 10.6 | 8.2 |
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