AAPL vs MSFT vs IRDM Stock Comparison

Apple, Microsoft and Iridium Communications Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AAPL Apple Inc.
$347.73 +3.2% 1M +34.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.04T
P/E
39.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$466.82B
Div. yield
–
Smartphones and Wearables Technology
4 wins
MSFT Microsoft Corp
$524.51 +4.8% 1M +0.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.96T
P/E
29.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$331.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Cloud Platforms Technology
5 wins
IRDM Iridium Communications Inc.
$44.40 -8.1% 1M +144.1% 1Y
Market cap
$4.78B
P/E
29.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$902.97M
Div. yield
0.01%
Satellite Communications Communication Services
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Microsoft leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Microsoft 5, Apple 4, Iridium Communications 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAAPLMSFTIRDMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.04T $3.96T $4.78B AAPL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.1x 29.6x 29.3x IRDM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 37.7x 25.7x 48.3x MSFT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +17.8% +3.6% MSFT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 27.6% 40.3% 18.1% MSFT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 66.9% 26.7% 5.1% AAPL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x -0.2x 5.1x MSFT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% IRDM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.0% +0.8% +144.1% IRDM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +18.5%/yr +11.2%/yr +1.8%/yr AAPL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.2% 32.7% 58.9% AAPL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 79/100 45/100 MSFT

Percentile Scorecard

AAPLMSFTIRDM

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAAPLMSFTIRDM
Valuation 23 #86 of 112 54 #18 of 38 27 #36 of 49
Growth 65 #39 of 109 77 #9 of 36 73 #13 of 46
Profitability 95 #6 of 105 97 #2 of 34 64 #17 of 46
Financial Health 33 #79 of 117 84 #7 of 38 31 #35 of 50
Shareholder Returns 53 #39 of 82 81 #5 of 22 31 #25 of 36
Overall 54 79 45
  • AAPL ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • MSFT ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • IRDM ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAAPLMSFTIRDMSPY
1 month +3.2%+4.8%-8.1% -1.0%
3 months +4.4%+37.4%-3.0% +2.9%
6 months +28.3%+23.5%+14.0% +6.4%
Year to date +27.9%+8.5%+155.5% +11.4%
1 year +34.0%+0.8%+144.1% +13.1%
3 years +100.5%+58.7%+17.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +26.1%+16.7%+5.5% +21.5%
5 years +133.9%+69.7%+9.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +18.5%+11.2%+1.8% +10.9%
10 years +1,092.9%+779.2%+420.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +28.1%+24.3%+17.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAAPLMSFTIRDMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.2%32.7%58.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.9%30.9%44.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.571.001.36 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.400.022.45 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.4%-37.6%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.1%-3.5%-20.3% -2.5%
52-week high $348.22$543.45$55.72 $779.14
52-week low $246.63$352.83$15.84 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAAPLMSFTIRDM
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 31.3x 29.1xmedian 29.1x 29.2xmedian 11.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 2.6x 11.7xmedian 4.5x 5.2xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.4xmedian 19.6x 19.4xmedian 21.5x 17.0xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.2xmedian 28.3x 58.2xmedian 17.3x 17.0xmedian 5.6x
P/B now vs peer median 47.2xmedian 2.9x 8.8xmedian 3.9x 8.2xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.95median 1.15 1.28median 0.33 0.25median 0.24

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAAPLMSFTIRDM
Revenue $466.82B $331.84B $902.97M
Gross profit $227.12B $225.47B $645.23M
Operating income $154.86B $155.24B $171.59M
Net income $128.93B $133.75B $163.03M
Free cash flow $136.68B $66.99B $277.57M
R&D $42.90B $35.56B $21.63M
EPS (diluted) $8.76 $17.95 $1.50
Cash & equivalents $39.54B $20.94B $97.85M
Total debt $84.34B $164.03B $7.47B
Shares (diluted) 14.71B 7.45B 108.93M
Enterprise value $4.79T $3.88T $4.29B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAAPLMSFTIRDM
P/E 39.5x 29.1x 29.2x
P/FCF 37.2x 58.2x 17.0x
P/Operating cash flow 34.6x 21.3x 12.1x
P/S 10.9x 11.7x 5.2x
P/B 47.2x 8.8x 8.2x
P/Tangible book 61.9x 9.2x 21.9x
EV/EBITDA 30.4x 19.4x 17.0x
EV/EBIT 32.9x 24.9x 39.4x
EV/Revenue 10.9x 11.6x 7.5x
EV/FCF 37.3x 57.6x 24.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 34.8x 21.1x 17.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.95 1.28 0.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAAPLMSFTIRDM
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 17.8% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 16.1% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.1% 16.3% 3.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 15.6% 4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.9% 20.8% -26.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.3% 20.6% 46.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 29.9% 31.3% 29.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.8% 22.7% 107.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.9% 31.6% 26.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.4% 22.8% 115.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 35.1% 34.4% -1.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 27.8% 7.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 42.1% -6.5% -9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 4.0% 5.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAAPLMSFTIRDM
Gross margin 48.7% 67.9% 71.5%
EBITDA margin 36.0% 59.9% 43.9%
Operating margin 33.2% 46.8% 19.0%
Pretax margin 33.4% 50.0% 9.3%
Net margin 27.6% 40.3% 18.1%
FCF margin 29.3% 20.2% 30.7%
Operating cash flow margin 31.4% 55.1% 43.2%
Return on equity 120.5% 31.2% 11.8%
Return on assets 34.2% 18.4% 2.2%
Return on invested capital 66.9% 26.7% 5.1%
Return on capital employed 68.0% 27.8% 6.9%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.4x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.9% 3.7% 6.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAAPLMSFTIRDM
Debt / assets 22.0% 5.3% 69.4%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.1x 3.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x -0.2x 5.1x
Debt / FCF 0.6x 0.6x 7.7x
Liabilities / assets 71.9% 41.7% 81.3%
Equity / assets 28.1% 58.3% 18.7%
Interest coverage – 50.9x –
Current ratio 1.0x 1.2x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 13.65 9.18 1.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAAPLMSFTIRDM
Dividend yield 0.3% 0.7% 1.4%
Net buyback yield 1.6% 0.5% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 1.2% 1.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 19.8% 39.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 39.5% 23.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.8% 3.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 10.1% 10.0%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAAPLMSFTIRDM
Forward P/E 37.7xFY2026 25.7xFY2027 48.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.22FY2026 $20.38FY2027 $0.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.6%FY2026 +17.9%FY2027 -13.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.0% +11.5% +56.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $464.03BFY2026 $402.02BFY2027 $979.23MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.5%FY2026 +21.1%FY2027 +12.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.2% +12.7% +1.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAAPLMSFTIRDM
Held by institutions 66.0% 73.9% 85.3%
Institutions holding 6,126 6,227 479
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.6% +3.3% +2.2%
Institutions buying 2,797 3,432 305
Institutions selling 2,926 2,425 124
Buyers to sellers 0.96 1.42 2.46

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AAPLMSFTIRDM
AAPL 1.00 0.11 -0.05
MSFT 0.11 1.00 0.07
IRDM -0.05 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AAPL, MSFT and IRDM?

Apple (AAPL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Apple (AAPL) $5.04T, Microsoft (MSFT) $3.96T, Iridium Communications (IRDM) $4.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, AAPL, MSFT and IRDM?

Iridium Communications (IRDM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Apple (AAPL) 39.1x, Microsoft (MSFT) 29.6x, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 29.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Microsoft (MSFT) is cheapest (Apple (AAPL) 37.7x, Microsoft (MSFT) 25.7x, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 48.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Microsoft (MSFT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Apple (AAPL) +14.2%, Microsoft (MSFT) +17.8%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) +3.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Microsoft (MSFT) has the highest net margin (Apple (AAPL) 27.6%, Microsoft (MSFT) 40.3%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 18.1%). On return on invested capital, Apple (AAPL) leads (Apple (AAPL) 66.9%, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.7%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Iridium Communications (IRDM) returned the most: Apple (AAPL) +34.0%, Microsoft (MSFT) +0.8%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) +144.1%. Over five years, Apple (AAPL) compounded fastest (Apple (AAPL) +18.5%/yr, Microsoft (MSFT) +11.2%/yr, Iridium Communications (IRDM) +1.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Iridium Communications (IRDM) has the highest dividend yield: Apple (AAPL) 0.00%, Microsoft (MSFT) 0.01%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 0.01%. Apple (AAPL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Apple (AAPL) has been the steadiest (Apple (AAPL) 24.2%, Microsoft (MSFT) 32.7%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 58.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AAPL, MSFT and IRDM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Microsoft (MSFT) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.