DOCN vs BABA vs MSFT Stock Comparison

DigitalOcean Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding and Microsoft Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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BABA Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
$100.98 -7.2% 1M -42.9% 1Y
Market cap
$234.53B
P/E
22.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$150.46B
Div. yield
1.04%
Digital Marketplaces Technology
3 wins
MSFT Microsoft Corp
$531.01 +4.3% 1M -2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.94T
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$346.45B
Div. yield
0.69%
Cloud Platforms Technology
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Microsoft leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Microsoft 7, Alibaba Group Holding 3, DigitalOcean Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDOCNBABAMSFTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.04B $234.53B $3.94T MSFT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 46.7x 22.3x 27.6x BABA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 77.3x 14.4x 26.0x BABA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +21.4% +8.1% +17.9% DOCN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.3% 7.0% 41.2% MSFT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.2% 2.4% 26.5% MSFT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x — -0.1x MSFT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.04% 0.69% BABA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +164.5% -42.9% -2.0% DOCN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.5%/yr -9.4%/yr +9.9%/yr MSFT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 85.7% 40.3% 32.6% MSFT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 46/100 79/100 MSFT

Percentile Scorecard

DOCNBABAMSFT

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

AxisDOCNBABAMSFT
Valuation 41 #23 of 38 66 #58 of 166 60 #16 of 38
Growth 83 #7 of 36 17 #126 of 152 77 #9 of 36
Profitability 85 #6 of 34 55 #69 of 152 97 #2 of 34
Financial Health 54 #18 of 38 59 #74 of 179 84 #7 of 38
Shareholder Returns 35 #14 of 21 31 #65 of 94 80 #5 of 21
Overall 59 46 79
  • DOCN ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • BABA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • MSFT ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDOCNBABAMSFTSPY
1 month -22.9%-7.2%+4.3% +0.9%
3 months -1.4%-12.2%+36.0% +5.9%
6 months +8.5%-22.6%+25.1% +8.5%
Year to date +118.4%-31.1%+9.8% +13.3%
1 year +164.5%-42.9%-2.0% +12.4%
3 years +411.7%+21.9%+61.0% +88.1%
3 years, per year +72.4%+6.8%+17.2% +23.5%
5 years +7.7%-38.8%+60.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +1.5%-9.4%+9.9% +11.0%
10 years —-0.9%+786.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year —-0.1%+24.4% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDOCNBABAMSFTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 85.7%40.3%32.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.7%35.9%30.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.741.110.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.92-1.06-0.06 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.8%-62.9%-37.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -42.0%-43.9%-2.3% -0.9%
52-week high $181.29$179.97$543.45 $779.14
52-week low $37.94$94.81$352.83 $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.

MultipleDOCNBABAMSFT
P/E now vs peer median 46.7xmedian 27.6x 22.3xmedian 16.8x 27.6xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 4.8x 1.6xmedian 1.4x 11.4xmedian 4.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 34.8xmedian 24.1x —median 13.9x 19.1xmedian 24.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 686.3xmedian 15.0x 7.1xmedian 11.4x 65.8xmedian 15.0x
P/B now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 4.4x 1.4xmedian 1.8x 8.4xmedian 4.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.36median 0.38 -15.46median 0.36 1.21median 0.38

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 monthsDOCNBABAMSFT
Revenue $1.01B $150.46B $346.45B
Gross profit $578.58M $57.45B $234.39B
Operating income $149.67M $4.39B $163.19B
Net income $235.24M $10.08B $142.63B
Free cash flow $16.08M $33.19B $59.96B
R&D $188.73M $10.68B $36.46B
EPS (diluted) $1.86 $4.38 $19.16
Cash & equivalents $767.03M $21.06B $20.28B
Total debt $921.05M $83.76B $35.48B
Shares (diluted) 126.55M 2.40B 7.45B
Enterprise value $9.04B $56.61B $3.88T

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
MetricDOCNBABAMSFT
P/E 46.7x 22.3x 27.6x
P/FCF 686.3x 7.1x 65.8x
P/Operating cash flow 35.6x 20.7x 20.1x
P/S 10.9x 1.6x 11.4x
P/B 11.9x 1.4x 8.4x
P/Tangible book 13.2x 1.5x 8.7x
EV/EBITDA 34.8x – 19.1x
EV/EBIT 74.8x 48.4x 24.0x
EV/Revenue 11.1x 1.4x 11.3x
EV/FCF 695.8x 6.4x 65.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 36.1x 18.8x 20.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.36 -15.46 1.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDOCNBABAMSFT
Revenue growth (1Y) 21.4% 8.1% 17.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.9% 5.6% 16.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.0% 0.2% 16.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 6.5% 15.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.8% -77.5% 20.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 80.3% -35.9% 20.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 86.0% -50.0% 36.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 147.5% -3.6% 22.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 47.9% -47.9% 36.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 129.0% -1.4% 22.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.9% -45.8% 33.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.3% -27.8% 27.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -84.5% -8.5% -23.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -48.0% -0.6% -1.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDOCNBABAMSFT
Gross margin 57.2% 38.2% 67.7%
EBITDA margin 31.8% – 59.3%
Operating margin 14.8% 2.9% 47.1%
Pretax margin 17.3% 9.7% 51.3%
Net margin 23.3% 7.0% 41.2%
FCF margin 1.6% 22.1% 17.3%
Operating cash flow margin 30.7% 7.5% 56.5%
Return on equity 25.9% 6.2% 31.2%
Return on assets 8.3% 3.6% 18.6%
Return on invested capital 8.2% 2.4% 26.5%
Return on capital employed 7.2% 2.1% 26.5%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 9.4% 1.1% 3.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDOCNBABAMSFT
Debt / assets 29.5% 7.5% 4.6%
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.1x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x – -0.1x
Debt / FCF 57.3x 0.6x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 70.2% 43.6% 39.6%
Equity / assets 29.8% 56.4% 60.4%
Interest coverage 4.8x 3.2x 50.6x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.4x 1.2x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.6x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.60 2.30 9.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDOCNBABAMSFT
Dividend yield – 1.0% 0.7%
Net buyback yield -8.1% – 0.5%
Shareholder yield -8.1% 1.0% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 19.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 45.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 10.1%

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.

ConsensusDOCNBABAMSFT
Forward P/E 77.3xFY2026 14.4xFY2026 26.0xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $1.36FY2026 $7.02FY2026 $20.39FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -35.8%FY2026 +80.9%FY2026 +18.0%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +25.0% +22.8% +11.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.11BFY2026 $174.00BFY2026 $402.39BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +23.5%FY2026 +17.3%FY2026 +21.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +52.7% +14.7% +12.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDOCNBABAMSFT
Held by institutions 91.0% 10.1% 73.9%
Institutions holding 566 1,218 6,230
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.9% -5.4% +3.3%
Institutions buying 331 555 3,434
Institutions selling 187 421 2,426
Buyers to sellers 1.77 1.32 1.42

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.

DOCNBABAMSFT
DOCN 1.00 0.15 0.16
BABA 0.15 1.00 0.14
MSFT 0.16 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DOCN, BABA and MSFT?

Microsoft (MSFT) is the largest by market capitalisation: DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) $11.04B, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) $234.53B, Microsoft (MSFT) $3.94T.

Which stock is cheaper, DOCN, BABA and MSFT?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) 46.7x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 22.3x, Microsoft (MSFT) 27.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is cheapest (DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) 77.3x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 14.4x, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) +21.4%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) +8.1%, Microsoft (MSFT) +17.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Microsoft (MSFT) has the highest net margin (DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) 23.3%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 7.0%, Microsoft (MSFT) 41.2%). On return on invested capital, Microsoft (MSFT) leads (DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) 8.2%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 2.4%, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) returned the most: DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) +164.5%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -42.9%, Microsoft (MSFT) -2.0%. Over five years, Microsoft (MSFT) compounded fastest (DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) +1.5%/yr, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -9.4%/yr, Microsoft (MSFT) +9.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) has the highest dividend yield: Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 1.04%, Microsoft (MSFT) 0.69%. DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Microsoft (MSFT) has been the steadiest (DigitalOcean Holdings (DOCN) 85.7%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 40.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) 32.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DOCN, BABA and MSFT?

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 7. 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.