GOOGL vs IBM vs MSFT Stock Comparison

Alphabet, International Business Machines and Microsoft Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GOOGL Alphabet Inc.
$320.21 -5.2% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.86T
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$445.87B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
8 wins
MSFT Microsoft Corp
$524.51 +4.8% 1M +0.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.95T
P/E
29.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$331.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Cloud Platforms Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Alphabet leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Alphabet 8, Microsoft 3, International Business Machines 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGOOGLIBMMSFTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.86T $238.69B $3.95T MSFT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.8x 22.3x 29.5x GOOGL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.2x 19.4x 25.7x GOOGL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.1% +7.9% +17.8% GOOGL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 54.8% 15.5% 40.3% GOOGL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.6% 11.3% 26.7% MSFT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.8x 3.3x -0.2x GOOGL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.01% IBM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +26.5% -11.0% +0.8% GOOGL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +18.4%/yr +15.7%/yr +11.2%/yr GOOGL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.6% 51.3% 32.7% GOOGL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 67/100 79/100 MSFT

Percentile Scorecard

GOOGLIBMMSFT

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

AxisGOOGLIBMMSFT
Valuation 37 #105 of 167 76 #10 of 38 54 #18 of 38
Growth 73 #42 of 153 60 #15 of 36 77 #9 of 36
Profitability 87 #21 of 153 91 #4 of 34 97 #2 of 34
Financial Health 79 #38 of 179 38 #24 of 38 84 #7 of 38
Shareholder Returns 28 #68 of 94 71 #7 of 22 81 #5 of 22
Overall 61 67 79
  • GOOGL ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • IBM ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • 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

PeriodGOOGLIBMMSFTSPY
1 month -5.2%+8.9%+4.8% -1.0%
3 months +0.1%+18.4%+37.4% +2.9%
6 months -7.0%+9.3%+23.5% +6.4%
Year to date +2.3%-14.4%+8.5% +11.4%
1 year +26.5%-11.0%+0.8% +13.1%
3 years +130.7%+84.0%+58.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +32.2%+22.6%+16.7% +21.5%
5 years +132.8%+107.4%+69.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +18.4%+15.7%+11.2% +10.9%
10 years +677.2%+77.3%+779.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +22.8%+5.9%+24.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureGOOGLIBMMSFTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.6%51.3%32.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.9%59.9%30.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.380.881.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.84-0.210.02 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-37.4%-37.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.5%-23.0%-3.5% -2.5%
52-week high $402.62$329.23$543.45 $779.14
52-week low $253.08$205.96$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.

MultipleGOOGLIBMMSFT
P/E now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 17.5x 22.3xmedian 29.1x 29.1xmedian 29.1x
P/S now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 1.4x 3.5xmedian 4.5x 11.7xmedian 4.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 14.9x 17.9xmedian 21.5x 19.4xmedian 21.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 73.0xmedian 11.2x 17.3xmedian 17.3x 58.2xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 1.7x 6.9xmedian 3.9x 8.8xmedian 3.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.25median 0.42 0.31median 0.33 1.28median 0.33

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 monthsGOOGLIBMMSFT
Revenue $445.87B $69.10B $331.84B
Gross profit $271.52B $40.15B $225.47B
Operating income $147.63B $11.11B $155.24B
Net income $244.21B $10.73B $133.75B
Free cash flow $53.27B $13.79B $66.99B
R&D $68.97B $8.75B $35.56B
EPS (diluted) $19.83 $11.25 $17.95
Cash & equivalents $55.91B $7.17B $20.94B
Total debt $220.88B $252.72B $164.03B
Shares (diluted) 12.31B 953.30M 7.45B
Enterprise value $3.61T $189.50B $3.87T

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
MetricGOOGLIBMMSFT
P/E 15.9x 22.3x 29.1x
P/FCF 73.0x 17.3x 58.2x
P/Operating cash flow 21.0x 16.0x 21.3x
P/S 8.7x 3.5x 11.7x
P/B 6.1x 6.9x 8.8x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 11.6x 9.2x
EV/EBITDA 21.7x 17.9x 19.4x
EV/EBIT 25.4x 26.3x 24.9x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 4.2x 11.6x
EV/FCF 70.3x 21.2x 57.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.2x 19.7x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.25 0.31 1.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGOOGLIBMMSFT
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.1% 7.9% 17.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 4.5% 16.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 24.0% 8.9% 16.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 6.7% 15.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.6% 19.6% 20.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.6% 13.5% 20.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 111.3% 83.9% 31.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 58.8% 74.3% 22.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 109.3% 82.8% 31.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 64.3% 72.3% 22.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.9% 12.1% 34.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.3% 6.6% 27.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -20.2% 12.7% -6.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.2% 8.2% 4.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGOOGLIBMMSFT
Gross margin 60.9% 58.1% 67.9%
EBITDA margin 38.8% 23.6% 59.9%
Operating margin 33.1% 16.1% 46.8%
Pretax margin 67.1% 15.1% 50.0%
Net margin 54.8% 15.5% 40.3%
FCF margin 11.9% 20.0% 20.2%
Operating cash flow margin 41.6% 21.5% 55.1%
Return on equity 43.6% 31.7% 31.2%
Return on assets 30.0% 7.0% 18.4%
Return on invested capital 18.6% 11.3% 26.7%
Return on capital employed 21.5% 9.4% 27.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 6.3% 2.7% 3.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGOOGLIBMMSFT
Debt / assets 10.6% 40.8% 5.3%
Debt / equity 0.2x 1.8x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.8x 3.3x -0.2x
Debt / FCF 1.8x 4.5x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 30.5% 77.3% 41.7%
Equity / assets 69.5% 22.7% 58.3%
Interest coverage – 5.8x 50.9x
Current ratio 2.7x 0.8x 1.2x
Quick ratio 2.5x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 10.34 3.29 9.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGOOGLIBMMSFT
Dividend yield 0.3% 2.7% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 0.4% -0.3% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 2.4% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 58.8% 19.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 45.8% 39.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.7% 9.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.7% 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.

ConsensusGOOGLIBMMSFT
Forward P/E 15.2xFY2026 19.4xFY2026 25.7xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $21.09FY2026 $13.05FY2026 $20.38FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +95.1%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +17.9%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -31.7% -1.8% +11.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $527.69BFY2026 $66.19BFY2026 $402.02BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +31.0%FY2026 -2.0%FY2026 +21.1%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +21.2% +15.9% +12.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGOOGLIBMMSFT
Held by institutions 80.1% 65.1% 73.9%
Institutions holding 5,738 3,632 6,227
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.6% +3.5% +3.3%
Institutions buying 2,654 1,973 3,432
Institutions selling 2,573 1,226 2,425
Buyers to sellers 1.03 1.61 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.

GOOGLIBMMSFT
GOOGL 1.00 0.04 0.16
IBM 0.04 1.00 0.26
MSFT 0.16 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GOOGL, IBM and MSFT?

Microsoft (MSFT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alphabet (GOOGL) $3.86T, International Business Machines (IBM) $238.69B, Microsoft (MSFT) $3.95T.

Which stock is cheaper, GOOGL, IBM and MSFT?

Alphabet (GOOGL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alphabet (GOOGL) 15.8x, International Business Machines (IBM) 22.3x, Microsoft (MSFT) 29.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alphabet (GOOGL) is cheapest (Alphabet (GOOGL) 15.2x, International Business Machines (IBM) 19.4x, Microsoft (MSFT) 25.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Alphabet (GOOGL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alphabet (GOOGL) +20.1%, International Business Machines (IBM) +7.9%, Microsoft (MSFT) +17.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alphabet (GOOGL) has the highest net margin (Alphabet (GOOGL) 54.8%, International Business Machines (IBM) 15.5%, Microsoft (MSFT) 40.3%). On return on invested capital, Microsoft (MSFT) leads (Alphabet (GOOGL) 18.6%, International Business Machines (IBM) 11.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alphabet (GOOGL) returned the most: Alphabet (GOOGL) +26.5%, International Business Machines (IBM) -11.0%, Microsoft (MSFT) +0.8%. Over five years, Alphabet (GOOGL) compounded fastest (Alphabet (GOOGL) +18.4%/yr, International Business Machines (IBM) +15.7%/yr, Microsoft (MSFT) +11.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

International Business Machines (IBM) has the highest dividend yield: Alphabet (GOOGL) 0.00%, International Business Machines (IBM) 0.03%, Microsoft (MSFT) 0.01%. Alphabet (GOOGL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alphabet (GOOGL) has been the steadiest (Alphabet (GOOGL) 31.6%, International Business Machines (IBM) 51.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) 32.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GOOGL, IBM 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, Alphabet (GOOGL) leads on 8. 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.