GOOGL vs MSFT vs PLTR Stock Comparison

Alphabet, Microsoft and Palantir Technologies Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GOOGL Alphabet Inc.
$316.80 -7.9% 1M +21.9% 1Y
Market cap
$3.90T
P/E
16.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$445.87B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
6 wins
MSFT Microsoft Corp
$532.60 +3.2% 1M +1.7% 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

11 decided of 12

Alphabet leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Alphabet 6, Microsoft 3, Palantir Technologies 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGOOGLMSFTPLTRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.90T $3.95T $477.08B MSFT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.0x 29.5x 158.1x GOOGL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.0x 26.1x 119.8x GOOGL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.1% +17.8% +78.9% PLTR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 54.8% 40.3% 49.0% GOOGL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.6% 26.7% — MSFT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.8x -0.2x — GOOGL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.9% +1.7% +7.7% GOOGL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.7%/yr +10.5%/yr +51.4%/yr PLTR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.4% 32.8% 59.6% GOOGL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 79/100 69/100 MSFT

Percentile Scorecard

GOOGLMSFTPLTR

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

AxisGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Valuation 38 #104 of 167 57 #17 of 38 22 #80 of 102
Growth 72 #43 of 153 77 #9 of 36 100 #1 of 98
Profitability 88 #20 of 153 97 #2 of 34 96 #5 of 95
Financial Health 79 #38 of 179 84 #7 of 38 98 #3 of 109
Shareholder Returns 28 #68 of 94 80 #5 of 21 27 #47 of 64
Overall 61 79 69
  • GOOGL ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • MSFT ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • PLTR ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGOOGLMSFTPLTRSPY
1 month -7.9%+3.2%+4.8% -0.8%
3 months -3.0%+36.9%+51.2% +3.5%
6 months -9.6%+25.4%+39.0% +7.0%
Year to date +1.2%+10.1%+11.9% +12.2%
1 year +21.9%+1.7%+7.7% +13.0%
3 years +159.3%+61.5%+1,219.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +37.4%+17.3%+136.4% +23.1%
5 years +116.7%+64.8%+693.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +16.7%+10.5%+51.4% +11.0%
10 years +670.8%+778.4%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +22.7%+24.3%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGOOGLMSFTPLTRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.4%32.8%59.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.8%30.9%56.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.351.001.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.700.050.13 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.3%-37.6%-77.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.3%-2.0%-4.9% -1.8%
52-week high $402.62$543.45$209.05 $779.14
52-week low $267.47$352.83$107.27 $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.

MultipleGOOGLMSFTPLTR
P/E now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 17.5x 29.6xmedian 29.6x 158.2xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 1.4x 11.9xmedian 4.2x 77.6xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.4xmedian 14.5x 19.7xmedian 24.2x 175.9xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 72.3xmedian 12.1x 59.1xmedian 15.1x 142.3xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 1.7x 8.9xmedian 3.9x 48.3xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.25median 0.41 1.30median 0.38 0.55median 0.85

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 monthsGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Revenue $445.87B $331.84B $6.16B
Gross profit $271.52B $225.47B $5.22B
Operating income $147.63B $155.24B $2.63B
Net income $244.21B $133.75B $3.03B
Free cash flow $53.27B $66.99B $3.36B
R&D $68.97B $35.56B $641.24M
EPS (diluted) $19.83 $17.95 $1.17
Cash & equivalents $55.91B $20.94B $2.03B
Total debt $98.17B $40.29B –
Shares (diluted) 12.31B 7.45B 2.57B
Enterprise value $3.65T $3.87T $446.03B

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
MetricGOOGLMSFTPLTR
P/E 15.8x 29.6x 158.2x
P/FCF 72.3x 59.1x 142.3x
P/Operating cash flow 20.7x 21.6x 140.5x
P/S 8.6x 11.9x 77.6x
P/B 6.0x 8.9x 48.3x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 9.3x 48.3x
EV/EBITDA 21.4x 19.7x 175.9x
EV/EBIT 25.1x 25.2x 177.8x
EV/Revenue 8.3x 11.8x 76.1x
EV/FCF 69.5x 58.5x 139.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.0x 21.4x 137.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.25 1.30 0.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.1% 17.8% 78.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 16.1% 44.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 24.0% 16.3% 89.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 15.6% 47.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.6% 20.8% 362.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.6% 20.6% 247.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 111.3% 31.3% 292.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 58.8% 22.7% 308.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 109.3% 31.6% 294.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 64.3% 22.8% 286.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.9% 34.4% 96.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.3% 27.8% 103.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -20.2% -6.5% 96.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.2% 4.0% 107.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Gross margin 60.9% 67.9% 84.8%
EBITDA margin 38.8% 59.9% 43.3%
Operating margin 33.1% 46.8% 42.8%
Pretax margin 67.1% 50.0% 49.9%
Net margin 54.8% 40.3% 49.0%
FCF margin 11.9% 20.2% 54.6%
Operating cash flow margin 41.6% 55.1% 55.2%
Return on equity 43.6% 31.2% 32.9%
Return on assets 30.0% 18.4% 27.7%
Return on invested capital 18.6% 26.7% –
Return on capital employed 21.5% 27.8% 28.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.4x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 6.3% 3.7% 13.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Debt / assets 10.6% 5.3% –
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.8x -0.2x –
Debt / FCF 1.8x 0.6x –
Liabilities / assets 30.5% 41.7% 15.4%
Equity / assets 69.5% 58.3% 84.6%
Interest coverage – 50.9x –
Current ratio 2.7x 1.2x 7.2x
Quick ratio 2.5x 0.9x 7.1x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.5x 6.1x
Altman Z-score 10.25 9.29 161.88

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Dividend yield 0.3% 0.7% –
Net buyback yield 0.5% 0.5% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 1.2% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 19.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 39.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.8% –
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.

ConsensusGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Forward P/E 15.0xFY2026 26.1xFY2027 119.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $21.10FY2026 $20.39FY2027 $1.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +95.2%FY2026 +18.0%FY2027 +121.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -31.6% +11.6% +47.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $528.22BFY2026 $402.39BFY2027 $8.41BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +31.1%FY2026 +21.3%FY2027 +87.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.6% +12.9% +37.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGOOGLMSFTPLTR
Held by institutions 80.1% 73.9% 60.3%
Institutions holding 5,738 6,227 2,836
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.6% +3.3% +10.9%
Institutions buying 2,654 3,432 1,480
Institutions selling 2,573 2,425 1,093
Buyers to sellers 1.03 1.42 1.35

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.

GOOGLMSFTPLTR
GOOGL 1.00 0.16 0.24
MSFT 0.16 1.00 0.42
PLTR 0.24 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GOOGL, MSFT and PLTR?

Microsoft (MSFT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alphabet (GOOGL) $3.90T, Microsoft (MSFT) $3.95T, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) $477.08B.

Which stock is cheaper, GOOGL, MSFT and PLTR?

Alphabet (GOOGL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alphabet (GOOGL) 16.0x, Microsoft (MSFT) 29.5x, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 158.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alphabet (GOOGL) is cheapest (Alphabet (GOOGL) 15.0x, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.1x, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 119.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alphabet (GOOGL) +20.1%, Microsoft (MSFT) +17.8%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +78.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alphabet (GOOGL) has the highest net margin (Alphabet (GOOGL) 54.8%, Microsoft (MSFT) 40.3%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 49.0%). On return on invested capital, Microsoft (MSFT) leads (Alphabet (GOOGL) 18.6%, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alphabet (GOOGL) returned the most: Alphabet (GOOGL) +21.9%, Microsoft (MSFT) +1.7%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +7.7%. Over five years, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) compounded fastest (Alphabet (GOOGL) +16.7%/yr, Microsoft (MSFT) +10.5%/yr, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +51.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Alphabet (GOOGL) 0.00%, Microsoft (MSFT) 0.01%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 0.00%. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alphabet (GOOGL) has been the steadiest (Alphabet (GOOGL) 31.4%, Microsoft (MSFT) 32.8%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 59.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GOOGL, MSFT and PLTR?

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 6. 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.