MSFT vs ORCL vs BABA Stock Comparison

Microsoft, Oracle and Alibaba Group Holding Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
8 wins
ORCL Oracle Corp
$126.08 -12.8% 1M -55.0% 1Y
Market cap
$373.36B
P/E
19.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.78B
Div. yield
0.02%
ERP Software Technology
3 wins
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
$99.63 -10.1% 1M -42.0% 1Y
Market cap
$232.58B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$150.46B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionMSFTORCLBABALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.96T $373.36B $232.58B MSFT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.6x 19.8x 22.1x ORCL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.7x 14.7x 14.3x BABA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.8% +21.6% +8.1% ORCL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 40.3% 26.2% 7.0% MSFT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 26.7% 11.0% 2.4% MSFT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.2x 2.6x — MSFT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.02% 0.00% ORCL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +0.8% -55.0% -42.0% MSFT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.2%/yr +5.1%/yr -10.9%/yr MSFT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.7% 56.9% 40.4% MSFT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 79/100 54/100 46/100 MSFT

Percentile Scorecard

MSFTORCLBABA

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

AxisMSFTORCLBABA
Valuation 54 #18 of 38 56 #45 of 101 71 #49 of 167
Growth 77 #9 of 36 65 #35 of 97 17 #127 of 153
Profitability 97 #2 of 34 87 #13 of 94 54 #71 of 153
Financial Health 84 #7 of 38 40 #66 of 109 59 #74 of 179
Shareholder Returns 81 #5 of 22 21 #51 of 64 30 #66 of 94
Overall 79 54 46
  • MSFT ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • ORCL ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • BABA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMSFTORCLBABASPY
1 month +4.8%-12.8%-10.1% -1.0%
3 months +37.4%+9.6%-11.2% +2.9%
6 months +23.5%-27.2%-26.6% +6.4%
Year to date +8.5%-35.3%-32.0% +11.4%
1 year +0.8%-55.0%-42.0% +13.1%
3 years +58.7%+22.2%+20.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +16.7%+6.9%+6.3% +21.5%
5 years +69.7%+28.3%-43.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +11.2%+5.1%-10.9% +10.9%
10 years +779.2%+232.4%-4.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +24.3%+12.8%-0.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureMSFTORCLBABASPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.7%56.9%40.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.9%56.7%36.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.002.221.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.02-0.97-1.04 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.6%-65.0%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-55.5%-44.6% -2.5%
52-week high $543.45$283.33$179.97 $779.14
52-week low $352.83$115.01$94.81 $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.

MultipleMSFTORCLBABA
P/E now vs peer median 29.1xmedian 29.1x 19.9xmedian 29.9x 22.0xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 4.5x 5.3xmedian 2.8x 1.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 21.5x 13.8xmedian 17.4x —median 14.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 58.2xmedian 17.3x -13.3xmedian 16.9x 7.0xmedian 11.2x
P/B now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 3.9x 5.7xmedian 3.1x 1.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.28median 0.33 0.84median 0.86 -15.25median 0.42

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 monthsMSFTORCLBABA
Revenue $331.84B $71.78B $150.46B
Gross profit $225.47B – $57.45B
Operating income $155.24B $23.06B $4.39B
Net income $133.75B $18.92B $10.08B
Free cash flow $66.99B -$28.72B $33.19B
R&D $35.56B $10.18B $10.68B
EPS (diluted) $17.95 $6.27 $4.38
Cash & equivalents $20.94B $36.37B $21.06B
Total debt $164.03B $497.56B $83.76B
Shares (diluted) 7.45B 3.00B 2.40B
Enterprise value $3.88T $245.49B $46.21B

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
MetricMSFTORCLBABA
P/E 29.1x 19.9x 22.0x
P/FCF 58.2x -13.3x 7.0x
P/Operating cash flow 21.3x 8.1x 20.4x
P/S 11.7x 5.3x 1.5x
P/B 8.8x 5.7x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 9.2x 5.7x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 19.4x 13.8x –
EV/EBIT 24.9x 20.4x 47.7x
EV/Revenue 11.6x 6.5x 1.4x
EV/FCF 57.6x -16.3x 6.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.1x 10.0x 18.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.28 0.84 -15.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSFTORCLBABA
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.8% 21.6% 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 12.1% 5.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.3% – 0.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 15.6% – 6.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 20.8% 28.3% -77.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 18.8% -35.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 31.3% 52.1% -50.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 22.7% 26.4% -3.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.6% 46.7% -47.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 22.8% 23.6% -1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.4% 118.0% -45.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.8% 38.3% -27.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -6.5% -388.4% -8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.0% -71.4% -0.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSFTORCLBABA
Gross margin 67.9% – 38.2%
EBITDA margin 59.9% 47.3% –
Operating margin 46.8% 32.1% 2.9%
Pretax margin 50.0% 30.3% 9.7%
Net margin 40.3% 26.2% 7.0%
FCF margin 20.2% -40.0% 22.1%
Operating cash flow margin 55.1% 65.4% 7.5%
Return on equity 31.2% 34.3% 6.2%
Return on assets 18.4% 6.7% 3.6%
Return on invested capital 26.7% 11.0% 2.4%
Return on capital employed 27.8% 9.8% 2.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.5x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 3.7% 6.7% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSFTORCLBABA
Debt / assets 5.3% 41.3% 7.5%
Debt / equity 0.1x 1.9x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.2x 2.6x –
Debt / FCF 0.6x -4.4x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 41.7% 77.8% 43.6%
Equity / assets 58.3% 22.2% 56.4%
Interest coverage 50.9x 4.5x 3.2x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.8x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 9.18 1.48 2.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSFTORCLBABA
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.6% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 0.5% -5.3% –
Shareholder yield 1.2% -3.7% 1.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 19.8% 31.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 39.5% -20.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.8% 17.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 15.1% –

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.

ConsensusMSFTORCLBABA
Forward P/E 25.7xFY2027 14.7xFY2026 14.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.38FY2027 $8.57FY2026 $6.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.9%FY2027 +12.3%FY2026 +79.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.5% +23.0% +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $402.02BFY2027 $95.06BFY2026 $173.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +21.1%FY2027 +41.1%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% +45.6% +14.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSFTORCLBABA
Held by institutions 73.9% 44.7% 10.1%
Institutions holding 6,227 3,495 1,218
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.3% +6.5% -5.4%
Institutions buying 3,432 1,807 555
Institutions selling 2,425 1,308 421
Buyers to sellers 1.42 1.38 1.32

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.

MSFTORCLBABA
MSFT 1.00 0.47 0.14
ORCL 0.47 1.00 0.22
BABA 0.14 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MSFT, ORCL and BABA?

Microsoft (MSFT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Microsoft (MSFT) $3.96T, Oracle (ORCL) $373.36B, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) $232.58B.

Which stock is cheaper, MSFT, ORCL and BABA?

Oracle (ORCL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Microsoft (MSFT) 29.6x, Oracle (ORCL) 19.8x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 22.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is cheapest (Microsoft (MSFT) 25.7x, Oracle (ORCL) 14.7x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 14.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Oracle (ORCL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Microsoft (MSFT) +17.8%, Oracle (ORCL) +21.6%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Microsoft (MSFT) has the highest net margin (Microsoft (MSFT) 40.3%, Oracle (ORCL) 26.2%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 7.0%). On return on invested capital, Microsoft (MSFT) leads (Microsoft (MSFT) 26.7%, Oracle (ORCL) 11.0%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 2.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Microsoft (MSFT) returned the most: Microsoft (MSFT) +0.8%, Oracle (ORCL) -55.0%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -42.0%. Over five years, Microsoft (MSFT) compounded fastest (Microsoft (MSFT) +11.2%/yr, Oracle (ORCL) +5.1%/yr, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -10.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Oracle (ORCL) has the highest dividend yield: Microsoft (MSFT) 0.01%, Oracle (ORCL) 0.02%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 0.00%. Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Microsoft (MSFT) has been the steadiest (Microsoft (MSFT) 32.7%, Oracle (ORCL) 56.9%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 40.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.