AAPL vs MA: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Apple Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Apple Inc. · Technology
$260.88
+135.9% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
VS
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$498.66
+22.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A-
QuantHub Verdict
AAPL has more upside to fair value
(+135.9%).
MA trades at a lower forward P/E
(25.5x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
AAPL |
MA |
| Current Price |
$260.88 |
$498.66 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$615.48 |
$610.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+135.9%
|
+22.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$3,834.4B |
$445.0B |
| Forward P/E |
32.6x
|
25.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
25.4x
|
22.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
8.8x
|
13.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
31.1x
|
26.0x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+40.3%
|
+16.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
47.3%
|
83.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
32.4%
|
59.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
159.9%
|
198.4%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0.65% |
| FCF Yield |
3.21%
|
3.84%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Apple Inc. is a leading technology company specializing in consumer electronics, software, and services with a strong brand and durable competitive advantages. The business quality is high, demonstrated by exceptional profitability metrics including a 159.9% return on equity, 40.3% revenue growth year-over-year, and 53.3% earnings growth year-over-year. Despite these fundamentals, the stock is cu…
Mastercard operates one of the world's two dominant payment networks, processing over $9 trillion in gross dollar volume annually across 220+ countries. The business generates 83% gross margins and 46% net margins with zero credit risk because Mastercard never lends money, only collecting tolls on every transaction. Value-Added Services (analytics, fraud prevention, cybersecurity) now comprise 41…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
AAPL |
MA |
| Zone Low |
$461.61 |
$460.00 |
| Zone High |
$523.16 |
$515.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|