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 2026-09-24.
Apple Inc. · Technology
$337.02
+9.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
High Quality
VS
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$574.42
+25.0% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade A-
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MA has more upside to fair value
(+25.0%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
AAPL |
MA |
| Current Price |
$337.02 |
$574.42 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$370.54 |
$718.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+9.9%
|
+25.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$4,949.9B |
$503.8B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
29.6x
|
23.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
10.6x
|
14.4x
|
| Price / FCF |
36.2x
|
30.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+16.4%
|
+14.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
48.7%
|
100%
|
| Operating Margin |
33.2%
|
59.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
137.2%
|
232.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.31% |
0.59% |
| FCF Yield |
2.76%
|
3.25%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Apple Inc. is a global consumer-electronics and services platform whose hardware lineup (iPhone, Mac, iPad, wearables) and digital ecosystem (App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, Apple Pay, advertising) generated $31.78 of revenue per share and $9.30 of free cash flow per share on a trailing basis, with TTM gross margin of 48.7%, operating margin of 33.2%, net margin of 27.6%, and ROE of 137.2%. Busin…
Mastercard operates a global payments network that connects issuers, acquirers, merchants and consumers across more than 200 countries and territories, monetizing payment volumes, cross-border activity and higher-growth value-added services. Business quality is high because its two-sided network, trusted authorization-clearing-settlement infrastructure, brand, security capabilities and broad acce…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
AAPL |
MA |
| Zone Low |
$277.91 |
$538.50 |
| Zone High |
$314.96 |
$610.30 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|