AMAT vs MSFT: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Applied Materials, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-24.
Applied Materials, Inc. · Technology
$474.38
-3.5% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Microsoft Corporation · Technology
$497.12
+41.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MSFT has more upside to fair value
(+41.3%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
AMAT |
MSFT |
| Current Price |
$474.38 |
$497.12 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$457.95 |
$702.35 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-3.5%
|
+41.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$376.6B |
$3,691.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
33.1x
|
18.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
12.2x
|
11.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
67.0x
|
55.1x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.8%
|
+17.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
49.4%
|
67.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
30.5%
|
46.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
40.4%
|
33.2%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.42% |
0.73% |
| FCF Yield |
1.49%
|
1.81%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Applied Materials is the largest supplier of wafer fabrication equipment, providing deposition, etch, ion implantation, and process-control tools alongside a growing Applied Global Services aftermarket business to semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. The business quality is high: TTM gross margin of 49.4%, TTM operating margin of 30.5%, TTM net margin of 30.1%, and ROE of 40.4% reflect a durabl…
Microsoft is a global infrastructure-software platform spanning Azure, Microsoft 365, security, Dynamics, Windows, GitHub and AI copilots, with high business quality supported by enterprise distribution, explicitly cited switching costs, a $678 billion commercial RPO balance, 67.9% TTM gross margin, 46.8% TTM operating margin, 40.3% TTM net margin and 33.2% ROE. Revenue grew 17.7% and earnings gr…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
AMAT |
MSFT |
| Zone Low |
$343.46 |
$526.76 |
| Zone High |
$389.26 |
$597.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|