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Compare Microsoft and Apple as businesses first, their share prices second, and their potential returns only after both steps. Their filings show different sources of growth and different operating risks, but historical company results alone cannot establish which stock is the better long-term investment. Microsoft’s and Apple’s fiscal years also end on different dates, so financial figures need period labels before you compare them.
Start with comparable periods, not a winner
Microsoft FY2025 ended June 30, 2025; Apple FY2025 ended September 27, 2025. Those annual results cover different windows. Microsoft has also reported FY2026 metrics, while the Apple figures below are for FY2025. Do not treat those as matched-year results or describe Apple’s FY2025 figures as its latest quarter.
Company-reported numbers are useful for understanding scale and direction, but they are not independent forecasts. For a fair comparison, use each company’s filings and preserve the fiscal period and metric definition attached to every figure.
Compare what each company sells—and where it is concentrated
Microsoft: cloud, software, and a broader portfolio
Microsoft reports revenue from cloud-based services, software licensing and support, advertising, devices, gaming, and other activities. In FY2025, Microsoft Cloud revenue was $168.9 billion, up 23%. The company reported total revenue of $281.7 billion, up 15%, operating income of $128.5 billion, up 17%, and Azure revenue above $75 billion for the first time. Microsoft FY2025 Annual Report
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For FY2026, Microsoft Investor Relations reported Microsoft Cloud revenue of $214.4 billion and 40% growth in Azure and other cloud services for the fiscal year. In the FY2026 fourth quarter, Azure and other cloud services revenue grew 43% year over year. The 40% figure is for FY2026; the 43% figure is for one quarter, not the full year. Microsoft FY2026 metrics Microsoft FY2026 Q4 earnings release
Apple: iPhone-led hardware with a substantial Services business
Apple designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, accessories, and related services. In the year ended September 27, 2025, it reported $416.161 billion in net sales, up 6%. iPhone contributed $209.586 billion and Services $109.158 billion; Mac contributed $33.708 billion, iPad $28.023 billion, and Wearables, Home and Accessories $35.686 billion. Services grew 14% year over year, while Wearables, Home and Accessories declined 4%. Apple FY2025 Form 10-K
These mixes expose investors to different concentrations. Microsoft’s cloud and software activities are important to its results, while Apple’s iPhone is its largest reported product category. Concentration is an exposure to assess, not an automatic measure of business quality. Apple also reported that Greater China net sales decreased in FY2025, primarily because of lower iPhone sales; regional outcomes were not uniform.
Rank #2
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Test whether growth could last
Growth rates are evidence about past performance, not promises. Microsoft’s FY2025 report showed cloud expansion, and its FY2026 cloud and Azure metrics indicate continued reported growth. But a fiscal-year rate and a single-quarter year-over-year rate are not interchangeable. Avoid projecting either indefinitely.
For Apple, compare total sales growth with growth in the business lines that may shape future results. In FY2025, Services grew faster than total net sales, while iPhone remained the largest category. To judge durability, follow multi-year trends in each company’s own filings and look for whether growth is broad-based or increasingly dependent on a smaller number of products, services, customers, or markets.
Compare profitability, cash generation, and investment needs
Microsoft’s FY2025 operating income of $128.5 billion on $281.7 billion of revenue offers a snapshot of operating profitability for that year. For a fuller comparison, track operating margins and operating cash flow over several periods using consistent definitions. Do not compare one company’s operating income with the other’s cash flow and treat the difference as a verdict.
Rank #3
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Both companies face costs that can affect future profitability. Microsoft says continued data-center, server, and AI infrastructure spending can raise costs and pressure operating margins. Apple’s filing discusses differences in product and Services margins, as well as component, manufacturing, and supplier commitments. For Apple, manufacturing purchase obligations were $56.2 billion as of September 27, 2025, of which $55.4 billion were payable within 12 months. That commitment is not the same thing as a forecast of sales or profit.
Evaluate capital allocation without mistaking cash for value
Microsoft returned $37.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and repurchases in FY2025, while describing continued investment in cloud and AI infrastructure. Apple reported $132.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of September 27, 2025, alongside its capital return program. These disclosures are not a direct measure of relative shareholder value. Microsoft FY2026 shareholder meeting materials Apple FY2025 Form 10-K
Assess dividends and buybacks alongside investment requirements and changes in shares outstanding. A repurchase can increase each remaining share’s claim on the business, but the effect depends on the price paid and on share issuance. A large cash balance alone does not show that a stock is undervalued.
Rank #4
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Map the risks that could change the business case
Microsoft execution and infrastructure risks
Microsoft identifies intense competition, changing customer preferences, global macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions, infrastructure constraints, and limits on energy, land, or supply as risks. Its AI and cloud infrastructure expansion creates opportunity as well as spending and execution demands. These are risks identified by management, not independent estimates of how likely each outcome is.
Apple product, market, and regulatory risks
Apple identifies frequent product introductions and transitions, competition, market acceptance, regulatory requirements, and market access as risks. A product transition matters because customer adoption and sales can differ from expectations; a regulatory or market-access change can affect how products or services reach customers. Apple’s filing also describes differing regional results, including the FY2025 decline in Greater China sales.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Value the shares separately from the companies
A strong business can be a poor investment at an excessively high price, while a slower-growing business can offer a reasonable expected return if its price is low enough. To compare Microsoft and Apple as stocks, use a synchronized, explicitly dated share-price snapshot and calculate the same valuation measures for both—for example, price-to-earnings or enterprise value relative to operating earnings, with clear definitions and consistent fiscal periods.
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Then make assumptions explicit: expected revenue growth, margins, reinvestment, cash returns, share-count changes, and the valuation investors might assign at the end of the holding period. The cited company reports do not establish current valuation multiples or future returns. Without contemporaneous prices and assumptions, historical performance cannot support a claim that either stock is currently cheaper or the better buy.
Use a decision process that fits your horizon
- Align the dates. Write down each figure’s fiscal year or quarter and report date. Do not label Microsoft FY2026 metrics and Apple FY2025 results as a matched annual comparison.
- Compare business drivers. Track Microsoft’s cloud and other business activity, and Apple’s iPhone, Services, and other reported categories. Note where growth is concentrated.
- Check earnings quality and reinvestment. Review operating margins, operating cash flow, infrastructure spending, supplier commitments, and other investment needs in the filings.
- Review capital returns per share. Follow dividends, repurchases, and share-count changes rather than treating total buyback dollars or cash balances as standalone evidence.
- Price the future. Use market prices from the same date, comparable valuation definitions, and a range of plausible operating assumptions. Separate what the filings report from what you expect.
- Fit the position to your portfolio. Consider your time horizon, risk tolerance, diversification, and whether your thesis depends heavily on a single product, growth engine, or valuation assumption.
There is no objective winner without an investor’s valuation assumptions, risk tolerance, horizon, and portfolio context. Microsoft and Apple are both large technology businesses, but their reported business mixes and risks differ; the investment decision turns on what you believe those businesses can earn and what you pay for that future.
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