Apple vs Microsoft stock is not a simple “pick the bigger tech name” decision: lined up on comparable twelve-month periods ending in late June 2026, Apple generated 41% more revenue than Microsoft (source: Apple Q3 FY2026 statements) but earned less profit, while Microsoft showed faster growth and a cheaper valuation. Most people still carry a version of this comparison that is a year or two out of date: Apple as the consumer giant that prints cash but stopped growing, Microsoft as the enterprise machine riding cloud and AI, and that picture was roughly accurate in 2024, but it has quietly stopped being true.
Part of the confusion is calendar mismatch. Apple's fiscal year ends in late September, Microsoft's in June, so the latest Microsoft accounts and the latest Apple accounts are usually nine months apart; line up the wrong pair and you can reach the opposite conclusion from the evidence.
This comparison is built for long-term investors, active traders, and crypto-native users who want to see the financial and strategic differences clearly before deciding where to allocate capital between two of the market's most influential companies. What follows uses both companies' own filings rather than aggregator summaries and compares revenue, profit, valuation, dividends, growth drivers such as AI and cloud, and the different risk profiles behind each stock. Both sides of the comparison are tradable on BloFin: tokenized Apple (AAPLX) on the AAPLX/USDT Spot market and AAPLUSDT Perpetual, and Microsoft through the MSFTUSDT Perpetual.
Where Apple and Microsoft stand today
Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) are both listed on the Nasdaq and sit among the heaviest weights in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. Their index membership means passive fund flows constantly push capital into both names, which tends to dampen idiosyncratic volatility while keeping them tightly linked to broad market swings.
Neither is the largest technology company any more: as of August 31, 2026, Nvidia leads at $5.3 trillion, followed by Apple at $4.6 trillion, Alphabet at $4.1 trillion and Microsoft at $3.8 trillion (source: CompaniesMarketCap). Microsoft ranks fourth, behind two companies that rarely appear in the Apple-versus-Microsoft framing at all. Apple closed at $319.70 on August 28, 2026.
Apple is best known for premium consumer hardware, from iPhone to Mac to iPad, plus a growing services layer. Microsoft centers on enterprise software, cloud infrastructure through Azure, and productivity tools like Microsoft 365. Both compete in personal computers and operating systems, but Apple targets premium consumers while Microsoft serves everyone from mid-sized businesses to global enterprises.
One structural difference matters before any of the numbers. Tokenized Apple on BloFin mirrors AAPL's price and gives you economic exposure without conferring shareholder rights such as voting, which is a different instrument from the share itself and closer in mechanics to other real-world asset tokens.
What each company sells
The fundamental difference between Apple and Microsoft is what each company sells and how recurring that revenue is.
Apple products center on premium hardware: iPhone still accounts for roughly half of total revenue, followed by Mac, iPad, and wearables. Apple relies heavily on hardware sales and seasonal product launch cycles, meaning its core growth depends on device upgrade cycles and expanding services. Its Services segment, which includes the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, and advertising, is growing faster than any hardware line and now contributes about a quarter of sales.
The margin split inside Apple explains why that mix shift matters so much. Over the nine months to June 27, 2026, Apple's Products gross margin was 39.9% while Services ran at 76.3%, on revenue of $272.6 billion and $91.7 billion respectively (source: Apple Q3 FY2026 statements). Every dollar that moves from hardware to services is worth nearly twice as much in gross profit.
Microsoft is built on an enterprise-first model spanning cloud and productivity services. Office products, Windows licensing, Azure cloud services, LinkedIn, and gaming through Xbox and Game Pass form a diversified mix. Microsoft's enterprise software model provides a smoother revenue climb due to sticky subscription services that renew automatically.
In personal computing, macOS and Windows compete at different price points: a MacBook targets premium customers, while Windows runs on everything from budget devices to high-end workstations. These different models create different economic drivers. Apple leans on hardware margins and consumer loyalty, while Microsoft leans on software margins, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise contracts, and that distinction shapes everything from growth expectations to risk.
Revenue, net income, profit, and growth
Apple generates more revenue, but Microsoft converts enough more of it into profit that it now earns the larger absolute number.
Microsoft's fiscal 2026 ended June 30, 2026, and revenue was $331.8 billion, operating income $155.2 billion and net income $133.7 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $17.95 (source: Microsoft). That is a 40.3% net margin, up from 36.1% a year earlier, when revenue was $281.7 billion and net income $101.8 billion (source: Microsoft FY2025 10-K).
Apple's fiscal 2026 does not close until late September, so the closest like-for-like is its trailing twelve months to June 27, 2026: revenue of $466.8 billion and net income of $128.9 billion, a 27.6% net margin (source: Apple). For its last completed year, fiscal 2025 ended September 27, 2025, Apple reported net sales of $416.2 billion and net income of $112 billion (source: Apple).
Set the two matched windows side by side and Apple sold about $135 billion more than Microsoft (source: Apple) while earning roughly $5 billion less (source: Microsoft). The gap is entirely margin, 27.6% against 40.3%, because hardware carries a cost of goods that software does not and no amount of scale closes that.
The growth story has also narrowed, which is where most comparisons go wrong. Apple's revenue grew at a compound 1.8% a year between fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2025 (source: Apple), and that figure gets quoted often even though it no longer describes the company. Over the nine months to June 27, 2026, Apple's revenue rose 16.2% year over year, net income rose 20.0% and Greater China rose 30.0% (source: Apple Q3 FY2026 statements). Microsoft grew revenue 17.8% and net income 31.3% across its fiscal 2026. Microsoft is still growing faster, particularly on profit, but the revenue gap is under two percentage points rather than the chasm a three-year backward average implies.
On segments, the two are nowhere near each other. In the quarters both ending in late June 2026, Microsoft Cloud revenue was $59.3 billion against Apple Services of $30.7 billion (source: Microsoft), so Microsoft's cloud business is nearly double Apple's services business on matched quarters.
Valuation, market cap, dividends, and buybacks
Valuation is where the comparison gets interesting for investors hunting a better entry.
Microsoft is the cheaper stock on earnings, and by a clear margin. In August 2026 it traded at roughly 27 times trailing earnings and about 25 times forward estimates, against roughly 37 times trailing for Apple. On a PEG ratio basis, which adjusts P/E for expected growth, Microsoft looks more favorable because its faster growth justifies a higher earnings multiple, yet it trades at a lower one. Price-to-sales ratios are broadly similar, but the growth differential tilts value in Microsoft's favor.
Both firms generate enormous cash and return most of it, but the tilt differs. Apple's capital return is weighted toward buybacks, the largest repurchase program in market history: it spent $62.1 billion on repurchases against $11.8 billion on dividends over the nine months to June 2026 (source: Apple), which annualizes to roughly $1.07 a share, or about 0.33% on the August 28 close. Microsoft's forward dividend yield was 0.72% in August 2026 (source: GuruFocus), and it repurchases steadily alongside it. Neither is an income stock by any normal standard, but Microsoft yields more than twice what Apple does and has raised its payout at a faster clip.
For income-focused investors, Microsoft's higher yield and faster dividend growth rate tip the scale. For total-return investors, Apple's massive stock buyback program concentrates future earnings onto fewer shares, boosting EPS over time. Apple's diluted share count fell from 15.05 billion to 14.75 billion over the nine months to June 2026, which is a 2% reduction in a single year.
AI and cloud as growth drivers
The next five years for both companies will be shaped heavily by AI and cloud, but each is playing a different hand.
Microsoft integrates AI capabilities across its Azure and software suite, from Copilot in Word and Excel to AI-powered developer tools, funded by capital expenditure at a scale few companies can match, and it is working. Azure and other cloud services revenue grew 43% in the June 2026 quarter, up from 34% for fiscal 2025 as a whole (source: Microsoft), meaning the cloud business accelerated rather than maturing. Microsoft’s cloud services generated $97.7 billion in FY 2024, which shows the annual scale already behind that growth.
Apple has a more measured approach to AI deployment compared to peers, while Microsoft is leaning on a broader integrated system of cloud, software, subscriptions, and support from developers. Apple Intelligence and on-device AI features are emerging drivers, but the revenue impact is still early, and Apple has largely declined to compete for frontier model capability. Whether that reads as discipline or as a missed cycle is the live argument about the stock.
Regulatory pressure is a real cost on both sides of the comparison. Apple's App Store policies face continuing constraint under the European Digital Markets Act, which bears directly on the highest-margin part of the business. Microsoft draws scrutiny over cloud market position and the concentration of AI infrastructure. The Microsoft lawsuit Apple filed in March 1988 over the interface in Windows 2.03, finally resolved against Apple when the Supreme Court declined to hear it in February 1995, shaped how both companies think about platform control, but it has no bearing on either investment case today.
Their risk profiles diverge accordingly, with Apple exposed to hardware cycles, China supply chain disruption and app-store regulation. and Microsoft facing enterprise IT budget cycles, cloud pricing competition, and antitrust attention across software and AI.
Risk and volatility
Both AAPL and MSFT are mega caps that move less than smaller technology names, and neither is immune to drawdowns.
Apple's product cycles can create larger stock price volatility compared to Microsoft. When iPhone demand disappoints or supply chain issues emerge, Apple's stock can drop sharply: it beat on revenue and earnings for its June 2026 quarter and still fell more than 6% in extended trading on supply-constrained guidance. Microsoft's recurring enterprise revenue from subscription services and cloud contracts provides a cushion during downturns, because those contracts do not disappear overnight. That makes Microsoft's revenue more predictable on a short-term basis, even if its stock can still sell off on macro fears.
Concentration risk is real: Apple's dependence on iPhone sales, roughly half of revenue, plus significant exposure to Chinese manufacturing and consumers, is a weakness. Microsoft's revenue is more spread across cloud, productivity software, gaming, and advertising.
The correlation between AAPL and MSFT is positive but not perfect, so holding both in a portfolio can modestly diversify single-name risk. For traders using AAPLX or the AAPLUSDT perpetual, these traits matter more than they would for a buy-and-hold shareholder, because leverage compresses the time you have to be right. Understanding liquidation risk and sizing against what the stock can do around earnings, rather than its average day, is the practical version of everything above. The same discipline applies to any volatility comparison you run between two assets.
Which stock suits which investor
There is no single answer to whether Apple or Microsoft is the better buy, and anyone offering one is selling something. The right choice depends on what you are optimizing for.
If you are value-oriented or income-seeking, Microsoft may fit better: a lower valuation, faster earnings growth, and a higher dividend yield favor investors who want more growth per dollar and steady income. If you are a buy-and-hold investor drawn to brand loyalty, ecosystem lock-in, and massive capital returns through buybacks, Apple's consumer moat, shaped in part by Steve Jobs' innovation legacy and product ecosystem, has outperformed across decades, and its recent re-acceleration suggests the growth story is not finished. Growth-oriented buyers lean Microsoft for Azure and AI, supported by tools used by enterprise customers and developers. Risk-averse buyers lean Apple for the balance sheet and the buyback.
Owning both is a defensible position rather than a cop-out, because the two businesses fail in different ways. An enterprise IT spending freeze hurts Microsoft first; a weak iPhone cycle hurts Apple first. Applying valuation discipline to the entry price matters more than picking the right name.
A crypto-native trader can hold both legs on BloFin: AAPLX Spot or the AAPLUSDT Perpetual on one side, the MSFTUSDT Perpetual on the other. A relative-value view, long one and short the other, is expressible without a brokerage account, though a perpetual is a different instrument from a share and confers no ownership.
If tokenized equities are new to you, our first trade walkthrough covers the mechanics, and a dollar-cost-averaging approach removes the need to time an entry into either name.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apple or Microsoft the bigger company?
Apple is bigger by market cap and by revenue; Microsoft is bigger by profit. As of August 31, 2026 Apple's market capitalization was $4.6 trillion against Microsoft's $3.8 trillion, though both sit behind Nvidia at $5.3 trillion (source: CompaniesMarketCap). On twelve-month windows both ending in late June 2026, Microsoft's revenue was $331.8 billion and its net income $133.7 billion (source: Microsoft), against Apple's revenue of $466.8 billion and net income of $128.9 billion (source: Apple Q3 FY2026 statements). Microsoft earns more money on considerably less revenue.
Which stock is cheaper, Apple or Microsoft?
Microsoft, on every common earnings measure. Analysis from Motley Fool also supports Microsoft’s valuation by pointing to its AI integration and stronger financial performance. In August 2026 Microsoft traded at roughly 27 times trailing earnings and about 25 times forward estimates, while Apple traded at roughly 37 times trailing. Because Microsoft is also growing faster, the gap widens on a PEG basis, which divides the multiple by the expected growth rate. Price-to-sales ratios are broadly similar between the two. A lower multiple is not automatically a better investment, but paying less per dollar of faster-growing earnings is the classic value setup.
Does Apple or Microsoft pay a better dividend?
Microsoft, by a wide margin in relative terms and a narrow one in absolute terms. Microsoft's forward yield was 0.72% in August 2026 (source: GuruFocus) against roughly 0.33% for Apple (source: Apple), so Microsoft pays more than twice as much per dollar invested and has grown its payout faster. Neither is an income stock by conventional standards. Apple directs far more of its capital return to share repurchases instead, which lifts earnings per share by shrinking the share count rather than paying holders directly.
Is Apple still growing, or has it stalled?
It stalled and then re-accelerated, which is why stale figures mislead so badly here. Apple's revenue compounded at just 1.8% a year from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2025 (source: Apple), and that number still circulates widely. Over the nine months to June 27, 2026, however, Apple's revenue rose 16.2% year over year, net income rose 20.0% and Greater China rose 30.0% (source: Apple Q3 FY2026 statements). Microsoft grew revenue 17.8% over its fiscal 2026, so the two are now within two percentage points on revenue growth.
Can I buy Microsoft stock on BloFin?
Not the stock itself, but you can trade the MSFTUSDT Perpetual on BloFin, which tracks the Microsoft share price. There is no tokenized Microsoft Spot token equivalent to AAPLX, so the two sides of this comparison are not accessed identically: Apple is available as AAPLX Spot and as the AAPLUSDT Perpetual, while Microsoft is perpetual-only. Neither instrument confers shareholder rights such as voting, and a perpetual can be liquidated by a price move far smaller than the leverage multiple suggests.
Researched and written by the BloFin Academy editorial team with AI-assisted drafting. All facts independently verified. Primary sources include Apple's condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended June 27, 2026 and its fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter statements, Microsoft's fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings release of July 29, 2026 and its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and CompaniesMarketCap for market capitalizations as of August 31, 2026, current as of September 1, 2026.
Nothing in this article constitutes financial advice. Comparisons between two companies on different fiscal calendars are unusually easy to get wrong, and the figures above are stamped with the periods they belong to for that reason; check the latest filings before acting on any of them. Valuation multiples, yields and market capitalizations move daily and will have changed by the time you read this. Past growth rates say nothing about future ones, as Apple's own swing from near-flat revenue to double-digit growth demonstrates. BloFin lists tokenized Apple as a spot token and both company stocks as perpetuals, but there is no tokenized Microsoft spot equivalent, so the two legs are not accessed on identical terms. Tokenized Apple carries issuer and custody risk that shares held at a broker do not, and both the AAPLUSDT perpetual and MSFTUSDT perpetual confer no shareholder rights and can be liquidated in full by a price move far smaller than the leverage multiple suggests. Do your own research and consider your risk tolerance before you trade on BloFin.