In This Article:
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Apple earnings beat expectations but still saw shares sink in after-hours trading.
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Facebook delivered an earnings beat for Q3 and Mark Zuckerberg said he considered Apple its “biggest competitor” in the messaging space.
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Apple provides a dividend and superior value, but Facebook has much faster growth.
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Apple (AAPL) reported earnings after market close today, beating expectation for revenue and earnings — hauling in $2.91 a share on $62.9 billion in revenue against Refinitiv consensus estimates of $2.78 a share on $61.57 billion in revenue — only to see shares dip almost 4.5 percent early in after-hours trading, possibly in reaction to lower-than-expected iPhone sales.
Meanwhile, Facebook (FB) founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during his own company’s earnings call on Tuesday — when he reported earnings of $1.76 a share for the third quarter that beat analyst expectations of $1.46 a share — that he viewed Apple as the social network’s “biggest competitor by far” in terms of messaging.
So if these two behemoths really are competitors, which one is the better investment for you?
Apple vs. Facebook Stock Comparison
Here’s a basic comparison of Apple and Facebook:
| AAPL | FB | |
| Share Price | $222.22 | $151.75 |
| Market Cap | $1.1 trillion | $438.1 billion |
| Most Recent FY Revenue | $229.2 billion | $40.7 billion |
| Most Recent FY Profits | $48.4 billion | $15.9 billion |
| Most Recent FY Revenue Growth | 6.3% | 47.09% |
| Most Recent FY Profit Growth | 5.83% | 55.96% |
| GOBankingRates’ Net Worth Evaluation | $492.9 billion | $138.4 billion |
| P/E Ratio | 20.13 | 23.48 |
| P/S Ratio | 4.2 | 9.03 |
| Stock Gain/Loss Last Month | -1.56% | -7.73% |
| Stock Gain/Loss Last Year | 33.45% | -15.72% |
| All market data accurate as of market close on Nov. 1, 2018. | ||
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Why You Might Pick Apple:
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It might seem a bit odd to call a $1 trillion company a “value buy,” but it’s certainly fair when weighed against Facebook: Apple’s PE ratio of 20.13 and PS ratio of 4.2 both compare favorably to levels of 23.48 and 9.03 for Facebook.
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Apple’s return on equity of 45.37 percent is much better than Facebook’s 26.14 percent, potentially indicating that they’re more efficient in deploying company resources to create profits.
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Apple’s dividend, while arguably somewhat modest at a 1.37 percent yield, still beats Facebook as the social media giant doesn’t pay one.
Why You Might Pick Facebook:
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Although Apple’s current profit and revenue figures blow Facebook’s out of the water, Facebook’s growth rate is much better, adding about 50 percent to both earnings and sales in 2017.
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And although Facebook’s price ratios are currently weaker, it might be a better value buy when you factor in that growth based on its PEG ratio of 1.13 to Apple’s 1.59.
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Facebook is beating Apple on margins, with an operating margin of 49.05 percent and profit margin of 39.32 percent compared to 26.6 percent and 21.98 percent for Apple.