€16.64 – €20.93
1. Revenue Growth
- Apple Inc. (AAPL):
- 2023 Revenue: $380 billion (growth of 6% year-over-year)
- Key Insight: Apple’s revenue growth is driven by consistent demand for its hardware products (iPhones, Macs) and increasing services revenue (App Store, iCloud, Apple Music).
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT):
- 2023 Revenue: $210 billion (growth of 18% year-over-year)
- Key Insight: Microsoft’s strong growth is attributed to its cloud services (Azure), which continues to see double-digit growth, along with its software and productivity tools like Office 365.
- Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL):
- 2023 Revenue: $285 billion (growth of 10% year-over-year)
- Key Insight: Alphabet’s growth is driven by its advertising business, particularly Google Ads, along with expansion in cloud services through Google Cloud.
Conclusion:
- Microsoft demonstrated the highest revenue growth, benefiting significantly from its cloud services expansion.
- Alphabet showed solid growth, but at a slower rate compared to Microsoft.
- Apple continues to show steady growth, driven by both hardware and services, but lags behind Microsoft and Alphabet in terms of percentage growth.
2. Profitability Ratios
- Apple Inc. (AAPL):
- Gross Profit Margin: 42%
- Operating Profit Margin: 30%
- Net Profit Margin: 25%
- Key Insight: Apple’s high profitability is driven by its premium product pricing and strong brand loyalty.
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT):
- Gross Profit Margin: 69%
- Operating Profit Margin: 41%
- Net Profit Margin: 35%
- Key Insight: Microsoft’s profitability is enhanced by its high-margin cloud and software products.
- Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL):
- Gross Profit Margin: 54%
- Operating Profit Margin: 26%
- Net Profit Margin: 22%
- Key Insight: Alphabet maintains strong profitability, though its operating and net profit margins are lower than Microsoft’s.
Conclusion:
- Microsoft has the highest profitability across all metrics, benefiting from its software and cloud businesses.
- Apple also has strong profitability, particularly with its premium product pricing and services growth.
- Alphabet lags behind Microsoft and Apple in terms of profitability, mainly due to the lower margins in its advertising and cloud services.
3. Liquidity Ratios
- Apple Inc. (AAPL):
- Current Ratio: 1.1
- Quick Ratio: 0.9
- Key Insight: Apple maintains a solid liquidity position, but its reliance on inventory (hardware) impacts its quick ratio.
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT):
- Current Ratio: 2.5
- Quick Ratio: 2.3
- Key Insight: Microsoft has a strong liquidity position with both its current and quick ratios well above the industry average, benefiting from its large cash reserves.
- Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL):
- Current Ratio: 3.0
- Quick Ratio: 2.8
- Key Insight: Alphabet also has a strong liquidity position, reflecting its ample cash reserves and low dependency on inventory.
Conclusion:
- Microsoft and Alphabet both maintain very strong liquidity positions, with high current and quick ratios indicating their ability to cover short-term obligations.
- Apple, while still healthy, has slightly lower liquidity ratios due to its higher reliance on inventory and tangible assets.
4. Efficiency Ratios
- Apple Inc. (AAPL):
- Asset Turnover: 0.85
- Inventory Turnover: 45 times per year
- Key Insight: Apple’s asset turnover is relatively low compared to its peers, but its inventory turnover is high, reflecting efficient inventory management.
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT):
- Asset Turnover: 0.55
- Inventory Turnover: 10 times per year
- Key Insight: Microsoft has a lower asset turnover, which is typical for software-heavy companies with fewer physical assets. However, it is efficient in managing its intangible assets, such as intellectual property and software.
- Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL):
- Asset Turnover: 0.60
- Inventory Turnover: 20 times per year
- Key Insight: Alphabet’s asset turnover is slightly higher than Microsoft’s but lower than Apple’s, reflecting its reliance on intangible assets, similar to Microsoft.
Conclusion:
- Apple has the highest inventory turnover, indicating better efficiency in managing its physical products.
- Microsoft and Alphabet show lower asset turnover, which is typical for software-based companies, but their reliance on intangible assets allows them to maintain high profitability.
5. Conclusion and Key Insights
- Revenue Growth: Microsoft leads in terms of growth, primarily due to its successful cloud and software offerings.
- Profitability: Microsoft also leads in profitability metrics, driven by its software and cloud businesses.
- Liquidity: Microsoft and Alphabet maintain the strongest liquidity positions, supported by large cash reserves.
- Efficiency: Apple excels in inventory turnover, while Microsoft and Alphabet perform better in asset management due to their focus on intangible assets.