AAPL vs META Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Apple and Meta represent two very different tech business models: Apple sells premium hardware and services built around ecosystem lock-in, while Meta sells advertising built around engagement and AI-driven targeting. Apple's AI monetization is slower and more indirect (Apple Intelligence driving upgrades), while Meta's AI investment shows up quickly in ad revenue.
Use this comparison to weigh a durable, high-margin consumer hardware and services franchise (Apple) against a highly profitable, faster-moving advertising business with more direct AI monetization (Meta). Both generate substantial free cash flow, but their growth drivers and AI strategies are fundamentally different.
META holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AAPL has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+33.49% vs -18.03%), though META has the better forward P/E setup (17.64x vs 33.52x for AAPL). META leads on both revenue growth (28.00%) and operating margin (34.83%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for META (+22.38%) than for AAPL (+1.49%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Prefer consumer brand durability with proven pricing power
- Value consistent buybacks and balance-sheet-driven shareholder returns
- Want services-margin expansion as a secular long-term driver
- Prefer a business less dependent on advertising cyclicality
- Want direct exposure to digital advertising with a proven, highly profitable business model
- Believe AI-driven ad targeting will keep improving monetization per user
- Are comfortable with heavier capex spending relative to revenue than Apple
- Prefer faster top-line growth potential over Apple's more mature hardware cycle
| Metric | AAPL | META |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 58.9 | 52.2 |
| AI ranki | #192 | #395 |
| Latest closei | $319.97 | $616.77 |
| 1M returni | +2.12% | +4.17% |
| 6M returni | +23.12% | -4.73% |
| 1Y returni | +33.49% | -18.03% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AAPL | META |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.45K (+34.5%) started 2025-09-08 | $8.2K (-18.0%) started 2025-09-08 |
| 5Y ago | $21.62K (+116.2%) started 2021-09-09 | $16.47K (+64.7%) started 2021-09-09 |
| 10Y ago | $147.42K (+1374.2%) started 2016-09-09 | $48.98K (+389.8%) started 2016-09-09 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AAPL | META |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $4.67T | $1.57T |
| Trailing P/Ei | 36.62 | 23.26 |
| Forward P/Ei | 33.52 | 17.64 |
| Price/Salesi | 11.01 | 10.30 |
| EV/Revenuei | 10.04 | 6.98 |
| Analyst targeti | $324.45 | $754.77 |
| Target upsidei | +1.49% | +22.38% |
| Metric | AAPL | META |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 16.40% | 28.00% |
| Earnings growthi | 28.70% | -13.40% |
| EPS growthi | +28.70% | -13.40% |
| FCF margini | +23.08% | +9.44% |
| Operating margini | 32.62% | 34.83% |
| Profit margini | 27.62% | 29.83% |
| ROIC proxyi | 148.75% | 29.85% |
| Return on equityi | 148.75% | 29.85% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.34% | 0.34% |
| Betai | 1.09 | 1.24 |
| Debt/equityi | 78.44 | 43.00 |
| Current ratioi | 1.00 | 2.23 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.81 | 1.99 |
Over the past year, AAPL and META have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.15), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AAPL | META |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +34.51% | -18.02% |
| CAGRi | +34.60% | -18.05% | |
| Volatilityi | 25.03% | 38.86% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.14 | -0.43 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.65 | -0.60 | |
| Max drawdowni | 13.82% | 32.62% | |
| Current drawdowni | 5.91% | 20.95% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 4.87% | 17.88% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 6.37% | 19.31% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.35% | 11.33% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.94% | 16.52% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +111.90% | +63.94% |
| CAGRi | +16.22% | +10.40% | |
| Volatilityi | 28.06% | 44.88% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.52 | 0.35 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.76 | 0.50 | |
| Max drawdowni | 33.36% | 76.52% | |
| Current drawdowni | 5.91% | 21.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.19% | 23.37% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.75% | 31.03% | |
| Max daily dropi | 9.25% | 26.39% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.75% | 30.98% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +1250.18% | +387.55% |
| CAGRi | +29.74% | +17.17% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.15% | 39.23% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.89 | 0.49 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.30 | 0.70 | |
| Max drawdowni | 38.52% | 76.74% | |
| Current drawdowni | 5.91% | 21.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.11% | 16.66% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.19% | 24.16% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.86% | 26.39% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.75% | 30.98% |
| Category | AAPL | META |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Apple Inc. | Meta Platforms, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Communication Services |
| Industry | Consumer Electronics | Internet Content & Information |
| Core business | Consumer hardware (iPhone, Mac, iPad, Wearables), services (App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple Pay), and an integrated software ecosystem with growing on-device AI features. | Social media and advertising across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, with heavy AI investment to improve ad targeting and engagement, plus longer-term bets on Reality Labs and AI assistants. |
| Investor focus | iPhone upgrade cycles, Services segment growth and margins, Apple Intelligence adoption, and capital return through buybacks and dividends. | Ad revenue growth, engagement trends, AI-driven ad targeting improvements, capex intensity, and Reality Labs losses. |
- Deep consumer ecosystem with exceptionally high customer retention and switching costs
- Large, high-margin Services segment that provides recurring revenue independent of hardware cycles
- Enormous free cash flow generation supporting one of the largest buyback programs in the market
- Massive, highly profitable advertising business with billions of daily users across its app family
- AI investment directly and quickly improves ad targeting and engagement, showing up in revenue
- Strong free cash flow generation despite heavy capex, funding buybacks and AI infrastructure simultaneously
- iPhone upgrade cycles and hardware revenue concentration
- Slower, more indirect AI monetization compared to peers selling AI as a direct product
- App Store and platform regulation affecting Services segment economics
- Capex growth rate for AI data centers outpacing near-term revenue contribution
- Reality Labs losses continuing to weigh on overall operating margin
- Regulatory and privacy pressure affecting ad targeting effectiveness
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