ARM vs SWKS Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Arm Holdings profits from licensing the chip architecture behind most mobile and embedded devices, while Skyworks manufactures RF components primarily for smartphones.
Investors weighing Arm against Skyworks are choosing between a high-margin, high-valuation licensing platform expanding into AI and data centers, and a more mature RF component maker tied closely to smartphone demand.
ARM holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ARM has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+82.56% vs -10.62%), though SWKS has the better forward P/E setup (14.00x vs 79.49x for ARM). On fundamentals, ARM is growing revenue faster (22.40%), while SWKS maintains the higher operating margin (8.82%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for ARM (+17.43%) than for SWKS (-1.97%).
- Want exposure to chip architecture licensing across mobile, data center, and AI
- Believe in continued royalty rate growth from newer architecture versions
- Can tolerate a premium valuation multiple
- Are comfortable with customer concentration among large licensees
- Want exposure to RF component demand tied to smartphone and wireless devices
- Value consistent free cash flow generation
- Believe in the company's diversification into automotive and industrial markets
- Prefer a more moderately valued semiconductor name
| Metric | ARM | SWKS |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 41.2 | 34.7 |
| AI rank | #963 | #1697 |
| Latest close | $243.32 | $67.14 |
| 1M return | -14.14% | +6.30% |
| 6M return | +91.70% | +13.37% |
| 1Y return | +82.56% | -10.62% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ARM | SWKS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $18.26K (+82.6%) started 2025-08-21 | $9.01K (-9.9%) started 2025-08-21 |
| 5Y ago | $38.26K (+282.6%) started 2023-09-14 | $4.46K (-55.4%) started 2021-08-23 |
| 10Y ago | $38.26K (+282.6%) started 2023-09-14 | $13.03K (+30.3%) started 2016-08-22 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ARM | SWKS |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $259.87B | $10.48B |
| Trailing P/E | 250.85 | 36.07 |
| Forward P/E | 79.49 | 14.00 |
| Price/Sales | 50.40 | 2.72 |
| EV/Revenue | 49.74 | 2.58 |
| Analyst target | $285.72 | $68.25 |
| Target upside | +17.43% | -1.97% |
| Metric | ARM | SWKS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 22.40% | -3.10% |
| Earnings growth | 108.30% | -68.60% |
| EPS growth | +108.30% | -68.60% |
| FCF margin | +25.88% | +11.18% |
| Operating margin | 7.60% | 8.82% |
| Profit margin | 20.25% | 7.23% |
| ROIC proxy | 13.35% | 5.09% |
| Return on equity | 13.35% | 5.09% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 4.13% |
| Beta | 3.91 | 1.51 |
| Debt/equity | 5.62 | 11.87 |
| Current ratio | 5.25 | 3.10 |
| Quick ratio | 5.06 | 1.31 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ARM | SWKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +82.56% | -9.90% |
| CAGR | +82.64% | -9.92% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.11 | -0.09 | |
| Max drawdown | 48.83% | 36.72% | |
| Max daily drop | 12.84% | 10.46% | |
| Max wkly drop | 25.35% | 13.73% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +282.64% | -59.41% |
| CAGR | +57.97% | -16.51% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | -0.34 | |
| Max drawdown | 53.97% | 71.08% | |
| Max daily drop | 19.46% | 24.67% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.98% | 26.62% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +282.64% | +9.05% |
| CAGR | +57.97% | +0.87% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | 0.11 | |
| Max drawdown | 53.97% | 72.88% | |
| Max daily drop | 19.46% | 24.67% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.98% | 26.62% |
| Category | ARM | SWKS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Arm Holdings plc | Skyworks Solutions, Inc. |
| Sector | Semiconductors / Chip Architecture Licensing | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | Semiconductors |
| Core business | Arm designs and licenses the chip architecture used in the vast majority of mobile devices and an expanding range of data center, automotive, and AI hardware. | Skyworks designs and manufactures radio frequency chips and components used in smartphones and other wireless-connected devices. |
| Investor focus | Watch royalty rate trends as newer architecture versions gain adoption, along with expansion into data center and AI compute licensing. | Watch smartphone unit demand trends and the company's progress diversifying its customer base beyond its largest handset customer. |
- Dominant architecture licensing position across mobile and embedded devices
- Asset-light licensing and royalty model generates high margins
- Growing adoption of its architecture in data center and AI chips
- Established RF technology expertise serving major smartphone makers
- Diversifying into automotive, industrial, and infrastructure end markets
- Consistent free cash flow generation from its core business
- Premium valuation prices in a large amount of future growth
- Revenue concentration among a relatively small number of large licensees
- Competition from alternative architectures like RISC-V in some segments
- High revenue concentration in a single large smartphone customer
- Smartphone unit growth has been slow in mature markets
- Margins sensitive to product mix and customer pricing pressure
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.