CRDO vs ALAB Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Both companies are premium-valued, high-margin picks-and-shovels plays on AI data center interconnect growth, evaluated primarily on design-win momentum and customer diversification rather than near-term earnings power. The distinction is largely about which company's specific product roadmap and customer mix an investor finds more durable through the current capex cycle.
Use this comparison to weigh two similarly-styled AI connectivity chip leaders against each other on growth durability and customer concentration rather than on valuation discount, since both typically trade at premium multiples.
CRDO holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CRDO leads on both 1-year return (+83.81%) and forward P/E quality (24.76x vs 46.45x for ALAB), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. CRDO leads on both revenue growth (157.00%) and operating margin (35.66%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for ALAB (+31.31%) than for CRDO (+25.22%).
- Want exposure to active electrical cables as a lower-cost AI interconnect alternative
- Are comfortable with concentrated hyperscaler revenue exposure
- Believe Credo's optical DSP expansion will diversify future growth
- Accept a premium valuation for demonstrated execution
- Want exposure most closely tied to leading GPU platform upgrade cycles
- Believe PCIe/CXL retimers are a durable, structurally necessary component
- Are comfortable with dependence on a dominant GPU ecosystem
- Accept high valuation multiples for best-in-class growth
| Metric | CRDO | ALAB |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 63.6 | 48.8 |
| AI rank | #94 | #528 |
| Latest close | $226.19 | $296.98 |
| 1M return | +9.28% | -4.58% |
| 6M return | +101.47% | +149.92% |
| 1Y return | +83.81% | +63.00% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CRDO | ALAB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $18.2K (+82.0%) started 2025-09-02 | $17.04K (+70.4%) started 2025-09-02 |
| 5Y ago | $194.15K (+1841.5%) started 2022-01-27 | $47.88K (+378.8%) started 2024-03-20 |
| 10Y ago | $194.15K (+1841.5%) started 2022-01-27 | $47.88K (+378.8%) started 2024-03-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CRDO | ALAB |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $42.51B | $51.52B |
| Trailing P/E | 90.12 | 146.30 |
| Forward P/E | 24.76 | 46.45 |
| Price/Sales | 31.84 | 42.87 |
| EV/Revenue | 31.45 | 40.78 |
| Analyst target | $283.23 | $389.95 |
| Target upside | +25.22% | +31.31% |
| Metric | CRDO | ALAB |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 157.00% | 104.50% |
| Earnings growth | 343.20% | 186.20% |
| EPS growth | +343.20% | +186.20% |
| FCF margin | +18.79% | +7.65% |
| Operating margin | 35.66% | 22.74% |
| Profit margin | 35.37% | 30.74% |
| ROIC proxy | 34.41% | 25.83% |
| Return on equity | 34.41% | 25.83% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Beta | 3.23 | 3.84 |
| Debt/equity | 1.23 | 2.57 |
| Current ratio | 10.15 | 10.05 |
| Quick ratio | 8.51 | 9.16 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CRDO | ALAB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +82.01% | +70.44% |
| CAGR | +82.69% | +71.01% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.06 | 0.99 | |
| Max drawdown | 53.59% | 60.19% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.81% | 21.41% | |
| Max wkly drop | 25.66% | 34.09% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +1841.55% | +378.77% |
| CAGR | +90.79% | +89.61% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.15 | 1.10 | |
| Max drawdown | 62.04% | 63.69% | |
| Max daily drop | 46.80% | 28.03% | |
| Max wkly drop | 51.50% | 37.61% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +1841.55% | +378.77% |
| CAGR | +90.79% | +89.61% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.15 | 1.10 | |
| Max drawdown | 62.04% | 63.69% | |
| Max daily drop | 46.80% | 28.03% | |
| Max wkly drop | 51.50% | 37.61% |
| Category | CRDO | ALAB |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Credo Technology Group | Astera Labs |
| Sector | Semiconductors | Semiconductors |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Credo designs high-speed connectivity chips, including active electrical cables and optical DSPs, used to move data inside AI and hyperscale data centers. | Astera Labs makes connectivity chips, including PCIe and CXL retimers, that link GPUs, CPUs, and memory inside AI servers. |
| Investor focus | Investors watch hyperscaler capex cycles, AEC attach rates, and Credo's exposure to a concentrated set of large cloud customers. | Investors focus on Astera's design-win pipeline with GPU platform leaders, PCIe generational transitions, and its expansion into new interconnect standards. |
- Leading position in active electrical cables for AI servers
- Strong gross margins and improving profitability
- Expanding product roadmap into optical DSPs and retimers
- Tightly aligned product roadmap with leading GPU platform cycles
- High gross margins typical of a fabless connectivity leader
- Broadening addressable market as AI server architectures grow more complex
- High customer concentration among a few hyperscalers
- Premium valuation leaves little room for growth disappointments
- Competitive pressure from larger, diversified semiconductor suppliers
- Heavy reliance on a small number of large customers and one dominant GPU ecosystem
- Rich valuation sensitive to any slowdown in AI infrastructure spending
- Intensifying competition in the connectivity chip category
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