GOOGL vs AAPL: Alphabet vs Apple Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Alphabet and Apple are two of the three most valuable companies in the world. Alphabet generates most of its value from advertising (Search + YouTube) and is building Google Cloud; Apple generates most of its value from iPhone hardware and a fast-growing services ecosystem. Both are integrating AI, but in fundamentally different ways — Alphabet is an AI-native business, Apple is using AI to drive ecosystem retention and hardware upgrades.
Use this GOOGL vs AAPL comparison to choose between two different types of technology monopolies. Alphabet owns the information access and advertising layer; Apple owns the consumer device and services ecosystem. Both compound free cash flow at scale — the choice is between advertising and cloud platform exposure versus hardware premium and ecosystem lock-in.
GOOGL holds the edge across 5 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. GOOGL leads on both 1-year return (+46.74%) and forward P/E quality (23.37x vs 33.52x for AAPL), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. GOOGL leads on both revenue growth (24.20%) and operating margin (34.03%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for GOOGL (+23.51%) 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.
- Want direct exposure to AI-era information access and digital advertising through Google Search and YouTube
- Value Google Cloud as an improving third cloud platform with strong AI workload momentum
- Are comfortable with search disruption risk as the primary long-term uncertainty in exchange for AI optionality via Gemini and DeepMind
- Prefer a lower valuation relative to earnings vs Apple, with more revenue growth upside
- Want the deepest consumer technology ecosystem with the most durable switching costs and brand loyalty
- Value Services margin expansion as a secular multi-year driver improving Apple's earnings quality
- Prefer Apple's massive buyback program as a dependable EPS growth mechanism
- Seek a lower-risk technology holding with more predictable demand from a 2B+ device installed base
| Metric | GOOGL | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 64.3 | 58.9 |
| AI ranki | #88 | #192 |
| Latest closei | $338.46 | $319.97 |
| 1M returni | -6.61% | +2.88% |
| 6M returni | +12.49% | +22.93% |
| 1Y returni | +46.74% | +34.18% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | GOOGL | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $14.57K (+45.7%) started 2025-09-04 | $13.34K (+33.4%) started 2025-09-04 |
| 5Y ago | $23.68K (+136.8%) started 2021-09-07 | $21.26K (+112.6%) started 2021-09-07 |
| 10Y ago | $84.58K (+745.8%) started 2016-09-06 | $141.17K (+1311.7%) started 2016-09-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | GOOGL | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $4.24T | $4.67T |
| Trailing P/Ei | 17.39 | 36.62 |
| Forward P/Ei | 23.37 | 33.52 |
| Price/Salesi | 5.88 | 11.01 |
| EV/Revenuei | 9.27 | 10.04 |
| Analyst targeti | $428.07 | $324.45 |
| Target upsidei | +23.51% | +1.49% |
| Metric | GOOGL | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 24.20% | 16.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 294.00% | 28.70% |
| EPS growthi | +294.00% | +28.70% |
| FCF margini | +5.08% | +23.08% |
| Operating margini | 34.03% | 32.62% |
| Profit margini | 54.77% | 27.62% |
| ROIC proxyi | 48.68% | 148.75% |
| Return on equityi | 48.68% | 148.75% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.25% | 0.34% |
| Betai | 1.24 | 1.09 |
| Debt/equityi | 18.86 | 78.44 |
| Current ratioi | 2.72 | 1.00 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.47 | 0.81 |
Over the past year, GOOGL and AAPL have moved barely in the same direction (correlation of 0.14), 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 | GOOGL | AAPL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +45.70% | +33.44% |
| CAGRi | +45.78% | +33.50% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.43% | 25.00% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.21 | 1.10 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.96 | 1.59 | |
| Max drawdowni | 21.09% | 13.82% | |
| Current drawdowni | 15.94% | 5.91% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.42% | 4.85% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.59% | 6.36% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.13% | 7.35% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.37% | 9.94% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +135.71% | +108.36% |
| CAGRi | +18.74% | +15.84% | |
| Volatilityi | 32.13% | 28.06% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.56 | 0.51 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.82 | 0.74 | |
| Max drawdowni | 44.32% | 33.36% | |
| Current drawdowni | 15.94% | 5.91% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.47% | 9.24% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 17.52% | 11.77% | |
| Max daily dropi | 9.51% | 9.25% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.41% | 22.75% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +741.76% | +1192.89% |
| CAGRi | +23.76% | +29.19% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.56% | 29.16% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.72 | 0.87 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.05 | 1.28 | |
| Max drawdowni | 44.32% | 38.52% | |
| Current drawdowni | 15.94% | 5.91% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.67% | 8.10% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.71% | 11.19% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.63% | 12.86% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 15.46% | 22.75% |
| Category | GOOGL | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Alphabet Inc. (Google) | Apple Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services | Technology |
| Industry | Internet Content & Information | Consumer Electronics |
| Core business | Owner of Google Search, YouTube, Google Cloud (GCP), Android, Chrome, Waymo, and DeepMind. Search and YouTube advertising account for the majority of revenue. Google Cloud is the third-largest cloud provider and a growing profit contributor. AI investments include Gemini, Google DeepMind, and AI Overviews in Search. | Designs and sells iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watch, AirPods, and other hardware. Services segment (App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Pay, AppleCare) is the fastest-growing, highest-margin business. Apple Intelligence AI is being integrated across devices. |
| Investor focus | Search advertising resilience vs AI-native disruption, YouTube CTV ad growth, Google Cloud margin expansion, Gemini AI monetisation, and Waymo commercialisation. | Services revenue growth and margin expansion, iPhone upgrade cycle durability, Apple Intelligence AI device adoption catalyst, emerging market expansion, and buyback program. |
- Google Search is the starting point for over 90% of global web searches — an unmatched advertising distribution asset
- YouTube dominates online video globally and is a rapidly growing connected TV advertising platform
- Google Cloud is growing faster than its market share suggests as AI workload demand accelerates GCP adoption
- Deepest consumer technology ecosystem in the world — 2+ billion active devices with high switching costs and expanding services attach rate
- Services segment (35%+ gross margin) is growing faster than hardware and improving the overall margin mix
- Largest share buyback program in history — Apple has repurchased over $700B+ of its own shares in recent years
- AI-native search alternatives (ChatGPT, Perplexity) are the first credible competitive challenge to Search in decades
- DOJ antitrust ruling found Google illegally monopolised search — potential structural remedies could alter distribution
- AI Overviews in Search could reduce organic click-through rates, complicating the advertising model
- iPhone growth is mature in developed markets — emerging markets and upgrade cycle timing are critical growth drivers
- App Store regulatory risk globally — antitrust proceedings and alternative payment rules in EU and US could reduce App Store margins
- Apple Intelligence AI benefits are still indirect — AI drives hardware upgrades rather than creating new direct AI revenue
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