Apple vs Alphabet (AAPL vs GOOG)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Apple is the larger company by revenue ($416.2B vs $402.8B) and market value ($4.9T vs $4.2T). Alphabet has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+56.4% cumulative vs +13.8%). Alphabet trades at the lower trailing P/E (17.3x vs 38.2x).
About Apple
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. It also offers related services including advertising, technical support under AppleCare, cloud storage, digital content platforms, and payment services. The company serves consumers, small and mid-sized businesses, education, enterprise, and government markets worldwide.
About Alphabet
Alphabet Inc. operates as a collection of businesses, with its largest segment being Google. Google provides services including Search, YouTube, advertising platforms, Android, Chrome, and devices like the Pixel series, serving users worldwide. Alphabet also offers Google Cloud services to businesses, delivering cloud computing solutions and productivity tools.
Head to head (AAPL FY2025 vs GOOG FY2025)
| Metric | AAPLFY2025 | GOOGFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $416.16B | $402.84B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 6.4% | 15.1% |
| Gross margin | 46.9% | 59.7% |
| Operating margin | 32.0% | 32.0% |
| Net margin | 26.9% | 32.8% |
| Net income | $112.01B | $132.17B |
| Diluted EPS | $7.46 | $10.81 |
| FCF margin | 23.7% | 18.2% |
| ROE | 151.9% | 31.8% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 1.06× | 0.11× |
| Market cap | $4.87T | $4.21T |
| P/E | 38.2× | 17.3× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (AAPL FY2025, GOOG FY2025). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| Revenue | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $365.82B | $394.33B | $383.29B | $391.04B | $416.16B |
| GOOG | $257.64B | $282.84B | $307.39B | $350.02B | $402.84B |
Peer standing
These companies are ranked against different peer groups (Apple vs 625 Technology companies; Alphabet vs 331 software companies), so each is shown against its own peers rather than on one scale.
Apple
Apple’s return on equity of 151.9% ranks in the 99th percentile of the 543 Technology companies reporting it. Apple’s operating margin of 32.0% ranks in the 94th percentile of the 562 Technology companies reporting it. Apple’s net margin of 26.9% ranks in the 91st percentile of the 575 Technology companies reporting it.
Alphabet
Alphabet’s operating margin of 32.0% ranks in the 95th percentile of the 302 software companies reporting it. Alphabet’s net margin of 32.8% ranks in the 93rd percentile of the 306 software companies reporting it. Alphabet’s return on equity of 31.8% ranks in the 88th percentile of the 285 software companies reporting it.
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | AAPL | GOOG |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 128.8M | 51.8M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -7.9% | +14.3% |
| Days to cover | 2.85 | 3.35 |
| As of settlement | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-15 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 activity (codes P/S) | AAPL | GOOG |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | — |
| Sells | 18 ($92.1M) | — |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
16 tracked 13F managers hold both Apple and Alphabet as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Berkshire Hathaway, Bridgewater Associates, Chou Associates Management, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Dodge & Cox, Giverny Capital, Gotham Asset Management, Harris Associates (Oakmark), Himalaya Capital Management, Markel Group and 4 more. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.