QUALCOMM (QCOM) Competitors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment and valuation.

Does the media refer more to AAPL or QCOM?

In the previous week, Apple had 225 more articles in the media than QUALCOMM. MarketBeat recorded 280 mentions for Apple and 55 mentions for QUALCOMM. QUALCOMM's average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat Apple's score of 0.78 indicating that QUALCOMM is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	152 Very Positive mention(s)	19 Positive mention(s)	71 Neutral mention(s)	22 Negative mention(s)	14 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
QUALCOMM	51 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AAPL or QCOM?

67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.4% of QUALCOMM shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of QUALCOMM shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, AAPL or QCOM?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than QUALCOMM. QUALCOMM is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apple, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apple	$391.04B	8.15	$93.74B	$6.42	33.23
QUALCOMM	$38.96B	4.57	$10.14B	$9.82	16.51

Which has more risk & volatility, AAPL or QCOM?

Apple has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QUALCOMM has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate AAPL or QCOM?

Apple presently has a consensus target price of $234.95, indicating a potential upside of 10.12%. QUALCOMM has a consensus target price of $186.96, indicating a potential upside of 15.33%. Given QUALCOMM's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe QUALCOMM is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.58
QUALCOMM	1 Sell rating(s)	15 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.39

Is AAPL or QCOM more profitable?

QUALCOMM has a net margin of 26.11% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 167.24% beat QUALCOMM's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	167.24%	31.35%
QUALCOMM	26.11%	40.11%	19.35%

Is AAPL or QCOM a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. QUALCOMM pays an annual dividend of $3.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Apple pays out 16.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. QUALCOMM pays out 36.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Apple has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and QUALCOMM has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years. QUALCOMM is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Apple beats QUALCOMM on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.