QUALCOMM (QCOM) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate QCOM or AAPL?

QUALCOMM presently has a consensus target price of $182.82, suggesting a potential upside of 11.51%. Apple has a consensus target price of $241.77, suggesting a potential upside of 1.21%. 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
QUALCOMM	1 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54
Apple	1 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56

Which has more risk and volatility, QCOM or AAPL?

QUALCOMM has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is QCOM or AAPL a better dividend stock?

QUALCOMM pays an annual dividend of $3.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. QUALCOMM pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apple pays out 15.8% 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. QUALCOMM has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years and Apple has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. QUALCOMM is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to QCOM or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 262 more articles in the media than QUALCOMM. MarketBeat recorded 327 mentions for Apple and 65 mentions for QUALCOMM. QUALCOMM's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Apple's score of 0.91 indicating that QUALCOMM is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
QUALCOMM	54 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	212 Very Positive mention(s)	33 Positive mention(s)	55 Neutral mention(s)	18 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

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

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, QCOM or AAPL?

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
QUALCOMM	$38.96B	4.54	$10.14B	$10.37	15.81
Apple	$391.04B	9.07	$93.74B	$6.59	36.25

Is QCOM or AAPL more profitable?

QUALCOMM has a net margin of 26.77% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat QUALCOMM's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
QUALCOMM	26.77%	40.35%	19.74%
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%

Summary

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