Apple Inc. (AAPL)vs NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)

Quick verdict

One figure frames this pair: revenue compounding of about 100% a year over the three fiscal years to January 2026 at NVIDIA, against roughly 1.8% a year over the three years to September 2025 at Apple. That gap matters because almost every other difference flows from it — NVIDIA's 63.7% net margin, its 0.14 PEG and its willingness to trade on 18.3 times sales all rest on the assumption that data-centre demand persists, while Apple's 36.7 times earnings and 10 times sales rest on the durability of an installed base. On our scoring NVIDIA edges it 3.5 to 2.5, winning growth and quality; Apple takes the income factor with a 0.33% dividend yield and 1.76% buyback yield. Valuation, balance sheet and momentum are genuine ties. Apple reads as mature and high-quality; NVIDIA as high-growth and high-quality. Both are US-listed technology names on Nasdaq.

At-a-glance comparison

Business model and revenue mix

Consumer hardware and software services sit on one side: Apple designs and sells iPhone, Mac, iPad and wearables, with a services layer spanning the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music and Apple Pay. Revenue in the twelve months to June 2026 reached $466.8bn, roughly one and a half times NVIDIA's $303.0bn for the twelve months to July 2026 — Apple remains the larger business by sales. NVIDIA, by contrast, designs GPUs and accelerated-computing platforms sold chiefly into data-centre AI, alongside gaming, professional visualisation and automotive. Its customer base is concentrated among cloud and enterprise buyers rather than hundreds of millions of consumers. The revenue mix explains the margin structure that follows: a semiconductor platform with pricing power over scarce compute versus a hardware-plus-services franchise carrying bill-of-materials cost. Both report operating income directly, so no proxy measure is needed here.

Valuation

Our valuation verdict is a tie, and the multiples show why the comparison resists a simple answer. At the 4 September 2026 close, Apple traded on 36.7 times trailing earnings and NVIDIA on 29.1 times — cheaper on that single measure, despite the growth profile. Yet NVIDIA carries 18.3 times sales against Apple's 10.0, reflecting its far higher margins. On enterprise value to EBITDA the two are almost indistinguishable at 28.1 and 27.6 respectively. Free cash flow yields are similarly close: 2.9% for Apple, 2.3% for NVIDIA. Price-to-book favours NVIDIA at 24.2 versus 43.4, though Apple's book value has been compressed by years of buybacks, so that gap overstates the difference. The PEG spread — 5.33 against 0.14 — is the sharpest divide, but NVIDIA's denominator is a triple-digit growth rate unlikely to repeat.

Growth profile

Growth is where NVIDIA wins outright, and the margin is not subtle. Revenue compounded at 100.1% a year from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2026 and at 66.9% a year from fiscal 2021, while earnings per share compounded at 206.6% over the three-year span — a rate measured from a pre-AI base that was a fraction of today's scale, so it should be read as a description of the step-change rather than a forward run-rate. Apple's numbers sit in a different register: 1.8% revenue compounding over the three fiscal years to September 2025 and 8.7% over five, with EPS at 6.9% and 17.9% respectively. Apple's EPS growth running well ahead of its revenue growth reflects margin gains and a shrinking share count rather than volume expansion. A five-year EPS figure for NVIDIA is not available in our data.

Profitability and quality

Margins decide the quality verdict, which goes to NVIDIA. Gross margin of 74.7% in the twelve months to July 2026 towers over Apple's 48.7%, and the gap widens further down the statement: operating margin of 65.2% against 33.2%, net margin of 63.7% against 27.6%. The practical consequence is that NVIDIA converted $303.0bn of sales into $192.9bn of net income, more than Apple's $128.9bn on a materially larger revenue base. Free cash flow is the one line where they converge — $136.7bn at Apple against $127.0bn at NVIDIA — because NVIDIA's working capital and capacity commitments absorb a larger share of reported profit. Apple's operating income of $154.9bn exceeds its net income, the normal pattern once tax is deducted; neither company shows the sort of non-operating distortion that would undermine the earnings multiples above.

Balance-sheet risk

Neither balance sheet constrains anything, which is why this factor is a tie. Net debt to EBITDA stands at 0.27 times for Apple as at June 2026 and 0.05 times for NVIDIA as at July 2026 — both effectively unlevered against their cash generation. Apple holds $39.5bn of cash against $84.3bn of total debt; NVIDIA holds $22.4bn against $33.4bn. The visible difference is liquidity structure: NVIDIA's current ratio of 4.59 reflects large inventory and receivable balances in a supply-constrained business, while Apple runs at 1.00, a deliberate outcome for a company with fast payables cycles and reliable inflows rather than a sign of strain. NVIDIA's interest coverage of 425.8 times makes its debt load academic; the equivalent figure for Apple is not in our data, though the leverage ratio implies comparable comfort.

Price performance and shareholder returns

Shareholder returns are the one factor Apple wins. Its dividend yield of 0.33%, on $1.05 per share over the twelve months to June 2026, sits above NVIDIA's 0.12% from $0.28 per share, and the buyback yield of 1.76% is roughly double NVIDIA's 1.00%. Payout ratios show how little either distributes relative to earnings: 12.1% at Apple, 3.5% at NVIDIA, leaving both ample retained capital. On returns on capital, the ranking flips modestly — Apple's return on equity of 148.8% exceeds NVIDIA's 117.2%, but Apple's equity base of just $107.5bn has been hollowed out by repurchases, so the figure flatters. Return on invested capital is the fairer read, and there too Apple leads at 84.1% against 69.1%. Either way, both generate returns far above any plausible cost of capital.

Which stock fits which investor

Income seekers will find little in either name, but Apple is the less unrewarding of the two: a 0.33% yield plus 1.76% of shares retired annually, against NVIDIA's 0.12% and 1.00%. Growth-oriented investors face no contest — NVIDIA's 100.1% three-year revenue compounding and 65.2% operating margin define the factor. Quality also tilts to NVIDIA on margin structure, though Apple's 84.1% return on invested capital shows the gap is one of degree. Value buyers have a genuine dilemma: NVIDIA is cheaper on trailing earnings at 29.1 times versus 36.7, yet costlier on sales at 18.3 times versus 10.0, and the two are level on EV/EBITDA — hence the tie. Overall the composite score favours NVIDIA 3.5 to 2.5, driven by growth and margins rather than by valuation or financial strength, where the pair are matched.

• Value: Too close to call
• Growth: NVDA
• Income: AAPL
• Quality: NVDA

Frequently asked questions

Is NVIDIA actually cheaper than Apple?

It depends on the measure. At the 4 September 2026 close NVIDIA traded on 29.1 times trailing earnings against Apple's 36.7, but on 18.3 times sales against Apple's 10.0. Enterprise value to EBITDA is nearly identical at 27.6 and 28.1, which is why our valuation verdict is a tie.

Which company is bigger?

By revenue Apple, with $466.8bn in the twelve months to June 2026 versus NVIDIA's $303.0bn to July 2026. By market capitalisation NVIDIA is larger at $5.6tn against Apple's $4.7tn, and by net income too — $192.9bn versus $128.9bn.

Why is NVIDIA's PEG ratio only 0.14?

Because the denominator is a three-year EPS compounding rate of 206.6%, measured from fiscal 2023, before data-centre AI demand scaled. That base effect makes the 0.14 PEG arithmetically correct but a poor guide to future value; Apple's 5.33 reflects 6.9% three-year EPS growth.

Which pays more to shareholders?

Apple. Its 0.33% dividend yield and 1.76% buyback yield both exceed NVIDIA's 0.12% and 1.00%. Payout ratios remain low at both companies — 12.1% for Apple and 3.5% for NVIDIA — so distributions are a small fraction of earnings either way.

Does Apple's 148.8% return on equity mean it is more profitable?

Not on an operating basis. That figure is inflated by an equity base of $107.5bn shrunk by sustained buybacks. Return on invested capital is the better comparison, and Apple still leads at 84.1% versus 69.1%, but NVIDIA's 63.7% net margin far exceeds Apple's 27.6%.

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