Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) are rivals, partners and members of the Magnificent 7.
While both stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past five and 10 years, one has performed significantly better.
Rivals and Partners: Apple and Alphabet are both smartphone companies competing against each other for market share in the lucrative growth market.
While the companies compete against each other for smartphone market share, Alphabet also pays Apple for being the official search provider on iPhones.
This lucrative deal, which is worth an estimated $25 billion and could make up 6% of Apple's revenue could be under pressure with the U.S. Department of Justice looking into antitrust allegations for Alphabet's Google search division.
Stock Performance: In 2024, Apple outperformed Alphabet for stock returns. Here's a look at the historical stock price returns for Apple, Alphabet and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), which tracks the S&P 500.
| YTD Performance | 1-Year Performance | 5-Year Performance | 10-Year Performance | |
| Apple | +25.2% | +35.8% | +276.7% | +759.9% |
| Alphabet | +19.4% | +31.4% | +161.1% | +481.3% |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +23.1% | +39.4% | +93.0% | +188.5% |
The chart shows that Alphabet trails the S&P 500 on a year-to-date and one-year basis, while Apple ranks ahead of the S&P 500 on all metrics.
Looking at the five-year and 10-year performances, Apple has significantly outperformed Alphabet.
Read Also: Apple Revenue Growth 'Just Too Slow For Investors To Get Excited About': Analyst Highlights Advertising As Future Catalyst
Financials: Both Apple and Alphabet are among the top revenue-producing companies on an annual basis and bring in plenty of net income, which translates to strong earnings per share year after year.
In fiscal 2023, Apple had revenue of $383.3 billion and net income of $97.0 billion. Alphabet posted revenue of $307.4 billion and net income of $74.0 billion.
While Apple had the higher revenue total for the last full fiscal year, the company posted a 2.8% year-over-year decline for revenue. Alphabet posted a 9% year-over-year increase for revenue.
Going forward, both stocks will be closely watched for who has the higher growth and better stock performance.
Both stocks have dividend yields of less than 1%, which likely doesn't make the stocks as attractive for dividend investors.
For value investors, both stocks trade at high multiple, but it is Alphabet who currently trades at the lower price-to-earnings multiple of 23.68, versus Apple's 35.43.
AAPL, GOOGL Price Action: Apple stock trades at $231.57 at the time of writing versus a 52-week trading range of $164.08 to $237.49.
Alphabet stock trades at $165.01 at the time of writing versus a 52-week trading range of $120.21 to $191.75.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook Uses iPhone, Apple Watch 'Every Day,' Says Apple Intelligence Has 'Changed My Life'
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