CSCO vs LRCX.

→No axis separates them by more than 2 of six checks, and the widest is Health. They score identically on 3 of the six, so the difference between them is narrower than a headline suggests.

	CSCO	LRCX
Health	4/6	6/6
Shareholder returns	5/6	3/6
Trend analysis	1/6	3/6
Value	0/6	0/6
Growth	4/6	4/6
Quality	6/6	6/6
All checks	20/36	22/36

→Cisco turns over $63.3B to Lam Research's $23.2B, 2.7 times as much. Cisco keeps 21.0% of revenue as profit against 31.3% at Lam Research.

→Both lean on debt to a similar degree, 0.59x to equity at Cisco and 0.30x at Lam Research.

	CSCO	LRCX
Debt / equity	0.59x	0.30x
Interest coverage	10.5x	52.6x
Cash and short-term investments	$15.9B	$8.2B

→Both pay: Cisco yields the more at 1.5% against 0.3%. A yield rises when a price falls, so read it beside the payout checks in each report.

	CSCO	LRCX
Dividend yield	1.5%	0.3%
Payout ratio	49.4%	17.5%
Years of unbroken dividend	-	-

→Cisco is the cheaper of the two on earnings, 32.8x against 55.6x. Against their own histories, Cisco is above its 16.0x median and Lam Research is above its 15.9x.

	CSCO	LRCX
Share price	$109.17	$320.42
Market cap	$430.4B	$400.9B
P/E	32.8x	55.6x
P/E, own median own 11-year median / own 11-year median	16.0x	15.9x
P/S	6.8x	17.3x
Free cash flow yield	3.0%	1.2%

→Lam Research grew revenue faster last year, +26.0% against +11.8% at Cisco - 14 points apart. Over three years the order is reversed: Lam Research compounds at +10.1% against +3.6%.

	CSCO	LRCX
Revenue (TTM)	$63.3B	$23.2B
Revenue growth, 1 year	+11.8%	+26.0%
Revenue CAGR, 3 years	+3.6%	+10.1%
Net income (TTM)	$13.3B	$7.3B
Free cash flow (TTM)	$12.8B	$4.9B

→Cisco keeps more of each sale: gross margin of 64.5% against 50.5%, a gap of 14 points that flows into everything below it.

	CSCO	LRCX
Gross margin	64.5%	50.5%
Operating margin	24.3%	35.3%
Return on equity	26.4%	58.3%