12 companies · median 20 of 36 checks · prices as of 2026-09-08
Computers and machinery stocks.
Sorted by how many checks each one passes. Sort by any column to see who is cheapest, who is growing, or who has the strongest balance sheet - and how that compares with what is normal for the industry.
Ranked by checks passed
12 of 201 covered companies→There is real spread here - Apple (AAPL) leads on 25 of 36 checks, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) trails on 16, with a median of 20.
→AAPL, CSCO, LRCX are 75% of the $7.26T we cover here, so a sector average says more about them than about the rest.
 AppleAAPLSells iPhones and the software, services and accessories that live around them.ReportFact sheet | -1.2% | +32.4% | 0 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25/36 |
 FortinetFTNTSells firewalls and network security hardware and software.ReportFact sheet | +0.8% | +99.8% | 0 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 25/36 |
 Arista NetworksANETSells high-speed network switches and software to cloud providers and AI data centres.ReportFact sheet | +0.6% | +36.5% | 0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 24/36 |
 Lam ResearchLRCXMakes the etch and deposition equipment that memory and logic chipmakers depend on.ReportFact sheet | +4.2% | +213.0% | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 22/36 |
 IBMIBMSells enterprise software, consulting and mainframes, with Red Hat at the centre of its cloud push.ReportFact sheet | -1.2% | -4.2% | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 22/36 |
 CiscoCSCOSells the networking gear that runs corporate networks, plus security and observability software.ReportFact sheet | -0.0% | +66.6% | 0 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 20/36 |
 DeereDEMakes tractors, combines and construction equipment, and finances their purchase.ReportFact sheet | -1.8% | +45.6% | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 20/36 |
 CaterpillarCATMakes construction and mining machinery, engines and power generators.ReportFact sheet | +1.1% | +96.2% | 0 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 19/36 |
 HPHPQSells PCs and printers, and the ink and toner that make the printers profitable.ReportFact sheet | -4.5% | +11.7% | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 19/36 |
 Dell TechnologiesDELLSells PCs, servers and storage to businesses, now including AI servers built on Nvidia GPUs.ReportFact sheet | +1.9% | +333.1% | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 18/36 |
 Super Micro ComputerSMCIBuilds servers and racks for AI data centres, mostly around Nvidia GPUs.ReportFact sheet | +1.7% | -0.4% | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 18/36 |
 Palo Alto NetworksPANWSells firewalls and cloud security software to large organisations.ReportFact sheet | +1.1% | +73.3% | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 16/36 |
The filings behind this table close between 2026-04-30 and 2026-08-02, because these companies do not share a fiscal calendar; prices are the close of 2026-09-08. Each name links to its full report; every score is a count of pass-or-fail checks read from that company's own filings.
Where the sector falls short
median score per axis→Value is where the computer and machinery companies we cover come up short most often, at a median of 0 of 6, while Quality runs at 5.
| Value | ○○○○○○ | 0 of 6 |
| Growth | ●●●●○○ | 4 of 6 |
| Quality | ●●●●●○ | 5 of 6 |
| Health | ●●●●○○ | 4 of 6 |
| Shareholder returns | ●●●●○○ | 4 of 6 |
| Trend analysis | ●●●●●○ | 5 of 6 |
What a normal margin looks like here
sector percentiles · 96 filers→Gross margin clusters among computer and machinery companies, from 29% to 43% across the middle of the field, with a midpoint of 37% measured over 96 filers.
| Metric | Bottom third | Midpoint | Top third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin n=96 | 28.6% | 36.5% | 42.7% |
| Operating margin n=123 | 5.7% | 11.0% | 15.9% |
| Net margin n=129 | 2.8% | 7.7% | 11.7% |
| Return on equity n=112 | 4.4% | 10.7% | 17.3% |
Who grows, and who keeps it
every company in the industry→AAPL, LRCX, ANET, FTNT do both: growing faster than this industry's middle and keeping more of each sale than it does. The industry's middle is 6% growth on a 14% margin. HPQ does neither.
A year of price
not a fact about the business→10 of 12 are up over twelve months and the median move is +56.1% - Dell Technologies (DELL) at +333.1% against IBM (IBM) at -4.2%. Price is not a fact about a business, and the Trend chapter of each report says what it is measured on.
Head to head
2 pairsThe table above gives the order. These put two of them in one column each, so you can see where the difference actually is.