Technology
Computer Hardware and Storage
21 investable US stocks · data to Saturday, October 24, 2026
Is it cheap because returns are depressed?
The industry is dear against its own past, and even though returns on assets are depressed (lower than in 99% of quarters). Free cash flow yield is low (lower than in 100% of quarters), so the cash doesn't support the premium. A low multiple can be warranted when returns on assets are low, and a high one when they are high, so the multiple reads best next to returns and free cash flow, each against the industry's own history.
Over- or under-earning?
Under-earningReturn on assets ranks at the 28th percentile of investable US stocks, against a median of the 58th and a low of the 21st since 1999. That is well below its usual level, so it may be under-earning, and today's multiple is likely too high on a normalized basis. If earnings normalize, the multiple would likely fall: from the 74th percentile today (dearer than 74% of investable US stocks) to around the 52nd (about the middle of the market), judging by where it sat in past quarters when returns were at their usual level. If returns fell to their low, it would be around the 71st (dearer than 71% of investable US stocks).
| Percentile | Today | Returns normal | Returns at low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on assets (higher is better) | 28th | 58th (median) | 21st (low) |
| Acquirer's Multiple (lower is cheaper) | 74th | 52nd | 71st |
Percentiles among investable US stocks. Return on assets is operating income over total assets, trailing 12 months. The last two columns show where it sat in past quarters when returns were within 7.5 points of their median (55 quarters) and of their low (5). The past, not a forecast.
Against its own history
Each chart is the industry's median stock as a percentile of all investable US stocks, quarterly since 1999. For the Acquirer's Multiple and debt to equity, lower is better. The shaded band is its usual range (the middle 80% of quarters); the dashed line is its long-run median; the dot is today. Green shading marks the better end of each scale and red the worse, and today's dot takes the colour of where it sits.
Computer Hardware and Storage stocks in the screens today
In today's screens, cheapest first. ● marks one of a screen's 30 tracked picks.
| Stock | Screen | Acquirer's Multiple | FCF yield | Shareholder yield |
|---|
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Other Technology industries
Quarterly since 1999 from point-in-time data. Each quarter, every investable US stock (price above $3, market cap above $75M, average daily trading above $850,000, no OTC, ADRs or MLPs) is placed in a percentile (0-100) against all the others on each metric. An industry's value is the median percentile of its stocks. Industries follow FactSet's RBICS classification. Percentiles describe the past; they are not investment advice or a forecast.