AAPL vs CMCSA: How Apple Inc. and Comcast Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: CMCSA is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AAPL and CMCSA share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AAPL and CMCSA exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Apple (AAPL) designs and sells consumer hardware, software, and services. The iPhone is its largest product by revenue, complemented by Mac computers, iPad tablets, and the wearables category (Apple Watch, AirPods). The fastest-growing and highest-margin part of the business is Services: the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, AppleCare, advertising, and payments. Apple's strategy centers on a tightly integrated ecosystem where hardware, the operating systems (iOS, macOS, watchOS), and services reinforce each other and create high switching costs. The company designs its own silicon (the A-series and M-series chips) and outsources manufacturing primarily to partners like TSMC and Foxconn. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world and returns enormous cash to shareholders through buybacks and a growing dividend.

Full AAPL guide

Comcast is a global media and technology company built on three main pillars. Its Connectivity and Platforms business, anchored by Xfinity, is one of the largest US broadband and cable providers, selling high-speed internet, video, mobile (Xfinity Mobile), and home services to tens of millions of households, plus business connectivity. Its Content and Experiences business includes NBCUniversal, which owns the NBC broadcast network, cable networks (USA, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC), the Peacock streaming service, Universal Pictures film studio, and Universal theme parks worldwide. Comcast also owns Sky, a major European media and broadband operator. The company makes money primarily from recurring broadband and connectivity subscriptions, which are its most profitable and stable revenue, supplemented by advertising, content licensing, box-office and streaming revenue, and theme-park admissions. Comcast is headquartered in Philadelphia and generates substantial free cash flow that funds dividends and buybacks.

Full CMCSA guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AAPL drivers: Services growth and margin; Installed base and switching costs.
• CMCSA drivers: Broadband cash engine; Wireless and convergence.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: iPhone is still the majority of revenue, so any slowdown in smartphone replacement cycles or weakness in China, a large and competitive market, hits results directly. For CMCSA, comcast's core video business is in secular decline as cord-cutting erodes traditional cable-TV subscribers, and broadband subscriber growth has stalled or turned negative under heavy competition from fiber overbuilders (AT and T, others) and fixed-wireless from T-Mobile and Verizon.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AAPL if you believe its drivers more; CMCSA if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AAPL and CMCSA guides.

AAPL. Apple trades at a premium multiple for a hardware-rooted business, justified by its Services growth, enormous and consistent free cash flow, and aggressive buybacks that steadily shrink the share count. The valuation embeds confidence in installed-base durability; multiple compression risk rises if iPhone growth stalls or Services regulation bites.

CMCSA. Comcast trades at a low earnings multiple relative to the market, reflecting investor concern about cord-cutting, slowing broadband growth, and media disruption. The bull case rests on a high-margin broadband cash engine, growing wireless and theme parks, a solid dividend yield, and aggressive buybacks. The cheap valuation is the market pricing structural decline against still-robust cash generation.

Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): AAPL shows revenue (ttm) ~$400 billion, operating margin ~30%, net income (ttm) ~$100 billion, gross margin ~46% (Services much higher than hardware); CMCSA shows revenue (ttm) ~$120 billion, operating margin ~18-20%, net income (ttm) ~$15 billion, dividend yield ~3-3.5%.

AAPL and CMCSA are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AAPL and CMCSA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.