DIOD vs VSH: How Diodes Incorporated and Vishay Intertechnology Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
DIOD and VSH are similarly sized, but DIOD trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (16.88x vs 22.22x): the market is paying up for VSH's profile and pricing DIOD more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
DIOD vs VSH: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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.
| Metric | DIOD | VSH | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $4.54B | $5.25B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 16.88 | 22.22 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 53.36 | 3,422.00 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 1.89 | 1.78 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 67% of range | 39% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.40 | 2.24 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: DIOD 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.
Before you buy: how DIOD and VSH affect your concentration
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. DIOD and VSH 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 DIOD and VSH 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.
What does Diodes Incorporated (DIOD) do?
Diodes Incorporated has been making semiconductors since 1959 and sells into the parts of an electronic system that rarely get named on a spec sheet: protection diodes, MOSFETs, power management, logic, clock generators and timing devices, LED drivers, sensors and interface chips. Customers are automotive tier ones, industrial equipment makers, server and PC builders, consumer electronics brands and handset makers. Revenue is heavily Asian by billing geography (about 77% of Q1 2026 sales, against roughly 14% Europe and 9% North America), and the company runs a hybrid manufacturing model, fabricating roughly half its wafers internally and buying the rest from foundry partners in Korea and Taiwan. That mix of owned fabs plus outsourced capacity is what makes the earnings line swing so hard: fixed costs are real, so utilization drives gross margin, and gross margin drives everything else.
What does Vishay Intertechnology (VSH) do?
Vishay Intertechnology designs and manufactures one of the industry's broadest portfolios of discrete semiconductors (diodes, MOSFETs, optoelectronics) and passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors). Its parts are designed into automotive, industrial, computing, telecom, military, aerospace, medical, and consumer electronics, where they are typically low-cost but essential building blocks. The business is deeply cyclical: demand rises and falls with the broader electronics inventory cycle, and Vishay competes on breadth, reliability, and long-standing customer design wins rather than on any single high-margin product.
DIOD vs VSH: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- DIOD drivers: Margin recovery from utilization and cost discipline; Automotive and industrial content growth.
- VSH drivers: Cyclical demand recovery; Vishay 3.0 capacity expansion.
Which fits which kind of investor
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: This is a cyclical business with a documented history of severe drawdowns: revenue fell roughly 35% from the 2022 peak to the 2024 trough, and the stock traded as low as about $42 within the past 52 weeks against a recent price near $99. For VSH, vishay is highly cyclical, so a stall in the electronics recovery or renewed inventory destocking could quickly reverse the order-book strength.
DIOD or VSH: which should you pick?
DIOD vs VSH: the full fundamentals
DIOD. The valuation gap between trailing and forward multiples is the whole argument in this stock. On trailing GAAP earnings of roughly $1.86 per share the multiple looks expensive at about 53 times, but forward estimates that embed the guided $510 million quarter and 35% gross margin put it closer to 21 times, and the third-quarter guide alone implies about 30% year-over-year growth. Free cash flow of roughly $142 million over the trailing twelve months against about $108 million of capital spending shows a company still investing through the recovery. Balance sheet leverage is minimal, with total debt around $40 million at June 30, 2026 against roughly $442 million of cash and short-term investments, though the $250 million ElevATE payment will consume a large share of that cushion.
VSH. Vishay returned to profitability in Q1 2026 after a prior-year loss, so trailing earnings-based multiples are distorted by the recent trough and are best read alongside forward estimates. The stock trades around an enterprise value in the high-$2-billion range against roughly $3 billion in annual revenue. Valuation here is largely a bet on how much of the improving book-to-bill and Vishay 3.0 capacity converts into normalized margins.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): DIOD shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.63 billion, up ~18% year over year, q2 2026 revenue ~$445.5 million, up ~22% year over year, ahead of the ~$436.6 million consensus, q2 2026 earnings ~$1.00 GAAP diluted EPS, ~$0.70 non-GAAP adjusted (the gap is ~$20 million of unrealized investment gains), gross margin ~33.1% in Q2 2026, guided to ~35% in Q3 2026; VSH shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.1 billion, q1 2026 revenue ~$839 million (up ~17% YoY), q1 2026 gaap eps ~$0.05, q1 2026 gross margin ~21%.
The bottom line: DIOD vs VSH
DIOD and VSH 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 DIOD and VSH exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how DIOD or VSH fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Diodes Incorporated with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how DIOD fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between DIOD and VSH?
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Diodes Incorporated has been making semiconductors since 1959 and sells into the parts of an electronic system that rarely get named on a spec sheet: protection diodes, MOSFETs, power management, logic, clock generators and timing devices, LED drivers, sensors and interface chips. Vishay Intertechnology designs and manufactures one of the industry's broadest portfolios of discrete semiconductors (diodes, MOSFETs, optoelectronics) and passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors). They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is DIOD or VSH the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, DIOD or VSH?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), DIOD trades at 16.88x and VSH at 22.22x, so DIOD is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both DIOD and VSH?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of DIOD vs VSH?
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DIOD: This is a cyclical business with a documented history of severe drawdowns: revenue fell roughly 35% from the 2022 peak to the 2024 trough, and the stock traded as low as about $42 within the past 52 weeks against a recent price near $99. Reported GAAP earnings currently flatter the picture, because Q2 2026 GAAP net income of $46.6 million ($1.00 per diluted share) exceeded non-GAAP adjusted net income of $32.5 million ($0.70 per share) largely on approximately $20 million of unrealized investment gains, so the trailing P/E near 53 and the forward P/E near 21 tell very different stories about the same company. Roughly 77% of sales are billed into Asia and a material part of assembly and test capacity sits in China, which exposes the company to tariffs, export controls and regional demand shocks; communications revenue already declined about 3% year over year on soft Chinese smartphone demand. Owned fabs mean high fixed costs, so a demand air pocket compresses margins quickly. The ElevATE acquisition adds integration and purchase-accounting risk plus a $250 million cash outflow. Diodes pays no dividend and carries a beta near 1.9, so the entire return case rests on the cycle continuing to move in its favor. VSH: Vishay is highly cyclical, so a stall in the electronics recovery or renewed inventory destocking could quickly reverse the order-book strength. The Vishay 3.0 expansion carries execution and timing risk: heavy capital spending pressures free cash flow, and new capacity coming online into a soft market would hurt utilization and margins. Competition from larger and better-capitalized passive-component and semiconductor makers can constrain pricing. The company also faces exposure to global manufacturing costs, tariffs, and currency swings given its international operations. Finally, its dividend has at times not been covered by earnings during trough periods, which is a reminder of how thin cyclical profitability can be.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell DIOD or VSH; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.