MPWR vs VICR: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

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.

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. MPWR and VICR 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 MPWR and VICR 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.

Monolithic Power Systems is a Kirkland, Washington based fabless semiconductor company that designs power-management and analog integrated circuits. Its proprietary BCD (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) process integrates analog, digital, and memory functions onto a single chip, which lets it build compact, high-efficiency power modules used across enterprise data and AI servers, automotive, computing and storage, communications, industrial, and consumer end markets. The company outsources manufacturing and focuses on design, and its integrated power modules have become a reference standard as AI GPU clusters push toward extreme power densities.

Full MPWR guide

Vicor Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells modular power components and complete power systems that convert electrical power efficiently for electronic devices. Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, it builds converters, power modules, and integrated circuits using patented high-frequency switching and its Factorized Power Architecture, which lets its parts be smaller and more efficient than conventional alternatives. Its products go into high-performance computing and AI accelerators, data centers, aerospace and defense, industrial equipment, and automotive, with recent focus on delivering the last inch of power to power-hungry AI chips through products like its NBM bus converters and vertical power delivery (VPD) modules.

Full VICR guide

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

• MPWR drivers: AI data-center power demand; Diversified end markets.
• VICR drivers: AI data-center power demand; Vertical fabrication ramp and margins.

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: The most visible risk is valuation: a market cap near $70 billion on roughly $2.9 billion of trailing revenue leaves little margin for error, so any growth disappointment can trigger sharp drawdowns. For VICR, vicor faces intense competition from far larger power-semiconductor companies, including Monolithic Power Systems, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Infineon, Renesas, and Delta Electronics, and it notably lost socket share on some Nvidia GPU platforms to lower-cost integrated rivals.

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 MPWR if you believe its drivers more; VICR 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 MPWR and VICR guides.

MPWR. MPWR trades at a steep premium to the broader semiconductor group, reflecting its growth rate and AI exposure rather than current earnings. Gross margin has held near 55 percent, and the balance sheet is largely debt-free. The gap between the trailing multiple near 100x and the forward multiple near 50x underscores how much future earnings growth is embedded in the price.

VICR. Full-year 2025 total revenue reached about $452.7 million, but that includes a roughly $45 million one-time patent-litigation settlement, so the cleaner operating figure is product revenue near $350.3 million plus about $57.4 million of royalties. Cash and equivalents stood near $402.8 million with no meaningful debt. The stock re-rated sharply higher on the AI power theme, pushing its earnings multiple well above semiconductor-sector averages.

Headline figures (approximate, JULY 2026): MPWR shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.9B, fy2025 revenue ~$2.79B (+26% YoY), q1 2026 revenue ~$804M (+26% YoY, record), market cap ~$70B; VICR shows total revenue (fy2025) ~$452.7 million (incl. ~$45M patent settlement), product revenue (fy2025) ~$350.3 million (up ~12%), net income (fy2025) ~$118.6 million, diluted eps (fy2025) ~$2.61.

MPWR and VICR 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 MPWR and VICR exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.