AAPL vs DEO Stock Comparison

AAPL currently leads DEO in this stock comparison, with AIQ scores of 62 vs 50. The clearest difference is quality, while DEO has the stronger momentum profile.

Market data as of Oct 31, 2026 market close· AIQ score gap 12 points
AAPL
Technology
vs
DEO
Consumer Defensive
AAPL
Apple Inc.
Leads
Price
$345
Day move
-1.23%
AIQ Score
62/100
Best edge
Quality
Sector
Technology
DEO
Diageo plc
Price
$93.44
Day move
+2.31%
AIQ Score
50/100
Best edge
Momentum
Sector
Consumer Defensive

What is the main difference between AAPL and DEO?

AAPL leads the current stock comparison as Apple Inc., with the clearest separation coming from quality and the broader AIQ evidence mix.

AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison

Apple Inc. vs Diageo plc

Data as of Oct 31, 2026· market close· Cross-sector · Technology vs Consumer Defensive· Coverage 66/66 fields· High confidence
AIQ VerdictCompetitiveAIQ Comparison Conviction 6/10

AAPL leads

AAPL leads by 12 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Risk Resilience, but the lead has narrowed from 20 points over 30 sessions. Wall Street currently favors DEO on target upside.

Competitive: 4 of 6 evidence groups support AAPL, its lead is narrowing, and its current signal state is conflicted.

Evidence agreement: 4 of 6Comparison trend: Weakening
AAPL

Apple Inc.

Leads
AIQ Score
62/100
AIQ Edge Score
8/10
DEO

Diageo plc

AIQ Score
50/100
AIQ Edge Score
5/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors AAPL over DEO, 62 versus 50 as of Oct 31, 2026. AAPL's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality and risk resilience, while DEO holds the stronger momentum profile. AAPL also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average, though analyst target upside currently favors DEO. 4 of 6 covered evidence groups favor AAPL today, and the comparison is rated Competitive on stability: the leader's advantage has been narrowing. AAPL lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 20 to 12 points over 30 sessions.

Compare Apple Inc. and Diageo plc across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.

Currently unavailable

Performance over time

Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes.

AAPL
+136.6%
DEO
-47.6%

Total return comparison

Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested

AAPL $23,663 · DEO $5,235

Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.

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AIQ Factor Divergence

Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.

AAPL advantage
0
DEO advantage
  • Quality80 vs 42
    AAPL +38
  • Risk Resilience69 vs 51
    AAPL +18
  • Momentum65 vs 73
    DEO +8
  • Value38 vs 37
    Even

4 of 6 evidence groups favor AAPL. AAPL’s edge is concentrated in quality and risk resilience; DEO keeps a meaningful momentum edge.

What changed since the last close

Latest scored session 2026-10-28, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-27.

AAPL-2 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum -9

New signals

  • MACD Bearish Crossover — bearish, momentum, short horizon
DEO-1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum -7

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 active signals are unchanged.

AAPL's lead narrowed by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.

Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — AAPL and DEO both carry a full feed there.

The central trade-off

AAPL (Apple Inc.): the stronger current systematic profile, led by quality and risk resilience.

DEO (Diageo plc): the counter-case, on momentum, analyst expectations — but at materially higher volatility, 26.6% against 13.6%.

The AIQ Score and Wall Street therefore point in different directions on this pair.

Which one fits your objective

The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.

Balanced

AAPL

AAPL on the overall AIQ Score, which weights Quality and Value most heavily.

Growth

AAPL

AAPL on combined revenue and EPS growth.

Value

Even

The two are level on Value.

Momentum

DEO

DEO on the Momentum factor, by 8 points.

Lower downside

AAPL

AAPL on Risk Resilience, by 18 points.

Analyst upside

DEO

DEO on implied upside to the consensus price target.

AIQ vs Wall Street

The model and the Street disagree here: AIQ favors AAPL, analyst targets favor DEO. That disagreement is the most useful thing on this page.

MeasureAAPLDEONote
Implied upside to target-1.7%+6%DEO has more room
Target dispersion+45.7%0%Lower is tighter analyst agreement
ConsensusHoldBuyContext, not a primary driver
Analysts covering191Higher coverage generally improves confidence

The two are measuring different things. The AIQ Score reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; analyst targets price forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something already priced in — it is worth resolving before acting on either.

Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

Dividend growth

AAPL vs DEO: regular dividend growth
Dividend metricAAPLDEO
5Y dividend CAGR4.99%2.64%
2020 regular DPS$0.808$3.634
2025 regular DPS$1.030$4.139
Years increased53
No cut in windowYesNo (1)
Cohort rank#254not ranked

AAPL grew its split-adjusted regular dividend faster over 2020–2025 — 4.99% a year against DEO's 2.64%. AAPL never reduced its regular dividend in the window; DEO did in 1 year.

Yield and payout ratio shown elsewhere on this page are current values, not part of the study window.

Split-adjusted regular dividends per share, 2020–2025, excluding special dividends. Research as of Sep 19, 2026.

AIQ Agreement Matrix

4 of 6 covered evidence groups favor AAPL. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreAAPL62 vs 50
FundamentalsAAPLon balancerevenue growth -1.6% vs -11.8%; TTM ROE 137.2% vs 15.5%; gross margin 48.7% vs 59.5%; operating margin 33.2% vs 28.4% — AAPL takes 3 of 4 decided legs, not all of them
ValuationEvenValue 38 vs 37
TechnicalsAAPLPrice vs 50-day 3.9% vs 4.2%; vs 200-day 16.3% vs 7.2%
Risk ResilienceAAPLRisk Resilience 69 vs 51
Analyst expectationsDEOTarget upside -1.7% vs 6%

✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of AAPL and DEO and are excluded from the count.

AIQ Decision Stability

Competitive

The two are close enough that your objective, not the score, should decide.

  • The AIQ gap is wide at 12 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
  • The leader's advantage has been narrowing. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
  • The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)

Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on AAPL.

How the comparison changed

120 daily snapshots · Jun 29 – Oct 28

AAPL lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 20 to 12 points over 30 sessions.

Jun 29AAPL leads above the line · DEO leads belowOct 28
Today
AAPL +12
62 vs 50
7 sessions ago
AAPL +13
65 vs 52
30 sessions ago
AAPL +20
60 vs 40
90 sessions ago
AAPL +14
61 vs 47

The lead changed hands once in this window, most recently on Aug 13 when DEO moved ahead of AAPL.

AIQ Signal Divergence

Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.

AAPLConflicted

4 bullish / 1 bearish, conflicted

Only AAPL

  • 52-Week High Proximity — bullish, risk, long horizon (1.3%)
  • MACD Bearish Crossover — bearish, momentum, short horizon
DEO

4 bullish / 0 bearish

Only DEO

  • MACD Bullish Crossover — bullish, momentum, short horizon

Both carry 3 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish, Uptrend Structure Active.

AAPL leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.

Price vs model alignment

Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.

AAPLConfirmed weakness

Price and the AIQ Score both moved down over the latest session (price -1.23%, AIQ -2 points).

DEODivergence

Price is up while the AIQ Score moved down 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price +2.31%, AIQ -1 points).

What would flip this result

A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.

  1. 1DEO closes the Quality gap — currently 38 points behind, the largest single contributor to AAPL's edge.
  2. 2DEO's existing bullish trend signals translate into factor-score gains — the rules are already firing, but the scores have not yet followed.
  3. 3AAPL's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 4 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once.
  4. 4The narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 8 points over 30 sessions, and a further 12-point move would eliminate AAPL's advantage entirely.

The full evidence

Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.

Fundamentals

AAPL leads on balance
MetricAAPLDEO
Revenue growth (YoY)-1.6%-11.8%
EPS growth (YoY)1%-112.4%
Gross margin48.7%59.5%
Operating margin33.2%28.4%
Return on equity (TTM)137.2%15.5%
Debt to equity0.782.03

Performance

AAPL leads 4 of 6 windows
MetricAAPLDEO
1 week (5 sessions)0%-1%
1 month (20 sessions)3.2%7.4%
3 months (63 sessions)3.1%3.3%
6 months (126 sessions)27.3%18.8%
Year to date26.5%6.6%
1 year (252 sessions)30.8%-4.4%

Technicals

AAPL has the stronger structure
MetricAAPLDEO
RSI (14)54.762.8
ADX (14)19.923.3
Price vs 50-day3.9%4.2%
Price vs 200-day16.3%7.2%
Volatility (1M, annualized)13.6%26.6%

Risk

AAPL is the more resilient
MetricAAPLDEO
Beta0.560.27
Sharpe ratio0.98-0.01
Sortino ratio1.32-0.02
Max drawdown-13.8%-29.1%
Current drawdown-1.3%-10%
Annualized volatility24%33.6%
Value at risk (95%)-2%-2.7%

Straight answers

Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.

Which is better, AAPL or DEO?

On the Algovestiq AIQ Score, AAPL is the stronger of the two as of Oct 31, 2026, scoring 62 against DEO's 50. The edge comes from quality and risk resilience. DEO is not without a case — it holds the better momentum profile, which matters more if that is the objective you are optimizing for. This is a systematic score, not a recommendation: it ranks the two on the same evidence, it does not know your holding period or tax position.

Is AAPL or DEO the better buy right now?

AAPL carries the stronger systematic profile as of Oct 31, 2026, and the comparison is rated Competitive — 4 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. A Competitive rating means the two are close enough that your objective, not the score, should decide.

Why does the AIQ Score favor AAPL over DEO?

The composite weights Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk Resilience. AAPL leads Quality by 38 points; AAPL leads Risk Resilience by 18 points; DEO leads Momentum by 8 points. Where the two split, the factor with the larger weight carries the result.

Which has more analyst upside, AAPL or DEO?

Analyst price targets imply -1.7% upside for AAPL and +6% for DEO, so the Street currently favors DEO. That points the opposite way to the AIQ Score, which favors AAPL. The two are measuring different things: the model reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; the Street is pricing forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something the analysts have already priced — it is the single most useful row on this page to investigate. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

Which is better value, AAPL or DEO?

Neither name separates on the peer-relative Value factor. The two are level on Value. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.

Which has stronger growth, AAPL or DEO?

AAPL on combined revenue and EPS growth. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.

Which has stronger momentum, AAPL or DEO?

DEO on the Momentum factor, by 8 points. Momentum is one of the four weighted factors in the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.

Which is riskier, AAPL or DEO?

AAPL is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. AAPL on Risk Resilience, by 18 points. Risk Resilience is a weighted factor in the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.

Is AAPL more profitable than DEO?

The profitability evidence is mixed: gross margin 48.7% vs 59.5%; operating margin 33.2% vs 28.4%; ttm roe 137.2% vs 15.5%. AAPL leads on two measures and DEO on one measure, and there is no single profitability composite that resolves the split — which of the two reads as "more profitable" depends on whether you weight pricing power or operating leverage.

Is AAPL's lead over DEO getting stronger or weaker?

AAPL lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 20 to 12 points over 30 sessions. This is measured from 120 daily comparison snapshots between 2026-06-29 and 2026-10-28. The lead has changed hands once in that window, most recently on 2026-08-13, when DEO moved ahead of AAPL.

What would change the AAPL vs DEO verdict?

The result is a state, not a forecast, so it changes when the underlying evidence changes. Concretely: DEO closes the Quality gap — currently 38 points behind, the largest single contributor to AAPL's edge; DEO's existing bullish trend signals translate into factor-score gains — the rules are already firing, but the scores have not yet followed; AAPL's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 4 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once; the narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 8 points over 30 sessions, and a further 12-point move would eliminate AAPL's advantage entirely.

What do the current signals say about AAPL and DEO?

AAPL: 4 bullish / 1 bearish, conflicted. DEO: 4 bullish / 0 bearish. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on AAPL is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On DEO it is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon).

Compare AAPL and DEO with others

Continue your research

This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.

How this comparison is scored

The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.

The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.

How to use side-by-side comparison →

This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.