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APA Corporation (APA) vs Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)

APA
APA Corporation
$38.06
VS
GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
$307.13

Rewards

APA
  • ★APA Corporation has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • ★Gross margin of 68.0% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Dividend yield of 2.63% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.
GOOGL
  • ★Alphabet Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • ★Alphabet Inc. scores 89/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.

Risks

APA
  • ⚠Trailing P/E of 9.5x is 34% above the historical average of 7.1x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 1.41 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
  • ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 11.3% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.
GOOGL
  • ⚠FCF yield of 2.0% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.

Key Valuation Metrics

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APA
GOOGL
Valuation
$1.96B
Free Cash Flow
$73.27B
14.58%
FCF Yield
1.97%
9.54
Trailing P/E
28.41
14.90
Forward P/E
22.88
Quality & Moat
17.76%
ROIC
20.83%
20.48%
ROE
31.83%
68.01%
Gross Margin
59.65%
N/A
PEG Ratio
0.91
Balance Sheet Safety
0.69
Debt / Equity
0.16
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
0.83
Net Debt / EBITDA
-0.40
2.63%
Dividend Yield
0.27%
APA: 5Ties: 1GOOGL: 5
APAGOOGL

Historical Fundamentals

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APA

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

GOOGL

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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APA
$-1.45
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$4.07B
Δ Market Cap
$-5.91B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
GOOGL
$9.18
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$288.67B
Δ Market Cap
+$2.65T
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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APA
90.3% Margin of Safety
Price is 90.3% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $38.06
Fair Value: $391.42
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
GOOGL
20.0% Margin of Safety
Price is 20.0% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $307.13
Fair Value: $384.04
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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APA

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $38?

-3.3%
Market-Implied FCF Growth Rate

Market above historical growth — verify catalysts.

GOOGL

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $307?

+12.1%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +20.2%

The market implies +12.1% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +20.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

Economic Moat Score

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APA
44/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with roic consistency as the key competitive advantage. Improving revenue predictability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 5 years of fundamental data.
GOOGL
89/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by roic consistency. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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APA
-3.67
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
GOOGL
-2.92
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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APA
Insiders 0.4%Institutions 99.3%Retail & Other 0.2%
No. of Institutional Holders970
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
GOOGL
Insiders 0.6%Institutions 80.8%Retail & Other 18.6%
No. of Institutional Holders7,206
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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APA
0
Buys (3M)
1
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.37M
JOUNG CHANSOO
Director
$1.37M
@ $18.25 · 2025-04-03
ELLIS JULIET S.
Director
$100,027
@ $22.78 · 2024-12-12
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
GOOGL
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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APA
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
GOOGL
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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APA
FearGreed
😏Greed(64/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
GOOGL
FearGreed
😐Neutral(60/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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APA
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (64)
GOOGL
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (60)
View APA Full AnalysisView GOOGL Full Analysis
APA Corporation (APA) vs Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Stock Comparison | SafetyMargin.io