Equity Residential (EQR) vs Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
As of 2026-11-01, EQR is undervalued at $64, with a DCF intrinsic value of $183 and a margin of safety of 65%. TXN is undervalued at $301, with an intrinsic value of $391 and a margin of safety of 23%. Of the two, EQR has the wider margin of safety.
Rewards
- ★Gross margin of 62.3% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
- ★Management has timed buybacks well — 2 out of 3 years showed value-accretive repurchases.
- ★Texas Instruments Incorporated has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
- ★Gross margin of 60.2% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
- ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.
Risks
- ⚠Despite buyback spending, shares outstanding increased in 2 out of 3 years — stock-based compensation is offsetting repurchases.
- ⚠FCF yield of 5.8% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
- ⚠PEG ratio of 16.10 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.
- ⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
- ⚠FCF yield of 1.7% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
- ⚠Trailing P/E of 39.0x is 44% above the historical average of 27.1x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
Key Valuation Metrics
Learn more →Historical Fundamentals
Learn more →Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
$1 Retained Earnings Test
Learn more →> $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
Learn more →Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth
Learn more →What growth rate is the market pricing in at $64?
The market implies +6.7% Owner Earnings growth, roughly in line with history — reasonably priced.
Standard FCF implies +9.8%, reflecting ongoing growth investment.
What growth rate is the market pricing in at $301?
The market implies +21.8% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.
Standard FCF implies a demanding +22.4%, reflecting heavy growth investment.
Economic Moat Score
Learn more →Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.
Narrow moat with roic consistency as the key competitive advantage. Improving reinvestment efficiency would strengthen the moat.
Forensic Accounting
Learn more →M-Score Trend
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.
Ownership Breakdown
Learn more →High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
Insider Buying Activity
Learn more →Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.
Insider Selling Activity
Learn more →Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.
🎭 Mr. Market's Mood
Learn more →"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"
"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"
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
Learn more →The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
Frequently Asked Questions: EQR vs TXN
Is Equity Residential or Texas Instruments Incorporated more undervalued in 2026?▼
Based on our discounted cash flow model, EQR trades at a 65.3% margin of safety (intrinsic value $183 vs. price $64), compared to TXN's 23.1% margin of safety (intrinsic $391 vs. $301).
Which stock has a wider economic moat, Equity Residential or Texas Instruments Incorporated?▼
EQR scores 60/100 (Narrow moat), while TXN scores 48/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.
Is Equity Residential in financial distress?▼
EQR's Altman Z-Score of 0.3 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. TXN scores 8.7 (Safe zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.
Which company has better free cash flow, Equity Residential or Texas Instruments Incorporated?▼
Equity Residential (EQR) generates a 5.8% free cash flow yield, compared to Texas Instruments Incorporated's 1.7%. A higher FCF yield means the business converts more of its market value into cash that can be returned to shareholders or reinvested.
Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Equity Residential or Texas Instruments Incorporated?▼
TXN earns 23.8% ROIC versus EQR's 3.5%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.
Which dividend is safer, Equity Residential's or Texas Instruments Incorporated's?▼
TXN's dividend earns a safety score of 34/100 (Unsafe), compared to EQR's 34/100 (Unsafe). TXN has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.