Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM) vs Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
As of 2026-09-17, IRM is overvalued at $114, with a DCF intrinsic value of $0 and a margin of safety of -100%. META is fairly valued at $681, with an intrinsic value of $647 and a margin of safety of -5%. Of the two, META has the wider margin of safety.
Rewards
- ★Trailing P/E of 81.0x is 32% below the historical average of 119.7x — potentially undervalued relative to its own history.
- ★Meta Platforms, Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
- ★Gross margin of 81.7% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
- ★Meta Platforms, Inc. scores 80/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
Risks
- ⚠PEG ratio of 2.70 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.
- ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 7.7x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
- ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.83 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
- ⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
- ⚠FCF yield of 2.7% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
- ⚠5 insider sales totaling $7.8M with no purchases in the past 3 months — insiders are reducing their exposure.
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
> $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 →Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.
What growth rate is the market pricing in at $681?
The market implies +12.8% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.
Standard FCF implies a more demanding +16.5%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.
Economic Moat Score
Learn more →Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.
Wide moat driven primarily by roic consistency. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.
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: IRM vs META
Is Iron Mountain Incorporated or Meta Platforms, Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼
Based on our discounted cash flow model, META trades at a -5.2% margin of safety (intrinsic value $647 vs. price $681), compared to IRM's -100.0% margin of safety (intrinsic $0 vs. $114).
Which stock has a wider economic moat, Iron Mountain Incorporated or Meta Platforms, Inc.?▼
META scores 80/100 (Wide moat), while IRM scores 51/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.
Is Iron Mountain Incorporated in financial distress?▼
IRM's Altman Z-Score of 0.8 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. META 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, Iron Mountain Incorporated or Meta Platforms, Inc.?▼
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) generates a 2.7% free cash flow yield, compared to Iron Mountain Incorporated's -1.3%. 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, Iron Mountain Incorporated or Meta Platforms, Inc.?▼
META earns 16.8% ROIC versus IRM's 5.7%. 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, Iron Mountain Incorporated's or Meta Platforms, Inc.'s?▼
META's dividend earns a safety score of 88/100 (Very Safe), compared to IRM's 39/100 (Unsafe). META has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.