Technology Stocks: What Drives Them, What To Check
Updated October 31, 2026. 50 stocks in the group.
On October 31, 2026, this site tracks 50 technology stocks with a combined market value of $13.97T, about 20.2% of the 503 stocks it covers. Their median P/E is 29.4 against 23.5 for all tracked stocks, and 19 stocks pay a dividend. The largest are AAPL, MSFT, PLTR and CSCO. This page shows what the data says about the group and what drives it; it does not say which stock to pick.
What is in the Technology group?
50 stocks in 2 industries.
| Industry | Stocks | Combined market value | Median P/E | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 44 | $13.10T | 26.8 | AAPL |
| Communications | 6 | $870B | 38.4 | CSCO |
The group follows this site's twelve-sector grouping, shown on the Sector Map. It covers software, cloud services, hardware, IT services and internet platforms (chips are a separate group on this site). The industry names are the narrow labels in the site's own company data. Market values and P/E come from the weekly screener data as of October 31, 2026.
How do technology stocks compare with the whole market?
Medians for the group against all tracked stocks.
| Measure | Technology | All tracked stocks | The group is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median P/E | 29.4 | 23.5 | above |
| Median price to book | 14.01 | 4.33 | above |
| Median dividend yield (payers) | 1.04% | 1.91% | below |
| Median net margin | 17.6% | 13.1% | above |
| Median return on equity | 23.1% | 17.4% | above |
| Median debt to equity | 0.56 | 0.76 | below |
Medians ignore stocks with no figure, so a loss-maker has no P/E. On P/E the group sits 25% above the market median. A higher P/E means investors pay more per dollar of profit, often because they expect faster growth; it is not a score. See the P/E glossary entry.
Which technology stocks lead on size, price, yield and returns?
Four short lists from the same data.
| Stock | Market value |
|---|---|
| AAPL Apple Inc | $5.07T |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp | $3.88T |
| PLTR Palantir Technologies Inc | $446B |
| CSCO Cisco Systems Inc | $412B |
| ORCL Oracle Corp | $406B |
| Stock | P/E |
|---|---|
| HPQ HP Inc | 10.6 |
| ADBE Adobe Inc | 13.3 |
| CTSH Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp | 13.3 |
| GDDY GoDaddy Inc | 15.5 |
| WDC Western Digital Corp | 15.5 |
A low P/E can mean a bargain or a business in trouble, and a high yield can be a price that has fallen; check the cause before reading either as good news (why a low P/E can be an illusion). Return on equity is flattered by debt and buybacks.
How healthy are technology businesses on Piotroski's nine tests?
Nine yes/no tests on profit, debt and efficiency, run on each company's own 10-K.
| Band | Stocks | Share of the group |
|---|---|---|
| Strong (8 or 9) | 6 | 12% |
| Good (6 or 7) | 26 | 52% |
| Middling (4 or 5) | 14 | 28% |
| Weak (0 to 3) | 4 | 8% |
| Stock | F-Score |
|---|---|
| APP Applovin Corp | 9 of 9 |
| AAPL Apple Inc | 8 of 9 |
| STX Seagate Technology Holdings PLC | 8 of 9 |
| VRSN VeriSign, Inc | 8 of 9 |
| PTC PTC Inc | 8 of 9 |
The median score is 6.0 for the group against 6.0 for all scored non-financial stocks. A score describes the last two annual reports, not the share price. Browse every score on the Piotroski F-Score Screener.
What drives technology stocks?
The forces behind the group's profits.
Business and cloud spending
Software and cloud companies sell to firms whose IT budgets follow their own growth. Spending on cloud and AI projects has been the largest recent driver, and it shows up first in cloud revenue growth and customer commitments.
Recurring revenue and retention
A subscription that renews is worth more than a one-time sale. Net revenue retention (revenue from last year's customers, this year) and churn show how sticky the product is.
Operating leverage
Software costs little to copy, so extra revenue can lift margins fast. The gap between gross margin and operating margin shows how much is being spent to grow.
Product cycles and competition
Hardware and platform companies depend on upgrade cycles and on staying ahead of rivals, including new entrants built around AI.
What can go wrong with technology stocks?
The risks to read in the filings.
- Valuation: high expectations make prices sensitive to rates and to small misses.
- Dilution: stock-based pay can quietly add shares every year.
- Disruption and customer concentration.
- Regulation of platforms and data.
What to check: Check revenue retention, the gap between gross and operating margin, stock-based pay as a share of revenue and what growth the current price already assumes.
Which tools and guides fit technology stocks?
Where to go next on this site.
Which technology stocks does this site track?
Every stock in the group, by industry, each linked to its own page.
Technology (44)
| Stock | Market value | P/E | Dividend yield | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL Apple Inc | $5.07T | 39.3 | 0.31% | 137.2% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp | $3.88T | 27.2 | 0.70% | 33.2% |
| PLTR Palantir Technologies Inc | $446B | 148.0 | none | 37.5% |
| ORCL Oracle Corp | $406B | 21.5 | 1.46% | 42.6% |
| PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc | $312B | 1015.0 | none | 1.7% |
| DELL Dell Technologies Inc | $267B | 23.5 | 0.59% | 130.7% |
| CRWD CrowdStrike Holdings Inc | $256B | 4380.4 | none | 1.3% |
| IBM International Business Machines Corp | $242B | 21.7 | 2.62% | 32.9% |
| CRM Salesforce Inc | $192B | 19.9 | 0.79% | 20.2% |
| WDC Western Digital Corp | $156B | 15.5 | 0.13% | 113.8% |
| ACN Accenture PLC | $150B | 17.9 | 2.66% | 26.7% |
| STX Seagate Technology Holdings PLC | $147B | 33.3 | 0.44% | 245.1% |
| NOW ServiceNow Inc | $114B | 78.8 | none | 11.5% |
| SNOW Snowflake Inc | $107B | n/a | none | -53.6% |
| FTNT Fortinet Inc | $100B | 44.0 | none | 151.5% |
| NET Cloudflare Inc | $99.6B | n/a | none | -13.9% |
| ADBE Adobe Inc | $96.6B | 13.3 | none | 62.9% |
| CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc | $94.0B | 68.1 | none | 21.4% |
| SNPS Synopsys Inc | $91.5B | 85.0 | none | 3.6% |
| INTU Intuit Inc | $90.6B | 19.8 | 1.49% | 23.4% |
| DDOG Datadog Inc | $85.0B | 478.9 | none | 4.6% |
| APP Applovin Corp | $76.5B | 17.3 | none | 193.1% |
| HPE Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co | $72.1B | 25.8 | 1.19% | 11.0% |
| ADSK Autodesk Inc | $50.5B | 30.8 | none | 52.5% |
| TEAM Atlassian Corp | $48.3B | n/a | none | -4.4% |
| WDAY Workday Inc | $47.4B | 37.9 | none | 16.8% |
| ROP Roper Technologies Inc | $46.3B | 17.9 | 0.80% | 13.5% |
| NTAP NetApp Inc | $42.9B | 30.3 | 0.96% | 113.7% |
| P Everpure Inc | $41.3B | 163.2 | none | 17.4% |
| ZS Zscaler Inc | $37.3B | n/a | none | -2.8% |
| TWLO Twilio Inc | $30.8B | 26.8 | none | 14.1% |
| CTSH Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp | $29.4B | 13.3 | 2.10% | 14.9% |
| VRSN VeriSign, Inc | $28.1B | 33.0 | 1.04% | 113.5% |
| HPQ HP Inc | $26.0B | 10.6 | 4.22% | 16.9% |
| PTC PTC Inc | $21.1B | 17.3 | none | 32.6% |
| GEN Gen Digital Inc | $17.4B | 16.6 | 1.78% | 41.9% |
| TYL Tyler Technologies Inc | $15.6B | 48.0 | none | 9.3% |
| FICO Fair Isaac Corp | $15.2B | 18.7 | none | 145.7% |
| TRMB Trimble Inc | $15.2B | n/a | none | -1.1% |
| IT Gartner Inc | $14.6B | 18.8 | none | 119.8% |
| AKAM Akamai Technologies Inc | $14.3B | 34.8 | none | 8.5% |
| GDDY GoDaddy Inc | $14.1B | 15.5 | none | 660.9% |
| SMCI Super Micro Computer Inc | n/a | n/a | none | n/a |
| SNDK Sandisk Corp | n/a | n/a | none | n/a |
Communications (6)
| Stock | Market value | P/E | Dividend yield | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSCO Cisco Systems Inc | $412B | 31.1 | 1.59% | 27.4% |
| ANET Arista Networks Inc | $232B | 57.4 | none | 30.8% |
| MSI Motorola Solutions Inc | $81.9B | 38.4 | 0.94% | 85.8% |
| LITE Lumentum Holdings Inc | $74.0B | n/a | none | -300.1% |
| CIEN Ciena Corp | $49.6B | 75.7 | none | 22.8% |
| FFIV F5 Inc | $20.6B | 28.5 | none | 19.2% |
Frequently asked questions: technology stocks
How many technology stocks does this site track?
50 technology stocks as of October 31, 2026, in 2 industries, with a combined market value of $13.97T. The largest are AAPL, MSFT and PLTR.
What is the median P/E of technology stocks?
29.4, against 23.5 for all 503 tracked stocks (medians, loss-makers excluded). The median dividend yield among payers is 1.04% against 1.91%.
Which technology stocks pay the highest dividends?
HPQ at 4.22%, ACN at 2.66% and IBM at 2.62%. A high yield can come from a fallen share price, so check coverage on the Sustainable Dividend Screener.
How do you analyze technology stocks?
Check revenue retention, the gap between gross and operating margin, stock-based pay as a share of revenue and what growth the current price already assumes. Then compare a company with the group medians on this page rather than with the whole market.
Does this page say which technology stock to buy?
No. It shows what the data says about the group and how to read it. Every figure is as of October 31, 2026 and describes the past. Read the Editorial Standards for how this site handles data.
Where does this data come from?
- Prices, P/E, yield and margins: the site's weekly screener data (market data from Finnhub and Twelve Data); medians skip stocks with no figure.
- Financial statements and scores: each company's own 10-K filings on SEC EDGAR.
- Grouping: the site's twelve-sector grouping (Sector Map); the narrow industry labels come from its company data.
- Method and limits: every figure is shown as published, with its date, and refreshed weekly (data as of October 31, 2026). There is no composite score, and nothing here predicts where a rate goes next. Read the Editorial Standards for how this site handles data.
Educational content only, not investment, currency-trading or tax advice. Exchange rates and interest rates move for reasons no single table captures.