Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. EL scored 25.5, PM scored 53.8 — PM leads.
Compare another set
EL
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Household & Personal Products · Quality-Growth
25.5
$98.05 · $35.5B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
28.3
PM leads
PM
Philip Morris International Inc.
Tobacco · Quality-Growth
53.8
$201.19 · $313.6B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestPM28.9x
Fastest growthPM+8.9%
Highest qualityPM94 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
EL
stronger →← stronger
PM
49
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
94
57
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
58
6
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
28
PM is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
EL
PM
$1.3bC+
FCF
$12.7bA-
+5.0%C+
Rev
+8.9%B
2.43C
D/E
Negative equity
188.6xD
P/E
28.9xC+
2.12C
PEG
2.41C
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
EL
PM
114% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
48% above
~24%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~16%/yr
-54%
1-yr DCF upside
-37%
-53%
5-yr DCF upside
-33%
-52%
10-yr DCF upside
-26%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
EL
No notable signals flagged.
PM
Why this score
Raising its dividend
The companies
ELThe Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Household & Personal Products · $98.05 · beta 1.26
Why now
Household & Personal Products · market cap $35.5b. 19% off the 52-week high of $121.64. 28 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $107.34 (implying +9% upside).
Moat
Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income, mostly because of depreciation and amortization ($796m) — non-cash charges that hold down reported earnings while cash generation stays strong.
Risk
D/E 2.43 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Trailing P/E 188.6x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. Net margin 1.2% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
PMPhilip Morris International Inc.
Tobacco · $201.19 · beta 0.36
Why now
Tobacco · market cap $313.6b. 3% off the 52-week high of $207.76. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $208.13 (implying +3% upside).
Moat
Net margin 26% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. FCF converts 117% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $313.6b market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where EL and PM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 28.3 points in favor of PM. The widest single difference is Quality, where PM leads by 44.3 points.
QualityEL 49.3 · PM 93.6PM +44.3
ValueEL 5.9 · PM 28.5PM +22.6
GrowthEL 56.8 · PM 58.4level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is PM or EL the better stock?
PM scores higher: PM 53.8, EL 25.5 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do PM and EL differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where PM leads by 44 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. PM also leads value, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are PM and EL scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.