Which is better, FICO or SMTC?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) currently grades higher than SMTC — 85/100 (A grade) vs 32/100 (F). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — FICO wins on Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher, Peter Lynch, Joel Greenblatt, Charlie Munger, and Terry Smith; SMTC wins on none. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy FICO or SMTC?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both FICO and SMTC are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is FICO better than SMTC for value investing?

On the Buffett-style value-investing framework, FICO currently grades higher — 85/100 vs 32/100, a 53-point gap. The gap is driven by which pillars each stock passes; the table on this page shows moat, durability, management, financial health, and valuation side-by-side.

What's the difference between FICO and SMTC on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). FICO currently scores 85/100 (A grade); SMTC scores 32/100 (F grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, FICO or SMTC?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. FICO and SMTC are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, FICO or SMTC?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are FICO and SMTC both Technology stocks?

Yes — both Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) and Semtech Corporation (SMTC) operate in the Technology sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this FICO vs SMTC comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

Fair Isaac

Semtech

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

FICO

Fair Isaac

Market cap

$28.75B

Sector

Technology

SMTC

Semtech

Market cap

$14.6B

Sector

Technology

Overall winner

Fair Isaac FICO

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	FICO	SMTC	Winner
Warren Buffett	85A	32F	FICO
Benjamin Graham	88A	56D	FICO
Philip Fisher	85A	39D	FICO
Peter Lynch	70B	27F	FICO
Joel Greenblatt	94C	47D	FICO
Charlie Munger	91A	46D	FICO
Terry Smith	95A	37D	FICO

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	FICO	SMTC
Market cap	$28.75B	$14.6B
P/E (TTM)	33.8x	-
EV/EBIT	30.9x	98.1x
ROIC (TTM)	53.2%	11.1%
Gross margin	84.16%	51.55%
Net margin	33.67%	-3.85%
Revenue CAGR 5y	10.89%	9.11%
EPS CAGR 5y	18.48%	-
Debt / Equity	-	0.9x
Dividend yield	0.0%	0.0%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

FICO leads on

Debt / Equity-vs 0.9x+151%
Net margin33.67%vs -3.85%+111%
ROIC (TTM)53.2%vs 11.1%+79%
EV/EBIT30.9xvs 98.1x+68%

SMTC leads on

P/E (TTM)-vs 33.8x+111%

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.

Fair Isaac

Semtech

Fit scores by strategy

Side-by-side metrics

Where each one wins

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Key terms in this analysis