Arm Holdings plc (ARM)
Arm designs the clever, power-efficient blueprints for the processors that power almost every smartphone and billions of other electronic devices worldwide.
Is Arm Holdings plc a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Dominant position in the global smartphone market. Worth weighing: Very high valuation compared to current earnings.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Arm Holdings plc do?
Arm doesn't actually manufacture chips; instead, it creates the fundamental architecture and licenses these designs to companies like Apple and Samsung. Every time a chip based on their design is sold, they collect a fee, and that lucrative model is where the profits come from. Much depends on how successfully they expand beyond mobile phones into the high-growth world of artificial intelligence and data centres.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and quality, and weakest on value.
- !Pays no dividend - the whole return rides on the share price
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 22% over the year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 20% of sales into profit
- !High P/E of 272 - big growth is already priced in
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- Quality screens high
- Growth screens high
- Value screens low
- Income screens low
Does Arm Holdings plc pay a dividend?
No - Arm Holdings plc doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.
Does Arm Holdings plc have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $3.89B in cash against about $485.00M of debt - so it has net cash of about $3.40B. More cash than debt is a cushion: it does not need to borrow just to cover what it owes.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do Arm Holdings plc's numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Arm Holdings plc actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Arm Holdings plc fell as much as −52% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
What do you actually own with ARM?
This US listing is an American Depositary Receipt (ADR), not a direct holding of Arm Holdings plc's ordinary shares. A bank holds the real shares in the UK and issues receipts against them, and it is those receipts that trade in US dollars on a US exchange. It is the standard route by which a company listed abroad becomes available on a US market, and the receipt tracks the shares behind it.
- There is a custody fee. The depositary bank charges a small annual fee for running the arrangement - often a few cents per receipt - usually taken out of dividends or passed on by your platform.
- Dividends cross a border. Any dividend is converted into US dollars by the bank, and the UK may deduct withholding tax before it reaches you.
- Voting works differently. Receipt holders generally do not vote at the company's meetings directly; the bank holding the shares handles that.
This describes how the listing is put together, using its registered security type. It is context about the instrument, not a view on the company.
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns Arm Holdings plc?
About 95% of Arm Holdings plc, or about 95 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds. The rest, roughly 5%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Arm Holdings plc make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Arm Holdings plc's sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £2 covers making the product or service, £78 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £20 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Arm Holdings plc report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Arm Holdings plc is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-04 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-29 | $0.40 | $0.45 | Beat +11% |
| 2026-05-05 | $0.58 | $0.60 | Beat +4% |
| 2026-02-04 | $0.41 | $0.43 | Beat +5% |
| 2025-11-05 | $0.33 | $0.39 | Beat +18% |
| 2025-07-30 | $0.35 | $0.35 | In line |
| 2025-05-07 | $0.52 | $0.55 | Beat +5% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Arm Holdings plc came in ahead of what analysts expected 5 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Arm Holdings plc?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Arm becomes the standard architecture for all AI-driven hardware
Technological shifts making current designs less relevant
What are the pros and cons of Arm Holdings plc?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Dominant position in the global smartphone market
- Extremely high profit margins due to the licensing model
- Essential technology for modern computing and AI
- Very high valuation compared to current earnings
- No dividend payments for income-focused investors
- High share price volatility
- Heavy reliance on a small number of large customers
- Geopolitical tensions affecting global chip supply chains
- Potential for competitors to develop cheaper or more efficient alternatives
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A significant drop in the adoption of Arm-based chips in data centres
- A major legal loss regarding their intellectual property rights
Common questions about Arm Holdings plc
Does Arm Holdings plc pay a dividend?
No - Arm Holdings plc does not currently pay a dividend, so the return would rest on the share price. Many growing companies reinvest profits instead of paying them out.
When does Arm Holdings plc report earnings next?
Arm Holdings plc is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-11-04. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.