Meta Platforms (META) Competitors

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership and dividends.

Which has more risk & volatility, META or AAPL?

Meta Platforms has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer META or AAPL?

Meta Platforms currently has a consensus price target of $729.38, suggesting a potential upside of 1.65%. Apple has a consensus price target of $235.27, suggesting a potential upside of 11.42%. Given Apple's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Apple is more favorable than Meta Platforms.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Meta Platforms	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	37 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59

Is META or AAPL a better dividend stock?

Meta Platforms pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Meta Platforms pays out 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apple pays out 16.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Meta Platforms has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Apple has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Apple is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is META or AAPL more profitable?

Meta Platforms has a net margin of 39.11% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 167.24% beat Meta Platforms' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Meta Platforms	39.11%	38.69%	25.56%
Apple	24.30%	167.24%	31.35%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in META or AAPL?

79.9% of Meta Platforms shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Apple shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.6% of Meta Platforms shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor META or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 82 more articles in the media than Meta Platforms. MarketBeat recorded 266 mentions for Apple and 184 mentions for Meta Platforms. Meta Platforms' average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat Apple's score of 0.77 indicating that Meta Platforms is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Meta Platforms	138 Very Positive mention(s)	11 Positive mention(s)	13 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	144 Very Positive mention(s)	26 Positive mention(s)	57 Neutral mention(s)	30 Negative mention(s)	7 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher valuation and earnings, META or AAPL?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than Meta Platforms. Meta Platforms is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apple, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Meta Platforms	$164.50B	10.97	$62.36B	$25.64	27.98
Apple	$391.04B	8.07	$93.74B	$6.42	32.89

Summary

Meta Platforms beats Apple on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.