Alphabet (GOOGL) Competitors

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

Is GOOGL or AAPL more profitable?

Alphabet has a net margin of 31.12% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat Alphabet's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alphabet	31.12%	34.31%	24.88%
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%

Which has more risk and volatility, GOOGL or AAPL?

Alphabet has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is GOOGL or AAPL a better dividend stock?

Alphabet pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet pays out 8.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apple pays out 15.8% 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. Alphabet 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.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in GOOGL or AAPL?

40.0% of Alphabet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Apple shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.6% of Alphabet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer GOOGL or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 58 more articles in the media than Alphabet. MarketBeat recorded 261 mentions for Apple and 203 mentions for Alphabet. Alphabet's average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat Apple's score of 0.92 indicating that Alphabet is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alphabet	154 Very Positive mention(s)	18 Positive mention(s)	21 Neutral mention(s)	8 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	171 Very Positive mention(s)	36 Positive mention(s)	30 Neutral mention(s)	18 Negative mention(s)	5 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, GOOGL or AAPL?

Alphabet has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Apple. Alphabet 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
Alphabet	$350.02B	7.36	$100.12B	$9.39	22.67
Apple	$391.04B	8.81	$93.74B	$6.59	35.23

Do analysts prefer GOOGL or AAPL?

Alphabet presently has a consensus price target of $211.53, suggesting a potential downside of 0.65%. Apple has a consensus price target of $237.37, suggesting a potential upside of 2.25%. Given Apple's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Apple is more favorable than Alphabet.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alphabet	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	29 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57

Summary

Apple beats Alphabet on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.