Alphabet (GOOGL) Competitors

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) 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 valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership and risk.

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%

Do insiders & institutionals believe 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 insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is GOOGL or AAPL a better dividend stock?

Alphabet pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. 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.

Which has preferable earnings & 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	8.73	$100.12B	$9.39	26.89
Apple	$391.04B	9.72	$93.74B	$6.59	38.86

Do analysts recommend GOOGL or AAPL?

Alphabet presently has a consensus target price of $231.31, suggesting a potential downside of 8.40%. Apple has a consensus target price of $244.03, suggesting a potential downside of 4.71%. Given Apple's higher possible upside, analysts clearly 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)	32 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.84
Apple	1 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56

Does the media prefer GOOGL or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 40 more articles in the media than Alphabet. MarketBeat recorded 259 mentions for Apple and 219 mentions for Alphabet. Alphabet's average media sentiment score of 1.08 beat Apple's score of 1.06 indicating that Alphabet is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alphabet	152 Very Positive mention(s)	28 Positive mention(s)	17 Neutral mention(s)	11 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	177 Very Positive mention(s)	29 Positive mention(s)	38 Neutral mention(s)	9 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, GOOGL or AAPL?

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

Summary

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