Alphabet (GOOGL) Competitors

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

Does the media favor AAPL or GOOGL?

In the previous week, Apple had 8 more articles in the media than Alphabet. MarketBeat recorded 189 mentions for Apple and 181 mentions for Alphabet. Apple's average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat Alphabet's score of 1.16 indicating that Apple is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	137 Very Positive mention(s)	14 Positive mention(s)	24 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Alphabet	135 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	22 Neutral mention(s)	10 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AAPL or GOOGL a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alphabet pays out 8.9% 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. Apple has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Alphabet has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Apple is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, AAPL or GOOGL?

Alphabet has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
Apple	$391.04B	9.36	$93.74B	$6.59	37.42
Alphabet	$371.40B	7.86	$100.12B	$9.39	25.70

Which has more volatility & risk, AAPL or GOOGL?

Apple has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alphabet has a beta of 1, meaning that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer AAPL or GOOGL?

Apple currently has a consensus price target of $248.29, suggesting a potential upside of 0.69%. Alphabet has a consensus price target of $247.40, suggesting a potential upside of 2.51%. Given Alphabet's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alphabet is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64
Alphabet	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	34 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88

Is AAPL or GOOGL 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
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%
Alphabet	31.12%	34.31%	24.88%

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

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

Summary

Apple beats Alphabet on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.