Meta Platforms (META) Competitors

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

Which has higher valuation and earnings, AAPL or META?

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
Apple	$391.04B	7.73	$93.74B	$6.59	30.71
Meta Platforms	$178.80B	10.55	$62.36B	$27.62	27.15

Does the media prefer AAPL or META?

In the previous week, Apple had 79 more articles in the media than Meta Platforms. MarketBeat recorded 377 mentions for Apple and 298 mentions for Meta Platforms. Meta Platforms' average media sentiment score of 1.08 beat Apple's score of 0.79 indicating that Meta Platforms is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	189 Very Positive mention(s)	56 Positive mention(s)	68 Neutral mention(s)	39 Negative mention(s)	6 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Meta Platforms	196 Very Positive mention(s)	13 Positive mention(s)	39 Neutral mention(s)	9 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AAPL or META a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Meta Platforms pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Meta Platforms pays out 7.6% 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 Meta Platforms 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 more volatility & risk, AAPL or META?

Apple has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Meta Platforms has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AAPL or META?

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

Is AAPL or META more profitable?

Meta Platforms has a net margin of 39.99% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 172.48% beat Meta Platforms' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	172.48%	31.58%
Meta Platforms	39.99%	39.33%	25.83%

Do analysts rate AAPL or META?

Apple currently has a consensus target price of $237.25, indicating a potential upside of 17.23%. Meta Platforms has a consensus target price of $820.32, indicating a potential upside of 9.37%. Given Apple's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Apple is more favorable than Meta Platforms.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Meta Platforms	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	39 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.98

Summary

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