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 business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Which has higher valuation & 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	11.53	$62.36B	$27.62	27.33
Apple	$408.63B	8.27	$93.74B	$6.59	34.56

Do analysts recommend META or AAPL?

Meta Platforms currently has a consensus price target of $822.41, suggesting a potential upside of 8.96%. Apple has a consensus price target of $237.98, suggesting a potential upside of 4.49%. Given Meta Platforms' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Meta Platforms is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Meta Platforms	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	39 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.96
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.58

Does the media refer more to META or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 84 more articles in the media than Meta Platforms. MarketBeat recorded 299 mentions for Apple and 215 mentions for Meta Platforms. Meta Platforms' average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Apple's score of 0.87 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	148 Very Positive mention(s)	12 Positive mention(s)	18 Neutral mention(s)	15 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	174 Very Positive mention(s)	37 Positive mention(s)	54 Neutral mention(s)	20 Negative mention(s)	13 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in META or AAPL?

79.9% of Meta Platforms shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. 13.6% of Meta Platforms shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are held 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.

Is META or AAPL 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 170.91% beat Meta Platforms' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Meta Platforms	39.99%	39.33%	25.83%
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%

Which has more volatility & risk, META or AAPL?

Meta Platforms has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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 7.6% 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. Meta Platforms has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Apple has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Apple is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Meta Platforms beats Apple on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.