Meta Platforms (META) Competitors

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

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 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apple pays out 16.2% 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 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 more volatility & risk, META or AAPL?

Meta Platforms has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is META or AAPL more profitable?

Meta Platforms has a net margin of 39.11% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 167.24% beat Meta Platforms' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Meta Platforms	39.11%	38.69%	25.56%
Apple	24.30%	167.24%	31.35%

Do analysts rate META or AAPL?

Meta Platforms currently has a consensus price target of $729.38, indicating a potential upside of 1.32%. Apple has a consensus price target of $235.27, indicating a potential upside of 13.14%. Given Apple's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Apple is more favorable than Meta Platforms.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Meta Platforms	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	37 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59

Does the media refer more to META or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 77 more articles in the media than Meta Platforms. MarketBeat recorded 281 mentions for Apple and 204 mentions for Meta Platforms. Meta Platforms' average media sentiment score of 1.23 beat Apple's score of 0.77 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	151 Very Positive mention(s)	11 Positive mention(s)	18 Neutral mention(s)	8 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	162 Very Positive mention(s)	27 Positive mention(s)	61 Neutral mention(s)	23 Negative mention(s)	6 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, 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	11.00	$62.36B	$25.64	28.08
Apple	$400.37B	7.76	$93.74B	$6.42	32.39

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Meta Platforms beats Apple on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.