Starbucks (SBUX) Competitors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) are related large-cap companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment and valuation.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AAPL or SBUX?

67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.3% of Starbucks shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Starbucks shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, AAPL or SBUX?

Apple has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Starbucks has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, AAPL or SBUX?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than Starbucks. Starbucks 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	9.73	$93.74B	$6.59	38.92
Starbucks	$36.18B	2.55	$3.76B	$2.32	35.04

Is AAPL or SBUX more profitable?

Apple has a net margin of 24.30% compared to Starbucks' net margin of 7.18%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat Starbucks' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%
Starbucks	7.18%	-36.23%	8.51%

Does the media refer more to AAPL or SBUX?

In the previous week, Apple had 171 more articles in the media than Starbucks. MarketBeat recorded 223 mentions for Apple and 52 mentions for Starbucks. Apple's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Starbucks' score of 0.80 indicating that Apple is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	139 Very Positive mention(s)	24 Positive mention(s)	26 Neutral mention(s)	12 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Starbucks	30 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate AAPL or SBUX?

Apple presently has a consensus target price of $247.49, indicating a potential downside of 3.51%. Starbucks has a consensus target price of $104.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.94%. Given Starbucks' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Starbucks is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.58
Starbucks	2 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Is AAPL or SBUX a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Starbucks pays an annual dividend of $2.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Apple pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Starbucks pays out 105.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Apple has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Starbucks has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Starbucks is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Apple beats Starbucks on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.