Head to Head Comparison: Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) versus Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI)

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) and Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Warner Bros. Discovery and Sirius XM, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Warner Bros. Discovery	2	13	7	1	2.30
Sirius XM	2	4	4	0	2.20

Warner Bros. Discovery presently has a consensus price target of $26.30, indicating a potential downside of 2.47%. Sirius XM has a consensus price target of $27.70, indicating a potential upside of 1.76%. Given Sirius XM’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sirius XM is more favorable than Warner Bros. Discovery.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

60.0% of Warner Bros. Discovery shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.7% of Sirius XM shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Warner Bros. Discovery shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Sirius XM shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Warner Bros. Discovery and Sirius XM”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Warner Bros. Discovery	$37.30 billion	1.81	$727.00 million	$0.29	93.00
Sirius XM	$8.56 billion	1.07	$805.00 million	$2.37	11.49

Sirius XM has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Warner Bros. Discovery. Sirius XM is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Warner Bros. Discovery, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Warner Bros. Discovery has a beta of 1.57, suggesting that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sirius XM has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Warner Bros. Discovery and Sirius XM’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Warner Bros. Discovery	1.95%	1.98%	0.72%
Sirius XM	9.86%	9.19%	3.89%

Summary

Warner Bros. Discovery beats Sirius XM on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming. The Network segment comprises domestic and international television networks. The DTC segment offers premium pay-tv and streaming services. In addition, the company offers portfolio of content, brands, and franchises across television, film, streaming, and gaming under the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, DC, HBO, HBO Max, Max, Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, HGTV, Food Network, TNT Sports, TBS, TLC, OWN, Warner Bros. Games, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, Game of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings brands. Further, it provides content through distribution platforms, including linear network, free-to-air, and broadcast television; authenticated GO applications, digital distribution arrangements, content licensing arrangements, and direct-to-consumer subscription products. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Sirius XM

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. operates as an audio entertainment company in North America. It operates in two segments, Sirius XM, and Pandora and Off-platform. The company’s Sirius XM segment provides music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels, and other content, as well as podcast and infotainment services on subscription fee basis; and live, curated, and exclusive and on demand programming services through satellite radio systems and streamed through applications for mobile and home devices, and other consumer electronic equipment. This segment also distributes satellite radios through automakers and retailers, as well as its website; podcasts, including true crime, news, politics, music, comedy, sports, and entertainment; and offers location-based services through two-way wireless connectivity, including safety, security, convenience, maintenance and data, remote vehicles diagnostic, and stolen or parked vehicle locator services. In addition, this segment provides music channels on the DISH Network satellite television service as a programming package; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedule and scores, and movie listings; graphic information related to road closings, traffic flow, and incident data for consumers with in-vehicle navigation systems; real-time weather services in vehicles, boats, and planes; and music programming and commercial-free music services for office, restaurants, and other business. Its Pandora and Off-platform segment operates music, comedy, and podcast streaming platform, which offers personalized experience for listener through computers, tablets, mobile devices, vehicle speakers, and connected devices; and provides advertising services. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in New York.