Critical Survey: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER)

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Alphabet and Uber Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alphabet	32.23%	35.00%	25.30%
Uber Technologies	33.54%	68.17%	29.80%

Risk and Volatility

Alphabet has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Uber Technologies has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Alphabet and Uber Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alphabet	$350.02 billion	10.86	$100.12 billion	$10.14	31.06
Uber Technologies	$43.98 billion	3.84	$9.86 billion	$7.78	10.44

Alphabet has higher revenue and earnings than Uber Technologies. Uber Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alphabet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Alphabet and Uber Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alphabet	2	3	29	7	3.00
Uber Technologies	0	9	30	2	2.83

Alphabet presently has a consensus target price of $313.04, indicating a potential downside of 0.61%. Uber Technologies has a consensus target price of $108.43, indicating a potential upside of 33.49%. Given Uber Technologies’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Uber Technologies is more favorable than Alphabet.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

27.3% of Alphabet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.2% of Uber Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.0% of Alphabet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Uber Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Alphabet beats Uber Technologies on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. It is also involved in the sale of apps and in-app purchases and digital content in the Google Play and YouTube; and devices, as well as in the provision of YouTube consumer subscription services. The Google Cloud segment offers infrastructure, cybersecurity, databases, analytics, AI, and other services; Google Workspace that include cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and Meet; and other services for enterprise customers. The Other Bets segment sells healthcare-related and internet services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

About Uber Technologies

Uber Technologies, Inc. develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services. The Delivery segment allows to search for and discover restaurants to grocery, alcohol, convenience, and other retails; order a meal or other items; and Uber direct, a white-label Delivery-as-a-Service for retailers and restaurants, as well as advertising. The Freight segment manages transportation and logistics network, which connects shippers and carriers in digital marketplace including carriers upfronts, pricing, and shipment booking; and provides on-demand platform to automate logistics end-to-end transactions for small-and medium-sized business to global enterprises. The company was formerly known as Ubercab, Inc. and changed its name to Uber Technologies, Inc. in February 2011. Uber Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.