Critical Survey: Copa (NYSE:CPA) versus Surf Air Mobility (NYSE:SRFM)

Surf Air Mobility (NYSE:SRFM) and Copa (NYSE:CPA) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Surf Air Mobility and Copa”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Surf Air Mobility	$106.56 million	0.91	-$110.56 million	($2.65)	-0.35
Copa	$3.62 billion	1.74	$671.65 million	$17.15	8.90

Copa has higher revenue and earnings than Surf Air Mobility. Surf Air Mobility is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Copa, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

17.7% of Surf Air Mobility shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.1% of Copa shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Surf Air Mobility shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Surf Air Mobility has a beta of 2.74, suggesting that its stock price is 174% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Copa has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Surf Air Mobility and Copa, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Surf Air Mobility	1	1	2	0	2.25
Copa	0	1	11	1	3.00

Surf Air Mobility presently has a consensus target price of $3.08, indicating a potential upside of 236.24%. Copa has a consensus target price of $168.91, indicating a potential upside of 10.61%. Given Surf Air Mobility’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Surf Air Mobility is more favorable than Copa.

Profitability

This table compares Surf Air Mobility and Copa’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Surf Air Mobility	-103.39%	N/A	-67.78%
Copa	18.76%	26.01%	10.98%

Summary

Copa beats Surf Air Mobility on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Surf Air Mobility

Surf Air Mobility Inc. operates as an electric aviation and air travel company in the United States. The company offers an air mobility platform with scheduled routes and on demand charter flights operated by third parties. Surf Air Mobility Inc. is headquartered in Hawthorne, California.

About Copa

Copa Holdings, S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides airline passenger and cargo services. The company offers approximately 375 daily scheduled flights to 82 destinations in 32 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean from its Panama City hub. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 106 aircraft comprising 76 Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft, 29 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, and one Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter. The company was founded in 1947 and is based in Panama City, Panama.