ECARX (NASDAQ:ECX – Get Free Report) and CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS – Get Free Report) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.
Volatility and Risk
ECARX has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CPI Card Group has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for ECARX and CPI Card Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| ECARX | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| CPI Card Group | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
22.1% of CPI Card Group shares are held by institutional investors. 20.0% of ECARX shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of CPI Card Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares ECARX and CPI Card Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| ECARX | $761.90 million | 0.94 | -$127.73 million | ($0.35) | -5.54 |
| CPI Card Group | $480.60 million | 0.55 | $19.52 million | $1.59 | 14.67 |
CPI Card Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ECARX. ECARX is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CPI Card Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares ECARX and CPI Card Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| ECARX | -14.60% | N/A | -21.52% |
| CPI Card Group | 3.83% | -66.46% | 7.43% |
Summary
CPI Card Group beats ECARX on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About ECARX
ECARX Holdings Inc. develops a full stack automotive computing platform to shape the interaction between people and cars by rapidly advancing the technology by smart mobility worldwide. It offers system on chips, central computing platforms, operating systems, and software. Its core products include infotainment head units, digital cockpits, vehicle chip-set solutions, core operating system, and integrated software stack. The company has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Black Sesame Technologies. The company is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.
About CPI Card Group
CPI Card Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, production, data personalization, packaging, and fulfillment of financial payment cards. It operates through Debit and Credit, and Prepaid Debit segments. The Debit and Credit segment produces financial payment cards and provides integrated card services to card-issuing financial institutions. Its products include Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) and non-EMV financial payment cards, including contact and contactless cards, plastic and encased metal cards, and Second Wave payment cards, as well as private label credit cards. This segment also provides on-demand services and various integrated card services, including card personalization and fulfillment, as well as instant issuance services. The Prepaid Debit segment primarily offers integrated card services comprising tamper-evident security packaging services to prepaid debit card providers. It also produces financial payment cards issued on the networks of the payment card brands. It serves issuers of debit and credit cards, Prepaid Debit Card program managers, community banks, credit unions, and group service providers in the United States. The company was formerly known as CPI Holdings I, Inc. and changed its name to CPI Card Group Inc. in August 2015. CPI Card Group Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Littleton, Colorado.
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