Reviewing EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) and Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT)

Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT) and EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Katapult and EZCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Katapult	3.60%	-26.41%	10.86%
EZCORP	9.97%	13.99%	7.49%

Risk and Volatility

Katapult has a beta of 1.55, indicating that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EZCORP has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.8% of Katapult shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of EZCORP shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of Katapult shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of EZCORP shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Katapult and EZCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Katapult	1	0	0	0	1.00
EZCORP	0	2	6	0	2.75

EZCORP has a consensus price target of $38.80, suggesting a potential upside of 28.65%. Given EZCORP’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe EZCORP is more favorable than Katapult.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Katapult and EZCORP”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Katapult	$291.76 million	0.08	$1.37 million	$1.37	3.31
EZCORP	$1.27 billion	1.45	$109.61 million	$1.98	15.23

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

Summary

EZCORP beats Katapult on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Katapult

Katapult Holdings, Inc., an e-commerce focused financial technology company, provides e-commerce point-of-sale lease-purchase options for nonprime consumers in the United States. The company's technology platform provides nonprime consumers with a lease purchase option to enable them to obtain durable goods from its network of e-commerce retailers. It also offers Katapult Pay, a one-time use virtual card technology that makes lease purchasing and transactions. The company was formerly known as Cognical Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Katapult Holdings, Inc. in February 2020. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

About EZCORP

EZCORP, Inc. provides pawn services in the United States and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Other Investments. The company offers pawn loans collateralized by tangible personal property, jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments. It also retails merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from pawn lending operations and pre-owned merchandise purchased from customers. In addition, the company provides EZ+, a web-based application that allow customers to manage their pawn transactions, layaways, and loyalty rewards online. Further, it operates under the EZPAWN, Value Pawn & Jewelry, Empeño Fácil, Cash Apoyo Efectivo, GuatePrenda, and MaxiEfectivo brands. EZCORP, Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.