Comparing Alphabet (GOOG) and The Competition

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of 192 public companies in the “Interactive Media & Services” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Alphabet to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Alphabet and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alphabet	$471.10 billion	$132.17 billion	14.77
Alphabet Competitors	$13.72 billion	$3.48 billion	19.78

Alphabet has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Alphabet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Alphabet has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alphabet’s rivals have a beta of 1.88, indicating that their average stock price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

27.3% of Alphabet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.2% of shares of all “Interactive Media & Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 13.0% of Alphabet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.0% of shares of all “Interactive Media & Services” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Alphabet and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alphabet	50.03%	43.33%	29.24%
Alphabet Competitors	-349.38%	-23.09%	4.03%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Alphabet and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alphabet	1	5	35	6	2.98
Alphabet Competitors	1438	6010	11546	441	2.57

Alphabet presently has a consensus price target of $413.38, suggesting a potential upside of 46.04%. As a group, “Interactive Media & Services” companies have a potential upside of 34.03%. Given Alphabet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Alphabet is more favorable than its rivals.

Dividends

Alphabet pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet pays out 4.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Interactive Media & Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 17.9% and pay out 4.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Alphabet has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Alphabet beats its rivals on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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.