Critical Contrast: Cumulus Media (NASDAQ:CMLS) and Creative Realities (NASDAQ:CREX)

Cumulus Media (NASDAQ:CMLS) and Creative Realities (NASDAQ:CREX) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cumulus Media and Creative Realities”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cumulus Media	$827.08 million	0.00	-$117.88 million	($17.39)	-0.00
Creative Realities	$57.23 million	0.67	-$8.28 million	($2.11)	-1.34

Creative Realities has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cumulus Media. Creative Realities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cumulus Media, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Cumulus Media and Creative Realities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cumulus Media	-18.11%	-30.27%	-5.62%
Creative Realities	-29.29%	-88.21%	-13.51%

Risk and Volatility

Cumulus Media has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Creative Realities has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Cumulus Media and Creative Realities, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cumulus Media	0	1	0	0	2.00
Creative Realities	1	1	2	0	2.25

Creative Realities has a consensus target price of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 182.69%. Given Creative Realities’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Creative Realities is more favorable than Cumulus Media.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

48.7% of Cumulus Media shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.3% of Creative Realities shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.9% of Cumulus Media shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.8% of Creative Realities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Creative Realities beats Cumulus Media on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media Inc., an audio-first media company, owns and operates radio stations in the United States. It owns and operates stations in various markets, as well as affiliated stations through Westwood One. The company's content portfolio includes sports, news, talk, and entertainment programming from various brands, including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, CNN, AP News, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and other partners. In addition, the company provides digital marketing services, such as email marketing, geo-targeted display and video solutions, website and microsite building, hosting, social media management, reputation and listing management, and search engine marketing and optimization; influencers, audio solutions, research and insights, and live event services; and advertising performance guarantee services. The company serves advertisers through broadcast and on-demand digital, mobile, social, and voice-activated platforms. Cumulus Media Inc. was founded in 2002 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Creative Realities

Creative Realities, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides digital marketing technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers digital signage and media solutions to enhance communications in a wide-ranging variety of out-of-home environments. The company’s solutions include digital merchandising systems and omni-channel customer engagement systems; interactive digital shopping assistants; advisors and kiosks; and other interactive marketing technologies, such as mobile, social media, point-of-sale transactions, beaconing, and web-based media that enables its customers to engage with their consumers. It also provides hardware system design/engineering, hardware installation, content development, content scheduling, post-deployment network and field support, and media sales, as well as media management and distribution software platforms and networks; device and product management; and customized software service layers, systems, experiences, workflows, and integrated solutions. The company sells its solutions to the automotive, retail, digital out of home comprising advertising networks and retail media networks, foodservice/quick-serve restaurants, financial services, gaming, and sports and entertainment venues. Creative Realities, Inc. is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.