Financial Contrast: CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) vs. Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM)

Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM) and CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Trip.com Group and CAVA Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Trip.com Group	$8.94 billion	2.93	$4.77 billion	$4.85	8.31
CAVA Group	$1.18 billion	5.71	$63.74 million	$0.55	104.84

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Trip.com Group and CAVA Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Trip.com Group	2	3	8	1	2.57
CAVA Group	0	10	17	1	2.68

Trip.com Group currently has a consensus target price of $60.45, suggesting a potential upside of 50.01%. CAVA Group has a consensus target price of $88.88, suggesting a potential upside of 54.15%. Given CAVA Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CAVA Group is more favorable than Trip.com Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.4% of Trip.com Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.2% of CAVA Group shares are held by institutional investors. 23.0% of Trip.com Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of CAVA Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Trip.com Group and CAVA Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Trip.com Group	36.07%	16.99%	10.73%
CAVA Group	4.82%	8.28%	4.73%

Risk and Volatility

Trip.com Group has a beta of -0.04, indicating that its share price is 104% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CAVA Group has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a travel service provider for accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and in-destination, corporate travel management, and other travel-related services in China and internationally. The company acts as an agent for hotel-related transactions and selling air tickets, as well as provides train, long-distance bus, and ferry tickets; travel insurance products, such as flight delay, air accident, and baggage loss coverage; and air-ticket delivery, online check-in and seat selection, express security screening, real-time flight status tracker, and airport VIP lounge services. It also provides independent leisure travelers bundled packaged-tour products comprising group, semi-group, and customized and packaged tours with various transportation arrangements, including air, cruise, bus, and car rental services. In addition, the company offers integrated transportation and accommodation services; destination transportation and ticket, activity, insurance, visa, and tour guide services; user support, supplier management, and customer relationship management services; and in-destination products and services. Further, It provides its corporate clients with business visit, incentive trip, meeting and conference, travel data collection and analysis, and industry benchmarking solutions; and Corporate Travel Management System, an online platform that integrates information management, online booking and authorization, online inquiry, and travel reporting systems. Additionally, the company offers online advertising and financial services, such as marketing planning and travel media services. It operates under the Ctrip, Qunar, Trip.com, and Skyscanner brands. The company was formerly known as Ctrip.com International, Ltd. and changed its name to Trip.com Group Limited in October 2019. Trip.com Group Limited was founded in 1999 and is based in Singapore.

About CAVA Group

CAVA Group, Inc. owns and operates a chain of restaurants under the CAVA brand in the United States. The company also offers dips, spreads, and dressings through grocery stores. In addition, the company provides online and mobile ordering platforms. Cava Group, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.