Head-To-Head Contrast: Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) versus WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN)

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) and WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Shutterstock has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WEBTOON Entertainment has a beta of 2.65, indicating that its stock price is 165% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Shutterstock and WEBTOON Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shutterstock	-51.19%	13.31%	4.76%
WEBTOON Entertainment	-25.18%	1.72%	1.30%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Shutterstock and WEBTOON Entertainment”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shutterstock	$989.92 million	0.11	$45.50 million	($11.37)	-0.25
WEBTOON Entertainment	$1.38 billion	0.97	-$345.93 million	($2.63)	-3.77

Shutterstock has higher earnings, but lower revenue than WEBTOON Entertainment. WEBTOON Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shutterstock, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Shutterstock and WEBTOON Entertainment, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shutterstock	1	1	1	0	2.00
WEBTOON Entertainment	1	5	1	0	2.00

Shutterstock currently has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 149.64%. WEBTOON Entertainment has a consensus target price of $10.88, suggesting a potential upside of 9.63%. Given Shutterstock’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Shutterstock is more favorable than WEBTOON Entertainment.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.8% of Shutterstock shares are held by institutional investors. 32.3% of Shutterstock shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of WEBTOON Entertainment shares are held 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.

Summary

Shutterstock beats WEBTOON Entertainment on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shutterstock

Shutterstock, Inc. is a global technology company that provides licensed visual, video and audio content for businesses, media organizations, marketing professionals and individual creators. Its platform offers stock photographs, illustrations, vectors, video footage, music and other creative assets, which customers can access through subscription plans, content licenses and enterprise solutions. The company also provides creative workflow and content-production tools, including editing capabilities, generative artificial intelligence features and services that help organizations find, customize and manage digital media.

About WEBTOON Entertainment

WEBTOON Entertainment operates a digital storytelling platform where readers can access comics, webtoons and related content on mobile devices and the web. Its services connect readers with independent creators and professional publishers, and include platforms such as WEBTOON and Wattpad. The company’s business includes paid content and advertising, as well as developing and licensing story properties for adaptations across formats such as television, film and games. Its entertainment properties have been adapted and distributed through its studios and industry partners.