Meta Platforms (META) Competitors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, AAPL or META?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apple	$391.04B	9.66	$93.74B	$6.59	38.64
Meta Platforms	$164.50B	11.51	$62.36B	$27.62	27.30

Do insiders & institutionals believe in AAPL or META?

67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Meta Platforms shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.6% of Meta Platforms shares are held 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.

Is AAPL or META a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Meta Platforms pays out 7.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Apple has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Meta Platforms has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Apple is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to AAPL or META?

In the previous week, Apple had 84 more articles in the media than Meta Platforms. MarketBeat recorded 259 mentions for Apple and 175 mentions for Meta Platforms. Meta Platforms' average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat Apple's score of 1.01 indicating that Meta Platforms is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	170 Very Positive mention(s)	30 Positive mention(s)	42 Neutral mention(s)	10 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Meta Platforms	136 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	19 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend AAPL or META?

Apple presently has a consensus target price of $244.03, suggesting a potential downside of 4.16%. Meta Platforms has a consensus target price of $826.05, suggesting a potential upside of 9.55%. Given Meta Platforms' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Meta Platforms is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	1 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56
Meta Platforms	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	39 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.96

Which has more risk and volatility, AAPL or META?

Apple has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Meta Platforms has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AAPL or META more profitable?

Meta Platforms has a net margin of 39.99% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat Meta Platforms' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%
Meta Platforms	39.99%	39.33%	25.83%

Summary

Meta Platforms beats Apple on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.