Alphabet (GOOGL) Competitors

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

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, AAPL or GOOGL?

Alphabet has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Apple. Alphabet 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	8.15	$93.74B	$6.42	33.23
Alphabet	$350.02B	6.21	$100.12B	$8.97	19.96

Does the media favor AAPL or GOOGL?

In the previous week, Apple had 105 more articles in the media than Alphabet. MarketBeat recorded 288 mentions for Apple and 183 mentions for Alphabet. Alphabet's average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat Apple's score of 0.74 indicating that Alphabet is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	151 Very Positive mention(s)	22 Positive mention(s)	70 Neutral mention(s)	29 Negative mention(s)	14 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Alphabet	118 Very Positive mention(s)	22 Positive mention(s)	26 Neutral mention(s)	10 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AAPL or GOOGL a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Alphabet pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple pays out 16.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alphabet pays out 9.4% 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 Alphabet 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, AAPL or GOOGL?

Apple has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alphabet has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in AAPL or GOOGL?

67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.0% of Alphabet shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.6% of Alphabet shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AAPL or GOOGL more profitable?

Alphabet has a net margin of 30.86% compared to Apple's net margin of 24.30%. Apple's return on equity of 167.24% beat Alphabet's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	167.24%	31.35%
Alphabet	30.86%	34.54%	25.07%

Do analysts prefer AAPL or GOOGL?

Apple currently has a consensus price target of $234.95, indicating a potential upside of 10.12%. Alphabet has a consensus price target of $199.95, indicating a potential upside of 11.66%. Given Alphabet's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alphabet is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.58
Alphabet	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	28 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Summary

Apple and Alphabet tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.