Reviewing ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) and WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) and WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares ARQ and WD-40’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARQ	-12.35%	-8.35%	-6.16%
WD-40	12.19%	32.30%	15.67%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of WD-40 shares are held by institutional investors. 22.2% of ARQ shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of WD-40 shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for ARQ and WD-40, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARQ	0	0	0	0	N/A
WD-40	0	0	1	0	3.00

WD-40 has a consensus price target of $313.00, suggesting a potential upside of 38.39%. Given WD-40’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WD-40 is more favorable than ARQ.

Risk & Volatility

ARQ has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WD-40 has a beta of -0.06, indicating that its stock price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ARQ and WD-40’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARQ	$99.18 million	2.32	-$12.25 million	($0.50)	-13.76
WD-40	$537.26 million	5.70	$65.99 million	$5.01	45.14

WD-40 has higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WD-40, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

WD-40 beats ARQ on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products. It also offers multi-purpose and specialty drip oils, and spray lubricant products, as well as other specialty maintenance products under the 3-IN-ONE brand name; and professional spray maintenance products and lubricants for the bike maintenance market under the GT85 brand name. In addition, the company provides automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the 2000 Flushes brand name; aerosol and liquid trigger carpet stain and odor eliminators under the Spot Shot brand; room and rug deodorizers under the Carpet Fresh brand name; carpet and household cleaners, and rug and room deodorizers under the 1001 brand; heavy-duty hand cleaner products under the Lava brand name in the United States, as well as under the Solvol brand name in Australia; and automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the X-14 brand name. It sells its products primarily through warehouse club stores, hardware stores, automotive parts outlets, industrial distributors and suppliers, mass retail and home center stores, value retailers, grocery stores, online retailers, farm supply, sport retailers, and independent bike dealers. WD-40 Company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.