Financial Survey: PodcastOne (NASDAQ:PODC) versus Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) and PodcastOne (NASDAQ:PODC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Baidu and PodcastOne, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baidu	0	10	7	0	2.41
PodcastOne	0	0	1	0	3.00

Baidu currently has a consensus price target of $109.55, suggesting a potential upside of 22.74%. PodcastOne has a consensus price target of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 133.64%. Given PodcastOne’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe PodcastOne is more favorable than Baidu.

Profitability

This table compares Baidu and PodcastOne’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baidu	17.90%	8.67%	5.51%
PodcastOne	-11.40%	-36.83%	-25.09%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Baidu and PodcastOne”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baidu	$133.13 billion	0.23	$3.26 billion	$9.17	9.73
PodcastOne	$49.73 million	1.07	-$14.73 million	($0.24)	-8.92

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

Volatility and Risk

Baidu has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PodcastOne has a beta of -0.2, meaning that its share price is 120% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.9% of PodcastOne shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.7% of Baidu shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of PodcastOne shares are owned by company 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.

Summary

Baidu beats PodcastOne on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc. engages in the provision of internet search services in China. It operates through two segments: Baidu Core and iQIYI. The company offers Baidu App to access search, feed, and other services using mobile devices; Baidu Search to access its search and other services; Baidu Feed that provides users with personalized timeline based on their demographics and interests; Baidu Health that helps users to find the doctor and hospital for healthcare needs; and Haokan, a short video app. It also provides Baidu Knows, an online community where users can ask questions to other users; Baidu Wiki; Baidu Experience; Baidu Post; ERNIE Bot, conversational AI bot; Baidu Wenku; Baidu Maps, a voice-enabled mobile app that provides travel-related services; Baidu Drive; Baijiahao; and DuerOS, a smart assistant platform. In addition, it offers online marketing services, which include pay for performance, an auction-based services that allow customers to bid for priority placement of paid sponsored links and reach users who search for information related to their products or services; other marketing services that include display-based marketing services and other online marketing services based on performance criteria other than cost per click; mobile ecosystem, a portfolio of apps, including Baidu App, Haokan, and Baidu Post; various cloud services and solutions, such as platform as a service, software as a service, and infrastructure as a service; self-driving services, including maps, automated valet parking, navigation pilot, electric vehicles, and robotaxi fleets, as well as Xiaodu smart devices. Further, the company provides iQIYI, an online entertainment service, including original and licensed content; other video content and membership; and online advertising services. It has strategic partnership with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The company was formerly known as Baidu.com, Inc. Baidu, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

About PodcastOne

PodcastOne, Inc. operates as a podcast platform and publisher. The company offers its content to audiences through podcasting distribution platforms, including its website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and others. It also produces vodcasts, branded podcasts, merchandise, and live events. In addition, the company builds, owns, and operates LaunchPadOne, a self-publishing podcast platform. The company was formerly known as Courtside Group, Inc. and changed its name to PodcastOne, Inc. in September 2023. PodcastOne, Inc. was founded in 2013 and is based in Beverly Hills, California. PodcastOne, Inc. is a subsidiary of LiveOne, Inc.