Head to Head Contrast: Dropbox (NASDAQ:DBX) & Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Dropbox (NASDAQ:DBX) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Dropbox has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lyft has a beta of 2.26, meaning that its stock price is 126% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Dropbox and Lyft’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dropbox	19.17%	-61.31%	19.38%
Lyft	1.51%	14.32%	1.97%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Dropbox and Lyft”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dropbox	$2.55 billion	2.95	$452.30 million	$1.64	16.96
Lyft	$5.79 billion	1.14	$22.78 million	$0.24	65.92

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Dropbox and Lyft, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dropbox	0	3	0	0	2.00
Lyft	1	22	9	0	2.25

Dropbox currently has a consensus price target of $30.3333, suggesting a potential upside of 9.03%. Lyft has a consensus price target of $16.6964, suggesting a potential upside of 5.54%. Given Dropbox’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Dropbox is more favorable than Lyft.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.8% of Dropbox shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.1% of Lyft shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.0% of Dropbox shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Lyft shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Dropbox beats Lyft on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dropbox

Dropbox, Inc. provides a content collaboration platform worldwide. The company's platform allows individuals, families, teams, and organizations to collaborate and sign up for free through its website or app, as well as upgrade to a paid subscription plan for premium features. It serves customers in professional services, technology, media, education, industrial, consumer and retail, and financial services industries. The company was formerly known as Evenflow, Inc. and changed its name to Dropbox, Inc. in October 2009. Dropbox, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc. operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips. It also offers centralized tools and enterprise transportation solutions, such as concierge transportation solutions for organizations; Lyft Pink subscription plans; Lyft Pass commuter programs; first-mile and last-mile services; and university safe rides programs. The company was formerly known as Zimride, Inc. and changed its name to Lyft, Inc. in April 2013. Lyft, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.