Carnival (NYSE:CCL) & Xponential Fitness (NYSE:XPOF) Head to Head Analysis

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) and Xponential Fitness (NYSE:XPOF) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.2% of Carnival shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.6% of Xponential Fitness shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Carnival shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 42.3% of Xponential Fitness shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Carnival and Xponential Fitness’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carnival	9.72%	27.88%	5.20%
Xponential Fitness	-17.47%	N/A	-0.46%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Carnival and Xponential Fitness”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carnival	$25.02 billion	1.46	$1.92 billion	$1.85	16.91
Xponential Fitness	$320.35 million	1.34	-$64.95 million	($1.76)	-5.00

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

Volatility and Risk

Carnival has a beta of 2.7, meaning that its share price is 170% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xponential Fitness has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Carnival and Xponential Fitness, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carnival	0	8	13	0	2.62
Xponential Fitness	0	5	2	1	2.50

Carnival currently has a consensus target price of $30.7059, suggesting a potential downside of 1.86%. Xponential Fitness has a consensus target price of $12.9286, suggesting a potential upside of 46.83%. Given Xponential Fitness’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Xponential Fitness is more favorable than Carnival.

Summary

Carnival beats Xponential Fitness on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Carnival

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn. The Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations segment consists of AIDA, Costa, Cunard, and P&O Cruises (UK). The Cruise Support segment represents port destinations and private islands for the benefit of its cruise brands. The Tour and Other segment operates hotel and transportation operations of Holland America Princess Alaska Tours. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Miami, FL.

About Xponential Fitness

Xponential Fitness, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a boutique fitness franchisor in North America. It offers pilates, indoor cycling, barre, stretching, rowing, dancing, boxing, running, functional training, and yoga services under the Club Pilates, Pure Barre, CycleBar, StretchLab, Row House, YogaSix, Rumble, AKT, Stride, and BFT brands. Xponential Fitness, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.