Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR – Get Free Report) and BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Sphere Entertainment and BuzzFeed’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Sphere Entertainment | -14.68% | -19.27% | -9.85% |
| BuzzFeed | 4.75% | -28.11% | -11.14% |
Volatility and Risk
Sphere Entertainment has a beta of 1.74, indicating that its stock price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BuzzFeed has a beta of 3.45, indicating that its stock price is 245% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Sphere Entertainment | $1.03 billion | 1.69 | -$200.65 million | ($5.32) | -9.09 |
| BuzzFeed | $189.89 million | 0.36 | -$10.10 million | $0.25 | 7.40 |
BuzzFeed has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sphere Entertainment. Sphere Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BuzzFeed, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Sphere Entertainment and BuzzFeed, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Sphere Entertainment | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2.50 |
| BuzzFeed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.00 |
Sphere Entertainment presently has a consensus price target of $49.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.33%. Given Sphere Entertainment’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Sphere Entertainment is more favorable than BuzzFeed.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
92.0% of Sphere Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.6% of BuzzFeed shares are held by institutional investors. 22.1% of Sphere Entertainment shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.2% of BuzzFeed shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Sphere Entertainment beats BuzzFeed on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Sphere Entertainment
Sphere Entertainment Co. engages in the entertainment business. It produces, presents, or hosts various live entertainment events, including concerts, family shows, and special events, as well as sporting events, such as professional boxing, college basketball and hockey, professional bull riding, mixed martial arts, and esports and wrestling in its venues, including The Garden, Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall, and the Beacon Theatre in New York City; and The Chicago Theatre. The company also operates entertainment dining and nightlife venues markets under the Tao, Marquee, Lavo, Beauty & Essex, Cathédrale, Hakkasan, and Omnia brand names. The company was formerly known as Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and changed its name to Sphere Entertainment Co. in April 2023. Sphere Entertainment Co. was founded in 2006 and is based in New York, New York.
About BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc., a digital media company, distributes content across owned and operated, as well as third-party platforms. The company offers BuzzFeed, a go-to authority for entertainment, pop culture, and Internet with articles, lists, quizzes, videos, and original series; BuzzFeed News, a pocket friendly newsroom; Tasty, a platform for food content; HuffPost, media platform for news, politics, opinion, entertainment, features, and lifestyle content. It also provides display, programmatic, and video advertising on its owned and operated sites and applications. BuzzFeed, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York.
Receive News & Ratings for Sphere Entertainment Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sphere Entertainment and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
