Head to Head Review: Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) versus Rakuten (OTCMKTS:RKUNY)

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and Rakuten (OTCMKTS:RKUNY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lyft	$5.79 billion	1.18	$22.78 million	$0.24	69.96
Rakuten	$15.07 billion	0.88	-$1.07 billion	($0.65)	-9.45

Lyft has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Rakuten. Rakuten 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 current ratings and target prices for Lyft and Rakuten, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lyft	1	20	9	0	2.27
Rakuten	0	0	0	2	4.00

Lyft currently has a consensus price target of $16.83, indicating a potential upside of 0.26%. Given Lyft’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Lyft is more favorable than Rakuten.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lyft	1.51%	14.32%	1.97%
Rakuten	-8.85%	-18.83%	-0.82%

Volatility and Risk

Lyft has a beta of 2.33, indicating that its stock price is 133% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rakuten has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lyft beats Rakuten on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Rakuten

Rakuten Group, Inc. provides services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content, and communications to various users in Japan and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Internet Services, FinTech, and Mobile. The Internet Services segment provides range of e-commerce sites, such as Rakuten Ichiba, an Internet shopping mall, online cash-back sites, travel booking sites, portal sites, and digital content sites. It also offers messaging services and sells advertising; and manages professional sport teams. The FinTech segment offers financial services over the internet related to banking and securities, credit cards, life insurance, general insurance, electronic payment business, crypto asset (virtual currency) spot transaction, etc. The Mobile segment provides communication services and technology, electricity supply, and digital content site services. The company was formerly known as Rakuten, Inc. and changed its name to Rakuten Group, Inc. in April 2021. Rakuten Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Setagaya, Japan.