Comparing WEX (NYSE:WEX) & XBP Global (NASDAQ:XBP)

WEX (NYSE:WEX) and XBP Global (NASDAQ:XBP) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares WEX and XBP Global”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WEX	$2.63 billion	2.08	$309.60 million	$7.91	20.18
XBP Global	$142.77 million	0.62	-$12.37 million	N/A	N/A

WEX has higher revenue and earnings than XBP Global.

Profitability

This table compares WEX and XBP Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WEX	11.79%	41.87%	3.71%
XBP Global	-11.24%	N/A	-9.62%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.5% of WEX shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.7% of XBP Global shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of WEX shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of XBP Global shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for WEX and XBP Global, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WEX	0	13	3	0	2.19
XBP Global	1	0	0	0	1.00

WEX currently has a consensus price target of $180.91, indicating a potential upside of 13.35%. Given WEX’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe WEX is more favorable than XBP Global.

Volatility & Risk

WEX has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, XBP Global has a beta of -0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 135% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

WEX beats XBP Global on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WEX

WEX Inc. operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to businesses and government agencies with fleets of commercial vehicles; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Corporate Payments segment provides payment solutions, including embedded payments; and accounts payable automation and spend management solutions. This segment also markets its products directly and indirectly to customers in travel, fintech, insurance, consumer bill pay, and media verticals. The Benefits Solutions segment offers software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for consumer directed healthcare benefits and full-service benefit enrollment solutions. In addition, its SaaS platform includes embedded payment solutions and plan administration services for consumer-directed health benefits; COBRA accounts; and benefit enrollment and administration services. Further, it offers custodial and depository services for health savings accounts; and markets its products through third-party administrators, financial institutions, payroll providers, and health plans. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Portland, Maine.

About XBP Global

XBP Europe Holdings, Inc. provides bills, payments, and related solutions and services in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bills & Payments and Technology. The Bills & Payments segment focuses on optimizing how bills and payments are processed by businesses of all sizes and industries. This segment also offers automation of accounts payable and accounts receivables processes and seeks to integrate buyers and suppliers, as well as engages in digital transformation business. The Technology segment engages in the sale of recurring software licenses and related maintenance, and hardware solutions, as well as provision of related maintenance and professional services. In addition, the company offers XBP platform that provides a secured network allowing billers, consumers, and businesses to communicate and transact; XBP Omnidirect, a cloud-based platform that provides enterprise level client communication management; and Reaktr.ai for cybersecurity, data modernization and cloud management, and generative AI. Further, it provides request to pay solutions; enterprise information management solutions; robotic process automation solutions; digital mailroom and records digitization solutions; business process management and intelligent workflow automation solutions; integrated communications solution; banking and financial industry solutions and services; cross-border payments; digitization of checks; confirmation of payee; and mortgage and loan management solutions. The company is based in Egham, the United Kingdom. XBP Europe Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Exela Technologies, Inc.