Contrasting System1 (NYSE:SST) & JC Decaux (OTCMKTS:JCDXF)

JC Decaux (OTCMKTS:JCDXF) and System1 (NYSE:SST) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Risk & Volatility

JC Decaux has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, System1 has a beta of 1.44, meaning that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.5% of System1 shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.2% of System1 shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares JC Decaux and System1″s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JC Decaux	$3.93 billion	0.92	$280.16 million	N/A	N/A
System1	$343.92 million	0.10	-$74.67 million	($8.53)	-0.42

JC Decaux has higher revenue and earnings than System1.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for JC Decaux and System1, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JC Decaux	0	2	0	1	2.67
System1	1	0	1	0	2.00

System1 has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 180.50%. Given System1’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe System1 is more favorable than JC Decaux.

Profitability

This table compares JC Decaux and System1’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JC Decaux	N/A	N/A	N/A
System1	-22.78%	-109.87%	-15.60%

Summary

JC Decaux beats System1 on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JC Decaux

JCDecaux SE operates as an outdoor advertising company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Street Furniture, Transport, and Billboard. The Street Furniture segment provides advertising services in shopping malls; rents street furniture; and sells and rents equipment, such as automatic public toilets, bikes, etc., as well as provides cleaning, maintenance, and other services. The Transport segment provides advertising services in public transport systems, such as airports, metros, buses, trams, and trains. The Billboard segment is involved in advertising on private property, including traditional large format or back-light billboards; neon-light billboards; and advertising wall wraps. The company was founded in 1964 and is based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. JCDecaux SE is a subsidiary of JCDecaux Holding SAS.

About System1

System1, Inc. provides omnichannel customer acquisition platform services through its proprietary responsive acquisition marketing platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Owned and Operated Advertising, and Partner Network. The company engages in the provision of acquiring traffic to its owned and operated websites, as well as revenue-sharing arrangements and related services. It also operates MapQuest, a web-based navigation service that delivers turn-by-turn direction services to users; Info.com, a metasearch engine that consumers can use to search for relevant information; HowStuffWorks, a commercial website focused on helping people solve problems in their daily lives by using various types of digital media to easily breakdown and explain complex concepts, topics, terminology and mechanisms; Startpage, a private search engine that allows users to browse and search the Internet in complete privacy; and CouponFollow for coupon destinations for online shoppers, as well as ActiveBeat and Infospace. In addition, the company provides antivirus software solutions, which offers customers a single packaged solution that provides protection and reporting to the end users. The company is based in Los Angeles, California.