Critical Contrast: Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) & Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO)

Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) and Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Travelzoo and Maplebear”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Travelzoo	$83.90 million	0.97	$13.56 million	$0.64	11.64
Maplebear	$3.38 billion	3.49	$457.00 million	$1.82	24.70

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

Profitability

This table compares Travelzoo and Maplebear’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Travelzoo	8.66%	-446.70%	15.82%
Maplebear	14.09%	15.72%	11.78%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Travelzoo and Maplebear, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Travelzoo	0	2	3	0	2.60
Maplebear	1	10	14	2	2.63

Travelzoo currently has a consensus target price of $19.67, indicating a potential upside of 163.98%. Maplebear has a consensus target price of $52.21, indicating a potential upside of 16.15%. Given Travelzoo’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Travelzoo is more favorable than Maplebear.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

27.4% of Travelzoo shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.1% of Maplebear shares are owned by institutional investors. 43.2% of Travelzoo shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.0% of Maplebear 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.

Risk and Volatility

Travelzoo has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Maplebear has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Maplebear beats Travelzoo on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Travelzoo

Travelzoo, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an Internet media company that provides travel, entertainment, and local experiences worldwide. It operates in four segments: Travelzoo North America, Travelzoo Europe, Jack's Flight Club, and New Initiatives. The company offers Travelzoo website, Travelzoo Top 20 email newsletters, Standalone email newsletters, Travelzoo Network, Travelzoo mobile applications, Jack's Flight Club website, Jack's Flight Club mobile applications, and Jack's Flight Club newsletters. The company's Travelzoo website and newsletters include local deals and getaways listings that allow members to purchase vouchers for offers from local businesses, such as spas, hotels, and restaurants; Jack's Flight Club, a subscription service that provides members with information about exceptional airfares; and Travelzoo Network, a network of third-party websites that list travel deals published by the company. It serves airlines, hotels, cruise lines, vacations packagers, tour operators, destinations, car rental companies, travel agents, theater and performing arts groups, restaurants, spas, and activity companies. Travelzoo Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Maplebear

Maplebear Inc., doing business as Instacart, engages in the provision of online grocery shopping services to households in North America. It sells and delivers grocery products, as well as pickup services through a mobile application and website. It also operates virtual convenience stores; and provides software-as-a-service solutions to retailers. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in San Francisco, California.