Contrasting Maison Solutions (NASDAQ:MSS) and Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX)

Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX) and Maison Solutions (NASDAQ:MSS) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.4% of Olaplex shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.4% of Maison Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Olaplex shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 64.7% of Maison Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Olaplex and Maison Solutions”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Olaplex	$422.67 million	2.13	$19.52 million	N/A	N/A
Maison Solutions	$124.22 million	0.06	$1.17 million	($0.26)	-1.37

Olaplex has higher revenue and earnings than Maison Solutions.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Olaplex and Maison Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Olaplex	1	4	2	1	2.38
Maison Solutions	1	1	1	0	2.00

Olaplex currently has a consensus price target of $1.85, suggesting a potential upside of 37.04%. Maison Solutions has a consensus price target of $4.25, suggesting a potential upside of 1,092.82%. Given Maison Solutions’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Maison Solutions is more favorable than Olaplex.

Profitability

This table compares Olaplex and Maison Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Olaplex	-1.18%	1.31%	0.70%
Maison Solutions	-4.89%	-46.54%	-6.80%

Risk and Volatility

Olaplex has a beta of 2.28, indicating that its share price is 128% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Maison Solutions has a beta of 5.26, indicating that its share price is 426% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Olaplex beats Maison Solutions on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Olaplex

Olaplex Holdings, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells hair care products in the United States and internationally. The company offers hair care shampoos and conditioners for use in treatment, maintenance, and protection of hair, as well as oil, moisture mask, and nourishing hair serum. It provides hair care products to professional hair salons, retailers, and everyday consumers. The company distributes its products through professional distributors in salons, directly to retailers for sale in their physical stores, e-commerce sites, and its website, Olaplex.com, as well as third party e-commerce platforms. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Santa Barbara, California.

About Maison Solutions

Maison Solutions Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as the specialty grocery retailer in California. The company offers perishable products, such as meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruit; non-perishable products, including grocery products comprising cooking utensils, canned foods, Chinese and Asian seasonings and spices, and snacks, as well as liquor, cigarette, lottery, newspaper, reusable bag, non-food, and health products, and general merchandise, beauty care, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services in its stores. It also offers its products online. The company was formerly known as Maison International, Inc. and changed its name to Maison Solutions Inc. in September 2021. Maison Solutions Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Monterey Park, California.