Western Union (NYSE:WU) and XBP Global (NASDAQ:XBP) Financial Contrast

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

Risk and Volatility

XBP Global has a beta of -0.38, suggesting that its share price is 138% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Union has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares XBP Global and Western Union”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
XBP Global	$142.77 million	0.60	-$12.37 million	($2.20)	-3.31
Western Union	$4.21 billion	0.73	$934.20 million	$2.29	4.21

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.7% of XBP Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. 10.5% of XBP Global shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Western Union shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
XBP Global	N/A	7,889.88%	384.84%
Western Union	18.80%	60.85%	6.97%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for XBP Global and Western Union, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
XBP Global	1	0	0	0	1.00
Western Union	5	10	0	0	1.67

Western Union has a consensus price target of $8.82, indicating a potential downside of 8.57%. Given Western Union’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Western Union is more favorable than XBP Global.

Summary

Western Union beats XBP Global on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices. The Consumer Services segments offers bill payment services, which facilitate payments for consumers, businesses, and other organizations, as well as money order services, retail foreign exchange services, prepaid cards, lending partnerships, and digital wallets. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.