Financial Comparison: Western Union (NYSE:WU) & Corpay (NYSE:CPAY)

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

Volatility & Risk

Corpay has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Union has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Corpay and Western Union, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Corpay	0	5	10	0	2.67
Western Union	5	10	0	0	1.67

Corpay presently has a consensus target price of $379.79, indicating a potential upside of 17.11%. Western Union has a consensus target price of $8.82, indicating a potential downside of 8.14%. Given Corpay’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Corpay is more favorable than Western Union.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Corpay	23.62%	37.13%	6.76%
Western Union	12.33%	62.01%	7.09%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.8% of Corpay shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.8% of Western Union shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Corpay shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Western Union shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Corpay and Western Union”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Corpay	$4.53 billion	5.01	$1.07 billion	$15.04	21.56
Western Union	$4.05 billion	0.74	$499.60 million	$1.52	6.32

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

Summary

Corpay beats Western Union on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Corpay

Corpay, Inc. operates as a payments company that helps businesses and consumers manage vehicle-related expenses, lodging expenses, and corporate payments in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers vehicle payment solutions, which include fuel, tolls, parking, fleet maintenance, and long-haul transportation services, as well as prepaid food and transportation vouchers and cards. It also provides corporate payment solutions consisting of accounts payable automation; virtual cards, cross-border solutions; and purchasing and travel and entertainment card products, as well as lodging payments solutions for employees who travel overnight for work purposes; traveling crews and stranded passengers from airlines and cruise lines; and insurance policyholders displaced from their homes due to damage or catastrophe. In addition, the company offers gifts and payroll cards. It serves business, merchant, consumer, and payment network customers. The company was formerly known as FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Corpay, Inc. in March 2024. Corpay, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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.