Head-To-Head Comparison: United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) & Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM)

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.1% of United Microelectronics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.4% of Qualcomm shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of United Microelectronics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Qualcomm shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares United Microelectronics and Qualcomm’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Microelectronics	17.60%	11.45%	7.45%
Qualcomm	11.96%	44.09%	20.50%

Risk & Volatility

United Microelectronics has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Qualcomm has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Microelectronics and Qualcomm”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Microelectronics	$7.57 billion	4.22	$1.34 billion	$0.54	23.55
Qualcomm	$44.28 billion	3.28	$5.54 billion	$4.84	28.11

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for United Microelectronics and Qualcomm, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Microelectronics	3	2	0	0	1.40
Qualcomm	4	13	9	1	2.26

United Microelectronics presently has a consensus target price of $8.60, indicating a potential downside of 32.36%. Qualcomm has a consensus target price of $158.25, indicating a potential upside of 16.30%. Given Qualcomm’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Qualcomm is more favorable than United Microelectronics.

Dividends

United Microelectronics pays an annual dividend of $0.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Qualcomm pays an annual dividend of $3.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. United Microelectronics pays out 68.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Qualcomm pays out 73.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Qualcomm has raised its dividend for 23 consecutive years. United Microelectronics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Qualcomm beats United Microelectronics on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers. United Microelectronics Corporation was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products. The QTL segment grants licenses or provides rights to use portions of its intellectual property portfolio, which include various patent rights useful in the manufacture and sale of wireless products comprising products implementing CDMA2000, WCDMA, LTE and/or OFDMA-based 5G standards and their derivatives. The QSI segment invests in early-stage companies in various industries, including 5G, artificial intelligence, automotive, consumer, enterprise, cloud, IoT, and extended reality, and investments, including non-marketable equity securities and, to a lesser extent, marketable equity securities, and convertible debt instruments. It also provides development, and other services and related products to the United States government agencies and their contractors. The company was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.