Financial Review: Allbirds (NASDAQ:BIRD) versus Xcel Brands (NASDAQ:XELB)

Allbirds (NASDAQ:BIRD) and Xcel Brands (NASDAQ:XELB) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Allbirds and Xcel Brands”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Allbirds	$189.76 million	0.13	-$93.32 million	($10.37)	-0.29
Xcel Brands	$8.26 million	1.23	-$22.40 million	($7.86)	-0.22

Xcel Brands has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Allbirds. Allbirds is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Xcel Brands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.1% of Allbirds shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.6% of Xcel Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 30.7% of Allbirds shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.5% of Xcel Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Allbirds has a beta of 1.96, meaning that its share price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xcel Brands has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Allbirds and Xcel Brands, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Allbirds	1	2	0	0	1.67
Xcel Brands	1	0	1	0	2.00

Allbirds currently has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 260.66%. Xcel Brands has a consensus target price of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 73.41%. Given Allbirds’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Allbirds is more favorable than Xcel Brands.

Profitability

This table compares Allbirds and Xcel Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Allbirds	-51.90%	-108.35%	-56.25%
Xcel Brands	-437.09%	-51.46%	-24.73%

Summary

Xcel Brands beats Allbirds on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Allbirds

Allbirds, Inc. manufactures and sells footwear and apparel products for men and women in the United States and internationally. The company offers a range of lifestyle and performance shoes; and apparel, including classic tees and sweats, socks, and underwear. It sells its products through its retail stores, as well as online. The company was formerly known as Bozz, Inc. and changed its name to Allbirds, Inc. in December 2015. Allbirds, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Xcel Brands

Xcel Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media and consumer products company in the United States. The company designs, produces, markets, wholesales, and sells branded apparel, footwear, accessories, jewelry, home goods, and other consumer products; and acquires consumer lifestyle brands, including the Isaac Mizrahi, the LOGO by Lori Goldstein, the Judith Ripka, the Halston brand, the C Wonder, the TowerHill by Christie Brinkley brand (the CB brand), and other brands, as well as manages the Longaberger brand. It licenses its brands to third parties; and designs, produces, markets, and distributes through an omni-channel retail sales strategy, which include distribution through interactive television, digital live-stream shopping, brick-and-mortar retail, and e-commerce channels. The company also offers live streaming, social media and other marketing, and public relations support for its brands. In addition, it markets its brands through www.isaacmizrahi.com; www.halston.com; www.judithripka.com; www.cwonder.com; www.lorigoldstein.com; and www.longaberger.com. Xcel Brands, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New York, New York.