Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) vs. SEA (NYSE:SE) Head-To-Head Comparison

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) and SEA (NYSE:SE) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Groupon and SEA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Groupon	-25.26%	N/A	-20.28%
SEA	5.98%	13.54%	5.59%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.0% of Groupon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.5% of SEA shares are held by institutional investors. 36.6% of Groupon shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of SEA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Groupon has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SEA has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Groupon and SEA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Groupon	$498.42 million	1.49	-$83.52 million	($3.11)	-5.88
SEA	$22.94 billion	2.86	$1.58 billion	$2.59	41.46

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Groupon and SEA, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Groupon	2	1	1	0	1.75
SEA	1	2	10	1	2.79

Groupon currently has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.23%. SEA has a consensus target price of $149.40, indicating a potential upside of 39.14%. Given Groupon’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Groupon is more favorable than SEA.

Summary

SEA beats Groupon on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Groupon

Groupon, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a marketplace that connects consumers to merchants. It operates in two segments, North America and International. The company sells goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. It serves customers through its mobile applications and websites. The company was formerly known as ThePoint.com, Inc. and changed its name to Groupon, Inc. in October 2008. Groupon, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About SEA

Sea Ltd. is an internet and mobile platform company, which engages in the provision of online gaming services. It operates through the following segments: Digital Entertainment, E-Commerce, and Digital Financial Services. The Digital Entertainment segment offers and develops mobile and PC online games. The E-Commerce segment manages a third-party marketplace through the Shopee mobile app and websites that connect buyers and sellers. The Digital Financial Services segment includes a variety of payment services and loans to individuals and businesses through SeaMoney. Sea was founded by Xiao Dong Li, Gang Ye, and Jing Ye Chen on May 8, 2009 and is headquartered in Singapore.