Comparing Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) & Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD)

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) and Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Walker & Dunlop has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Circle Internet Group has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Walker & Dunlop and Circle Internet Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Walker & Dunlop	2.94%	7.25%	2.31%
Circle Internet Group	15.53%	13.58%	0.58%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Walker & Dunlop and Circle Internet Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Walker & Dunlop	1	0	5	0	2.67
Circle Internet Group	4	8	10	2	2.42

Walker & Dunlop presently has a consensus target price of $59.75, indicating a potential upside of 72.09%. Circle Internet Group has a consensus target price of $98.12, indicating a potential upside of 35.62%. Given Walker & Dunlop’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Walker & Dunlop is more favorable than Circle Internet Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Walker & Dunlop and Circle Internet Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Walker & Dunlop	$1.29 billion	0.93	$57.08 million	$1.12	31.00
Circle Internet Group	$2.91 billion	6.32	-$69.51 million	$1.46	49.55

Walker & Dunlop has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Circle Internet Group. Walker & Dunlop is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Circle Internet Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

81.0% of Walker & Dunlop shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of Walker & Dunlop shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of Circle Internet Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Circle Internet Group beats Walker & Dunlop on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial real estate and finance services. It operates through the following segments: Capital Markets, Servicing and Asset Management, and Corporate. The Capital Markets segment offers a comprehensive range of commercial real estate finance products to customers. The Servicing and Asset Management segment includes servicing and asset-managing and managing third-party capital investments. The Corporate segment consists primarily of the company’s treasury operations and other corporate-level activities. The company was founded by Oliver Walker and Laird Dunlop in 1937 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.

About Circle Internet Group

Founded in 2013, Circle’s mission is to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. We intend to connect the world more deeply by building a new global economic system on the foundation of the internet, and to facilitate the creation of a world where everyone, everywhere can share value as easily as we can today share information, content, and communications. Since inception, we have relentlessly pursued our mission and vision, building fundamental technology for the internet financial system. We have forged paths toward mainstream acceptance through persistent and active engagement with policymakers and regulators globally, and have seen institutional and consumer knowledge and acceptance of internet-native financial assets approach critical mass. Large and influential players in the incumbent financial services system are increasingly embracing digital assets broadly and stablecoins specifically. Circle’s innovative products reach tens of millions of end-users, power thousands of businesses, and, as of March 31, 2025, USDC has been used for more than $25 trillion in onchain transactions. While we have made strong progress in our pursuit of our mission and vision over the past decade, we believe the internet financial system is in its infancy with decades of growth and innovation ahead. Our principal executive office is located in New York, NY.