Contrasting Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) & Monotaro (OTCMKTS:MONOY)

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) and Monotaro (OTCMKTS:MONOY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.7% of Coupang shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Monotaro shares are held by institutional investors. 12.8% of Coupang shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Coupang and Monotaro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coupang	-3.77%	-21.51%	-4.36%
Monotaro	9.71%	30.25%	19.15%

Analyst Ratings

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coupang	2	2	6	0	2.40
Monotaro	0	0	1	0	3.00

Coupang currently has a consensus target price of $23.41, suggesting a potential upside of 54.04%. Given Coupang’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Coupang is more favorable than Monotaro.

Volatility and Risk

Coupang has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Monotaro has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Coupang and Monotaro”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coupang	$34.53 billion	0.79	$208.00 million	($0.76)	-20.00
Monotaro	$2.23 billion	3.37	$217.31 million	$0.47	32.23

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

Summary

Monotaro beats Coupang on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coupang

Coupang, Inc. is an e-commerce and technology company best known for its online marketplace in South Korea. The platform offers products across categories such as electronics, apparel, household goods and groceries, combining third-party sellers with retail operations and a network of fulfillment and delivery services. Its services include Rocket Delivery for rapid shipping, Rocket Fresh for grocery delivery and Coupang Eats for food delivery. Coupang also offers Coupang Play, a video-streaming service, and operates a paid membership program called Rocket Wow.

About Monotaro

MonotaRO Co., Ltd. operates an e-commerce business that supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and other indirect materials to businesses. Its online store offers products such as tools, machine parts, safety equipment, automotive maintenance supplies and workplace items. The company serves customers across a range of industries, including manufacturing, construction and automotive services, primarily in Japan. Its online sales model helps businesses source a broad range of supplies through a single platform.