As we noted in last week’s issue, over the past three months, one of the leaders of growth in the S&P 500 index has been the Internet & Direct Marketing Retail industry +25.6%.
One of the largest companies in the industry (by market capitalization): Ebay ($26.6B), an online e-commerce platform used annually by about 134M users from 190 countries, and Expedia Group ($17.8B), a travel operator that owns 12 websites for booking 3M apartments and tickets for 500 airlines worldwide.
According to the latest quarterly reporting data, we analyzed each company’s profitability, strength, and efficiency criteria using the methodology of Stanford University professor Joseph Piotroski.
As you can see, in terms of fundamentals, both companies are performing quite strongly at the moment. Ebay is superior to Expedia Group in terms of strength, and Expedia Group is superior in terms of profitability. Both companies look attractive for medium- and long-term investments.
Over the past 3 months, Ebay stock has risen by +22.4%, while Expedia Group has fallen by -9.0% (the S&P 500 index has risen by +10.9%). Ebay has outperformed its closest competitor and demonstrated better results compared to the index.
So, the winner in today’s battle is Ebay (EBAY). And although Expedia Group prevails in terms of accrual, Ebay’s business looks healthier in terms of liquidity, and its shares show better dynamics.
* This is not an investment recommendation. It is up to each individual to decide which criteria to favor when making an investment decision, taking into account their goals and individual risk tolerance.
