Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) Critical Review

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Lyft and Corpay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lyft	-7.73%	-54.80%	-5.41%
Corpay	26.13%	37.56%	7.75%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lyft and Corpay’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lyft	$4.40 billion	1.63	-$340.32 million	($0.89)	-20.20
Corpay	$3.76 billion	5.69	$981.89 million	$13.20	22.45

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Lyft and Corpay, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lyft	1	17	5	0	2.17
Corpay	0	0	2	0	3.00

Lyft presently has a consensus target price of $14.52, indicating a potential downside of 19.24%. Corpay has a consensus target price of $365.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.36%. Given Corpay’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Corpay is more favorable than Lyft.

Risk & Volatility

Lyft has a beta of 1.98, indicating that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corpay has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.1% of Lyft shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Corpay shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Lyft shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Corpay shares are owned 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.

Summary

Corpay beats Lyft on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc. operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips. It also offers centralized tools and enterprise transportation solutions, such as concierge transportation solutions for organizations; Lyft Pink subscription plans; Lyft Pass commuter programs; first-mile and last-mile services; and university safe rides programs. The company was formerly known as Zimride, Inc. and changed its name to Lyft, Inc. in April 2013. Lyft, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Corpay

FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. is a global commercial payments solution provider. Through its portfolio of brands, FLEETCOR helps companies automate, secure, digitize and control payments to, or on behalf of, their employees and suppliers. FLEETCOR serves businesses, partners and merchants in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. FLEETCOR uses both proprietary and third-party networks to deliver its payment solutions. The company owns and operates proprietary networks with well-established brands throughout the world, bringing incremental sales and loyalty to affiliated merchants. Third-party networks are used to broaden payment product acceptance and use.