United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) and Airborne Wireless Network (OTCMKTS:ABWN) Critical Analysis

United States Cellular (NYSE:USM) and Airborne Wireless Network (OTCMKTS:ABWN) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares United States Cellular and Airborne Wireless Network”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United States Cellular	$3.77 billion	1.66	-$39.00 million	($0.46)	-160.51
Airborne Wireless Network	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Airborne Wireless Network has lower revenue, but higher earnings than United States Cellular.

Profitability

This table compares United States Cellular and Airborne Wireless Network’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United States Cellular	-1.05%	1.36%	0.60%
Airborne Wireless Network	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

18.0% of United States Cellular shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of United States Cellular shares are owned by company 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for United States Cellular and Airborne Wireless Network, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United States Cellular	0	0	3	0	3.00
Airborne Wireless Network	0	0	0	0	0.00

United States Cellular presently has a consensus price target of $84.67, suggesting a potential upside of 14.67%. Given United States Cellular’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe United States Cellular is more favorable than Airborne Wireless Network.

Volatility & Risk

United States Cellular has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Airborne Wireless Network has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

United States Cellular beats Airborne Wireless Network on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United States Cellular

United States Cellular Corporation provides wireless telecommunications services in the United States. The company offers wireless services, including voice, messaging, and data services. It also provides wireless devices, such as handsets, tablets, mobile hotspots, home phones, and routers, as well as wireless essentials, including cases, screen protectors, chargers, and memory cards; and consumer electronics comprising audio, home automation, and networking products. In addition, it sells wireless devices to agents and other third-party distributors for resale; and offers option for customers to purchase devices and accessories under installment contracts. Further, the company offers wireless roaming, wireless eligible telecommunications carrier, and wireless tower rental services. It serves consumer, business, and government customers. The company provides its products and services through retail sales, direct sales, telesales, ecommerce, resellers, and independent agents, as well as third-party national retailers. United States Cellular Corporation was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. United States Cellular Corporation is a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.

About Airborne Wireless Network

Airborne Wireless Network, a development stage company, focuses on developing, marketing, and licensing a fully-meshed high-speed broadband airborne wireless network by linking aircraft in flight. It focuses on developing Infinitus, a high-speed broadband airborne wireless network that would enable participating aircraft to act as an airborne repeater or router, sending and receiving broadband signals from one aircraft to another. It intends to sell broadband wireless bandwidth to the telecommunications companies and Internet service providers. The company was formerly known as Ample-Tee, Inc. and changed its name to Airborne Wireless Network in May 2016. Airborne Wireless Network was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Simi Valley, California.