Critical Contrast: LZ Technology (NASDAQ:LZMH) versus Science Applications International (NASDAQ:SAIC)

Science Applications International (NASDAQ:SAIC) and LZ Technology (NASDAQ:LZMH) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

76.0% of Science Applications International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Science Applications International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Science Applications International and LZ Technology, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Science Applications International	1	7	2	0	2.10
LZ Technology	1	0	0	0	1.00

Science Applications International currently has a consensus target price of $112.25, suggesting a potential downside of 2.11%. Given Science Applications International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Science Applications International is more favorable than LZ Technology.

Volatility and Risk

Science Applications International has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LZ Technology has a beta of -2.38, suggesting that its stock price is 338% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Science Applications International and LZ Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Science Applications International	5.55%	36.96%	10.32%
LZ Technology	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Science Applications International and LZ Technology”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Science Applications International	$7.29 billion	0.66	$358.00 million	$8.88	12.91
LZ Technology	$161.45 million	0.08	N/A	N/A	N/A

Science Applications International has higher revenue and earnings than LZ Technology.

Summary

Science Applications International beats LZ Technology on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Science Applications International

Science Applications International Corporation provides technical, engineering, and enterprise information technology (IT) services primarily in the United States. The company’s offerings include engineering; technology integration; IT modernization; maintenance of ground and maritime systems; logistics; training and simulation; operation and program support services; and end-to-end services, such as design, development, integration, deployment, management and operations, sustainment, and security of its customers’ IT infrastructure, as well as cloud migration, managed services, infrastructure modernization, and enterprise IT-as-a-service solutions. It serves the U.S. military comprising Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard; Department of Defense agencies; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the U.S. Department of State; Department of Justice; Department of Homeland Security; and various intelligence community agencies, as well as U.S. federal civilian agencies. The company was formerly known as SAIC Gemini, Inc. and changed its name to Science Applications International Corporation in September 2013. Science Applications International Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

About LZ Technology

As a holding company with no material operations of its own, LZ Technology conducts its operations through its operating entities formed in the PRC, primarily Lianzhang Portal and its subsidiaries. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, the Company had a total of 247 and 255 customers, respectively, who entered into contracts with the Company to purchase the Company’s products and services. For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had a total of 168 and 102 customers, respectively, who entered into contracts with the Company to purchase the Company’s products and services. The Company, however, has derived a large portion of its revenues from a few customers. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, the Company’s top three customers collectively accounted for approximately 84.4% and 24.5% of its total revenue, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company’s top three customers collectively accounted for approximately 33.2% of its total revenue. The Company is an information technology and advertising company. Its operations are organized primarily into three business verticals: (i) Smart Community, (ii) Out-of-Home Advertising, and (iii) Local Life. Smart Community. The Company provides intelligent community building access and safety management systems through access control monitors and vendor-provided SaaS platforms. The Company’s intelligent community access control system makes resident access to properties simpler. As of June 30, 2024, approximately 72,773 of the Company’s access control screens had been installed in over 4,000 residential communities, serving over 2.7 million households. Out-of-Home Advertising. The Company offers clients one-stop multi-channel advertising solutions. Capitalizing on the Company’s network of monitors that span approximately 120 cities in China such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Xiamen, Hefei, Dalian, Ningbo, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, Changsha, the Company’s Out-of-Home Advertising services help merchants display advertisements in a variety of formats across its intelligent access control and safety management system. Advertisements are placed on the monitors and within the SaaS software. Residents are exposed to these advertisements each time they enter and exit community buildings or open the SaaS software. This level of visibility serves as a highly effective means of advertising, assisting merchants in effectively promoting their brands and accelerating their product sales. Moreover, the Company partners with other outdoor advertising providers to maximize coverage by placing the advertisements on the partners’ numerous displays in public transportation, hotels and other settings as well as deploying posters at events. This broad approach provides clients with a truly comprehensive out-of-home advertising solution. Local Life. The Company connects local businesses with consumers via online promotions and transactions. With its strong technological capabilities, the Company helps local restaurants, hotels, tourist companies, retail stores, cinemas and other merchants offer deals and coupons to consumers on social media platforms such as WeChat, Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and RedNote. The Local Life vertical bridges the businesses’ need for product sales and promotions and the consumers’ need for dining, shopping, entertainment, tourist attractions and other local services. In addition, deals from local businesses can also be displayed on the access control screens. In this way, clients of the Company’s Local Life services can also reach the Smart Community residents, leveraging the Company’s access control screens’ extensive coverage and high exposure potential. Since early 2023, we have embarked on executing the strategy of deepening engagement with merchants and manufacturers within our Local Life space through facilitating retail sales of diversified goods and services, including beverages, groceries and travel packages. The Company reports financial results in one segment. Currently, a substantial portion of the Company’s revenues are generated from advertising and promotional activities, namely by the Out-of-Home Advertising and Local Life verticals. Revenues from Smart Community, which mainly consist of product sales of access control devices and service fees, contribute only a small portion to the Company’s total revenues. Thus, the Smart Community revenues are grouped with other miscellaneous revenue sources, such as advertising design and production and social media account operations. Our principal executive offices are located at Unit 311, Floor 3, No. 5999 Wuxing Avenue, Zhili Town, Wuxing District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang province, People’s Republic of China 313000. LZ Technology’s registered office is currently located at the office of Sertus Incorporations (Cayman) Limited, Sertus Chambers, Governors Square, Suite # 5-204, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue, P.O. Box 2547, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands, which may be changed from time to time at the discretion of directors. LZ Technology’s agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY.