Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) & Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Critical Comparison

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) and Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and Monster Beverage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	14.90%	16.42%	7.47%
Monster Beverage	23.08%	26.02%	21.21%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and Monster Beverage”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	$59.32 billion	2.73	$6.84 billion	$4.72	16.98
Monster Beverage	$9.22 billion	9.33	$1.91 billion	$1.08	40.63

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has higher revenue and earnings than Monster Beverage. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Monster Beverage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

5.5% of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.4% of Monster Beverage shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Monster Beverage shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Monster Beverage has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and Monster Beverage, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	0	6	11	0	2.65
Monster Beverage	0	9	13	0	2.59

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV presently has a consensus price target of $91.08, indicating a potential upside of 13.66%. Monster Beverage has a consensus price target of $50.33, indicating a potential upside of 14.67%. Given Monster Beverage’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Monster Beverage is more favorable than Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.

Summary

Monster Beverage beats Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands. The company operates in North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1366 and is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other. It offers carbonated non-carbonated energy drinks, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters, and sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices, and flavored sparkling beverages. The company sells its products to full service beverage bottlers/distributors, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers, and the military; and concentrates and/or beverage bases to authorized bottling and canning operations. It provides its products under the Monster Energy, Monster Energy Ultra, Monster Rehab, Monster Energy Nitro, Java Monster, Punch Monster, Juice Monster, Muscle Monster, Espresso Monster, Monster Tour Water, Fury, Monster MAXX, Caffe Monster, Monster Hydro, Monster HydroSport Super Fuel, Monster Dragon Tea, Reign Total Body Fuel, and Reign Inferno Thermogenic Fuel, Reign Storm, Bang Energy, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, Mother, Nalu, Ultra Energy, Play and Power Play (stylized), Relentless, BPM, BU, Gladiator, Samurai, Live+, Predator, and Fury brands. The company was formerly known as Hansen Natural Corporation and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in January 2012. Monster Beverage Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Corona, California.