Brookfield Business (NYSE:BBUC) and WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) Head to Head Comparison

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) and Brookfield Business (NYSE:BBUC) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for WillScot and Brookfield Business, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WillScot	1	7	3	0	2.18
Brookfield Business	1	2	3	0	2.33

WillScot presently has a consensus target price of $26.50, suggesting a potential upside of 32.63%. Brookfield Business has a consensus target price of $39.20, suggesting a potential upside of 40.05%. Given Brookfield Business’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Brookfield Business is more favorable than WillScot.

Profitability

This table compares WillScot and Brookfield Business’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WillScot	-3.00%	21.62%	3.39%
Brookfield Business	1.13%	2.05%	0.40%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.8% of WillScot shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Brookfield Business shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of WillScot shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

WillScot pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Brookfield Business pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. WillScot pays out -73.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brookfield Business pays out -64.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WillScot is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WillScot and Brookfield Business”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WillScot	$2.28 billion	1.59	-$52.99 million	($0.38)	-52.58
Brookfield Business	$7.17 billion	0.81	-$26.00 million	($0.39)	-71.77

Brookfield Business has higher revenue and earnings than WillScot. Brookfield Business is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WillScot, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

WillScot has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brookfield Business has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

WillScot beats Brookfield Business on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WillScot

WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers. The company leases modular space and portable storage units to customers in the construction, commercial and industrial, retail and wholesale trade, energy and natural resources, education, government and institutions, and healthcare markets. The company offers its solutions primarily under the WillScot and Mobile Mini brand names. The company was formerly known as WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. and changed its name to WillScot Holdings Corporation in July 2024. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Brookfield Business

Brookfield Business Corporation focuses on healthcare, construction, and wastewater services in the United States, Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Brazil. It operates through three segments: Business Services, Infrastructure Services, and Industrials. The company operates 42 hospitals; offers construction services for office, residential, hospitality and leisure, social infrastructure, retail, and mixed-use properties; and provides nuclear technology services, such as fuel, maintenance services, engineering solutions, instrumentation and control systems, and manufactured components for nuclear power plants. It also engages in the collection, treatment, and distribution of water and wastewater to the residential and governmental customers. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, New York.