Head to Head Review: GigaMedia (NASDAQ:GIGM) & NEXON (OTCMKTS:NEXOY)

NEXON (OTCMKTS:NEXOY) and GigaMedia (NASDAQ:GIGM) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NEXON and GigaMedia”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NEXON	$3.18 billion	5.02	$616.75 million	C$1.11	18.12
GigaMedia	$3.47 million	4.35	-$1.55 million	($0.18)	-7.58

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for NEXON and GigaMedia, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NEXON	0	2	2	0	2.50
GigaMedia	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares NEXON and GigaMedia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NEXON	26.37%	12.45%	9.72%
GigaMedia	-43.36%	-5.36%	-5.02%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.5% of GigaMedia shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of GigaMedia shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

NEXON beats GigaMedia on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NEXON

NEXON Co., Ltd. produces, develops, and services PC online and mobile games. It operates through five segments: Japan, Korea, China, North America, and Others. The company's PC online game titles include MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter, and EA SPORTS FIFA ONLINE 4. The company was formerly known as NEXON Japan Co., Ltd. and changed its name to NEXON Co., Ltd. in April 2009. NEXON Co., Ltd. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About GigaMedia

GigaMedia Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides digital entertainment services in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. The company owns and operates FunTown, a digital entertainment portal that offers mobile and browser-based casual games, as well as provides services such as player clubs, tournaments, avatars, friends and family messenger and online chatting systems, customer service, mobile platform, and customer platform. It also offers MahJong, a traditional Chinese tile-based game; casual card and table games; online card games; and chance-based games, including bingo, lotto, horse racing, Sic-Bo, slots, and other casual games. In addition, the company provides role-playing and sports games, such as Tales Runner, a multi-player online obstacle running game; Yume 100, a story-based game that targets female players; Akaseka, a female-oriented game; and Shinobi Master New Link, a male-oriented game. GigaMedia Limited was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.