Analyzing Linkage Global (NASDAQ:LGCB) & Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) and Linkage Global (NASDAQ:LGCB) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.1% of Groupon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.3% of Linkage Global shares are held by institutional investors. 35.7% of Groupon shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Groupon has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Linkage Global has a beta of -0.77, meaning that its stock price is 177% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Groupon and Linkage Global, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Groupon	2	0	4	0	2.33
Linkage Global	1	0	0	0	1.00

Groupon currently has a consensus price target of $29.80, indicating a potential upside of 47.02%. Given Groupon’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Groupon is more favorable than Linkage Global.

Profitability

This table compares Groupon and Linkage Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Groupon	-1.89%	-19.61%	-1.45%
Linkage Global	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Groupon and Linkage Global”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Groupon	$492.56 million	1.66	-$59.03 million	($0.24)	-84.46
Linkage Global	$10.29 million	1.78	-$440,000.00	N/A	N/A

Linkage Global has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Groupon.

Summary

Groupon beats Linkage Global on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Groupon

Groupon, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a marketplace that connects consumers to merchants. It operates in two segments, North America and International. The company sells goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. It serves customers through its mobile applications and websites. The company was formerly known as ThePoint.com, Inc. and changed its name to Groupon, Inc. in October 2008. Groupon, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Linkage Global

Linkage Global Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a cross-border e-commerce integrated services provider in Japan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. It provides cross-border product sales; digital marketing services; and e-commerce operation training and software support services. Linkage Global Inc was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.