Financial Contrast: Mail Ru Group (OTCMKTS:MLRYY) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Mail Ru Group (OTCMKTS:MLRYY) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Mail Ru Group and Alphabet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mail Ru Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Alphabet	37.92%	38.99%	27.41%

Risk & Volatility

Mail Ru Group has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alphabet has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Mail Ru Group and Alphabet, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mail Ru Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Alphabet	0	5	47	2	2.94

Alphabet has a consensus price target of $413.13, suggesting a potential upside of 12.97%. Given Alphabet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alphabet is more favorable than Mail Ru Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.0% of Alphabet shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.6% of Alphabet shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mail Ru Group and Alphabet”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mail Ru Group	$1.59 billion	N/A	-$1.03 billion	($0.98)	-0.92
Alphabet	$422.50 billion	10.49	$132.17 billion	$13.11	27.89

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

Summary

Alphabet beats Mail Ru Group on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mail Ru Group

VK International Public Joint-Stock Company operates as a technology company in Russia and internationally. It operates through Social Platforms and Media Content, EdTech, Technologies for Business, and Ecosystem Services and Other Business Lines segments. The company’s projects include social networks, games, education, goods and services, productivity, devices, media and entertainment, app stores, messengers, social services, and ecosystem services. It also provides marketing and advertising, communications and productivity, cloud data, analytics, authorization and registration, finances, HR, and social projects solutions for businesses; cloud platforms and data management, corporate communication services, tax monitoring platform, and other corporate software solutions; and business digitizing solutions, which range from online promotion to cloud services. It enables users to communicate, play, listen to music, watch, and create videos, and receive professional training and skills. The company was formerly known as VK Company Limited and changed its name to VK International Public Joint-Stock Company in August 2023. VK International Public Joint-Stock Company was founded in 1998 and is based in Kaliningrad, Russia.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. It is also involved in the sale of apps and in-app purchases and digital content in the Google Play and YouTube; and devices, as well as in the provision of YouTube consumer subscription services. The Google Cloud segment offers infrastructure, cybersecurity, databases, analytics, AI, and other services; Google Workspace that include cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and Meet; and other services for enterprise customers. The Other Bets segment sells healthcare-related and internet services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.