FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) and Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE) Head-To-Head Analysis

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS) and Dave (NASDAQ:DAVE) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares FirstCash and Dave”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstCash	$3.66 billion	2.19	$330.38 million	$9.23	20.21
Dave	$554.20 million	6.37	$195.87 million	$12.38	22.35

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.3% of FirstCash shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.0% of Dave shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of FirstCash shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.6% of Dave shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for FirstCash and Dave, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstCash	0	1	5	0	2.83
Dave	0	4	14	0	2.78

FirstCash currently has a consensus price target of $247.50, indicating a potential upside of 32.66%. Dave has a consensus price target of $425.69, indicating a potential upside of 53.83%. Given Dave’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Dave is more favorable than FirstCash.

Profitability

This table compares FirstCash and Dave’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstCash	9.48%	20.17%	8.52%
Dave	28.15%	60.98%	29.34%

Volatility & Risk

FirstCash has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dave has a beta of 4.07, suggesting that its share price is 307% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Dave beats FirstCash on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers. The company also provides retail POS payment solutions, which focuses on LTO products and facilitating other retail financing payment options across the network of traditional and e-commerce merchant partners. It serves cash and credit-constrained consumers. The company was formerly known as FirstCash, Inc and changed its name to FirstCash Holdings, Inc. in December 2021. FirstCash Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

About Dave

Dave, Inc. is a digital banking service. Its products include a budgeting tool to help members manage their upcoming bills to avoid overspending, cash advances through its flagship ExtraCash product to help members avoid punitive overdraft fees, a Side Hustle product, where Dave helps connect members with supplemental work opportunities, and Dave Banking, a modern checking account experience with valuable tools for building long-term financial health. The company was founded by Jason Wilk, Paras Chitrakar, and John Wolanin in October 2015 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.