Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) & Next Technology (NASDAQ:NXTT) Critical Comparison

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) and Next Technology (NASDAQ:NXTT) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.2% of Cars.com shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.7% of Next Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Cars.com shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.5% of Next Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Cars.com and Next Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cars.com	5.46%	9.99%	4.33%
Next Technology	N/A	54.87%	50.18%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Cars.com and Next Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cars.com	0	2	3	0	2.60
Next Technology	0	0	0	0	0.00

Cars.com presently has a consensus target price of $18.50, suggesting a potential upside of 57.21%. Given Cars.com’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cars.com is more favorable than Next Technology.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cars.com and Next Technology”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cars.com	$719.15 million	1.04	$118.44 million	$0.72	16.34
Next Technology	$1.80 million	72.78	-$9.92 million	N/A	N/A

Cars.com has higher revenue and earnings than Next Technology.

Volatility and Risk

Cars.com has a beta of 1.92, indicating that its stock price is 92% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Next Technology has a beta of 3.34, indicating that its stock price is 234% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cars.com beats Next Technology on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers. It also sells online subscription advertising products to car dealerships by its direct sales force, as well as through its affiliate sales channel. In addition, the company sells display advertising to national advertisers. Further, it offers online automotive marketplace service that connects buyers and sellers through Cars.com, Auto.com, DealerRater.com, NewCars.com, PickupTrucks.com, DealerInspire.com, and LaunchDigitalMarketing.com Websites. Its platform hosts approximately 4.9 million new and used vehicle listings and serves approximately 20,000 franchise and independent car dealers. Cars.com Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Next Technology

Next Technology Holding Inc. provides technical services and solutions through its social e-commerce platform primarily in Mainland China. It offers YCloud, a micro-business cloud intelligent internationalization system that conducts multi-channel data analysis through the learning of big data and social recommendation relationships, as well as provides users with AI fission and management systems, and supply chain systems. The company’s YCloud system also provides micro-business owners with various payment methods, such as Alipay, WeChat, and UnionPay. In addition, it offers chatGPT technical services; and technical system support, software development, and services. The company serves individual and corporate users in the micro business industry. It also has operations in Hong Kong and Singapore. The company was formerly known as WeTrade Group, Inc. and changed its name to Next Technology Holding Inc in April 2024. Next Technology Holding Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People Republic of China.