Comparing Beam Global (NASDAQ:BEEM) and FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI)

Beam Global (NASDAQ:BEEM) and FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Beam Global and FTC Solar, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beam Global	0	1	4	0	2.80
FTC Solar	0	2	2	0	2.50

Beam Global presently has a consensus price target of $5.33, suggesting a potential upside of 248.58%. FTC Solar has a consensus price target of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.07%. Given Beam Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Beam Global is more favorable than FTC Solar.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.6% of Beam Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.4% of FTC Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Beam Global shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.9% of FTC Solar shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Beam Global has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FTC Solar has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Beam Global and FTC Solar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beam Global	-19.26%	-19.09%	-12.16%
FTC Solar	-82.90%	-98.67%	-44.11%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Beam Global and FTC Solar”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beam Global	$41.10 million	0.57	-$16.06 million	($1.60)	-0.96
FTC Solar	$55.57 million	0.97	-$50.29 million	($3.74)	-1.10

Beam Global has higher earnings, but lower revenue than FTC Solar. FTC Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Beam Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Beam Global beats FTC Solar on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beam Global

Beam Global, a clean-technology innovation company, engages in the design, development, engineering, manufacture, and sale of renewably energized infrastructure products and battery solutions. Its product portfolio includes EV ARC (electric vehicle autonomous renewable charger), an infrastructure product that uses integrated solar power and battery storage to provide a mounting asset and a source of power for factory installed electric vehicle charging stations; Solar Tree DCFC, an off-grid, renewably energized, and single-column mounted smart generation and energy storage system to provide a 150kW DC fast charge to one or more electric vehicles, such as electric buses, heavy-duty vehicles, agricultural equipment, public transportation, and electric vehicles used in the construction industry; and EV ARC DCFC, a DC fast charging system for charging EVs. The company is also involved in the development of EV-Standard, a lamp standard, EV charging, and emergency power product that uses an existing streetlamp's foundation and a combination of solar, wind, grid connection, and onboard energy storage to provide curbside charging; and UAV ARC, an off-grid and renewably energized product and network used to charge aerial drone (UAV) fleets. It offers its solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, energy storage, energy security, disaster preparedness, street lighting, telecommunications, energy infrastructure, and outdoor media and branding industries. The company was formerly known as Envision Solar International, Inc. and changed its name to Beam Global in September 2020. Beam Global was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About FTC Solar

FTC Solar, Inc. engages in the provision of solar tracker systems, software, and engineering services in the United States, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, and Australia. The company offers a self-powered, two-panel in-portrait, and single-axis tracker solution under the Voyager brand name; and a one module-in-portrait solar tracker solution under the Pioneer brand name. Its customers include project developers and solar asset owners, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction contractors that design and build solar energy projects. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.