Head to Head Analysis: X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG) & Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO)

X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG) and Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares X3 and Clear Channel Outdoor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
X3	N/A	N/A	N/A
Clear Channel Outdoor	-0.38%	N/A	-2.26%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for X3 and Clear Channel Outdoor, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
X3	1	0	0	0	1.00
Clear Channel Outdoor	2	4	2	0	2.00

Clear Channel Outdoor has a consensus price target of $2.32, suggesting a potential upside of 9.02%. Given Clear Channel Outdoor’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Clear Channel Outdoor is more favorable than X3.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares X3 and Clear Channel Outdoor”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
X3	$9.60 million	0.07	-$76.24 million	N/A	N/A
Clear Channel Outdoor	$1.51 billion	0.70	-$179.25 million	($0.01)	-212.50

X3 has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Clear Channel Outdoor.

Volatility & Risk

X3 has a beta of 1.65, indicating that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clear Channel Outdoor has a beta of 2.26, indicating that its stock price is 126% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.9% of X3 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.5% of Clear Channel Outdoor shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.9% of X3 shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of Clear Channel Outdoor 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.

Summary

Clear Channel Outdoor beats X3 on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About X3

X3 Holdings Co Ltd. provides technology solutions and services worldwide. The company offers Global Trade Platform, a digital platform for trading partners, service providers, and government authorities. It also engages in bitcoin cryptomining operations, renewable energy projects, and agriculture technologies and trading. The company was formerly known as Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd. and changed its name to X3 Holdings Co Ltd. in January 2024. X3 Holdings Co Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About Clear Channel Outdoor

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. operates as an out-of-home advertising company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through America, Airports, Europe-North, and Other segments. The company provides advertising services through billboards, including bulletins and posters, as well as spectaculars, which are customized display structures with videos, multi-dimensional lettering and figures, mechanical devices, moving parts, and other embellishments; street furniture displays, such as advertising surfaces on bus shelters, information kiosks, news racks, and other public structures; transit displays for rail stations and on various types of vehicles; retail displays; and airport advertising displays. It offers solutions, such as RADARView, an audience and campaign planning tool, which analyzes historical mobile location data; RADARConnect, a campaign amplification solution that delivers ads across mobile and other devices to re-target audience groups exposed to an out-of-home advertisement; RADARProof, a campaign measurement and attribution solutions which analyzes anonymized and/or aggregated data; and RADARSync, a data integration platform that uses customer data across the tools for customized application of solutions to customers' specific audience targets and goals. In addition, the company sells street furniture equipment; provides cleaning and maintenance services; and operates public bike programs, a public bicycle rental program that offers bicycles for rent to the public. The company was formerly known as Eller Media Company and changed its name to Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. in August 2005. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.