Critical Analysis: Usio (NASDAQ:USIO) versus Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTCMKTS:REFG)

Usio (NASDAQ:USIO) and Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTCMKTS:REFG) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Usio and Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Usio	$82.93 million	0.46	$3.31 million	($0.02)	-70.50
Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Usio has higher revenue and earnings than Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions.

Volatility and Risk

Usio has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions has a beta of -0.86, meaning that its stock price is 186% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Usio and Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Usio	-0.46%	-2.05%	-0.37%
Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Usio and Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Usio	2	1	1	0	1.75
Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions	0	0	0	0	0.00

Usio presently has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 183.69%. Given Usio’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Usio is more favorable than Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.2% of Usio shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.8% of Usio shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Usio beats Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Usio

Usio, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated electronic payment processing services to merchants and businesses in the United States. The company offers various types of automated clearing house (ACH) processing; and credit, prepaid card, and debit card-based processing services. Its ACH transaction processing services include Represented Check and Check Conversion for electronic payment facilitation. In addition, the company offers merchant account services for the processing of card-based transactions through the VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB networks, including online terminal services accessed through a website or retail services accessed through a physical terminal. Further, it provides a proprietary web-based customer service application that allows companies to process one-time and recurring payments through e-checks or credit cards; and an interactive voice response telephone system to companies, which accept payments directly from consumers over the telephone using e-checks or credit cards. Additionally, the company offers prepaid and incentive card issuance services; and operates a prepaid core processing platform, as well as provides additional services, such as electronic bill presentment, document composition, document decomposition, and printing and mailing services for various industry verticals, including utilities and financial institutions. It markets and sells ACH products and services primarily through resellers; and prepaid card program directly to government entities, corporations, and to consumers through the internet. The company was formerly known as Payment Data Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Usio, Inc. in June 2019. Usio, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

About Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions

Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions, Inc. develops and markets a payment system for medical cannabis transactions. Its solution assists in the state tracking of sales, collection of tax, and supervision of sales to consumers. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. On August 12, 2024, Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for liquidation under Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.