Starco Brands (OTCMKTS:STCB) & Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) Financial Review

Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) and Starco Brands (OTCMKTS:STCB) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lendway and Starco Brands”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lendway	$24.81 million	0.24	$2.41 million	($0.31)	-11.03
Starco Brands	$65.21 million	0.63	-$46.19 million	($0.11)	-0.73

Lendway has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Starco Brands. Lendway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Starco Brands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Lendway has a beta of 1.85, suggesting that its share price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Starco Brands has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lendway and Starco Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lendway	N/A	-23.31%	-6.41%
Starco Brands	-80.56%	-66.88%	-27.53%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Lendway and Starco Brands, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lendway	0	0	0	0	N/A
Starco Brands	0	0	0	0	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

6.6% of Lendway shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.2% of Lendway shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.8% of Starco Brands shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Lendway beats Starco Brands on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lendway

Lendway, Inc. operates as a specialty agricultural and finance company focusing on making and managing its agricultural investments in the United States and internationally. It owns and operates FarmlandCredit.com, a non-bank lending business that seeks to purchase existing loans and/or originate and fund new loans domestically. The company was formerly known as Insignia Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Lendway, Inc. in August 2023. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Starco Brands

Starco Brands, Inc. markets consumer products through retail and online in the United States. It offers products in various categories, including household cleaning, DIY/Hardware, paints, coatings and adhesives, household, hair care, disinfectants, automotive, motorcycle, arts and crafts, personal care cosmetics, personal care FDA, sun care, food, cooking oils, beverages, and spirits and wine under the Winona, Whipshots, Skylar, Soylent, and Art of Sport brands. The company was formerly known as Insynergy Products, Inc. and changed its name to Starco Brands, Inc. in September 2017. Starco Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Santa Monica, California.