Critical Review: Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) versus eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Uber Technologies has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, eBay has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Uber Technologies and eBay”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Uber Technologies	$40.06 billion	4.17	$1.89 billion	$0.62	128.79
eBay	$10.19 billion	3.15	$2.77 billion	$5.02	12.73

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

Profitability

This table compares Uber Technologies and eBay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Uber Technologies	5.02%	17.06%	5.16%
eBay	26.41%	29.69%	8.46%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.2% of Uber Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of eBay shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Uber Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of eBay shares are owned by 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Uber Technologies and eBay, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Uber Technologies	0	6	31	1	2.87
eBay	1	14	8	0	2.30

Uber Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $88.65, suggesting a potential upside of 10.63%. eBay has a consensus price target of $60.19, suggesting a potential downside of 6.48%. Given Uber Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Uber Technologies is more favorable than eBay.

Summary

Uber Technologies beats eBay on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Uber Technologies

Uber Technologies, Inc. develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services. The Delivery segment allows to search for and discover restaurants to grocery, alcohol, convenience, and other retails; order a meal or other items; and Uber direct, a white-label Delivery-as-a-Service for retailers and restaurants, as well as advertising. The Freight segment manages transportation and logistics network, which connects shippers and carriers in digital marketplace including carriers upfronts, pricing, and shipment booking; and provides on-demand platform to automate logistics end-to-end transactions for small-and medium-sized business to global enterprises. The company was formerly known as Ubercab, Inc. and changed its name to Uber Technologies, Inc. in February 2011. Uber Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About eBay

eBay Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, and internationally. The company’s marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com, off-platform businesses, and the eBay suite of mobile apps. Its platforms enable users to list, sell, and buy various products. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.