Reviewing Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) and Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) and Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Expedia Group and Coupang’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Expedia Group	8.78%	72.23%	6.72%
Coupang	1.16%	6.95%	1.83%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Expedia Group and Coupang, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Expedia Group	0	22	13	0	2.37
Coupang	1	4	6	0	2.45

Expedia Group presently has a consensus price target of $287.42, suggesting a potential upside of 43.41%. Coupang has a consensus price target of $29.89, suggesting a potential upside of 71.58%. Given Coupang’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Coupang is more favorable than Expedia Group.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.8% of Expedia Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.7% of Coupang shares are held by institutional investors. 9.1% of Expedia Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of Coupang shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Expedia Group and Coupang”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Expedia Group	$14.73 billion	1.67	$1.29 billion	$9.85	20.35
Coupang	$30.27 billion	1.05	$154.00 million	$0.21	82.95

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

Risk & Volatility

Expedia Group has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coupang has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Expedia Group beats Coupang on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc. operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com. The company's B2B segment provides various travel and non-travel companies including airlines, offline travel agents, online retailers, corporate travel management, and financial institutions who leverage its travel technology and tap into its diverse supply to augment their offerings and market Expedia Group rates and availabilities to its travelers. Its trivago segment, a hotel metasearch website, which send referrals to online travel companies and travel service providers from hotel metasearch websites. In addition, the company provides brand advertising through online and offline channels, loyalty programs, mobile apps, and search engine marketing, as well as metasearch, social media, direct and personalized traveler communications on its websites, and through direct e-mail communication with its travelers. The company was formerly known as Expedia, Inc. and changed its name to Expedia Group, Inc. in March 2018. Expedia Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

About Coupang

Coupang, Inc., together with its subsidiaries owns and operates retail business through its mobile applications and Internet websites primarily in South Korea. The company operates through Product Commerce and Developing Offerings segments. It sells various products and services in the categories of home goods and décor products, apparel, beauty products, fresh food and groceries, sporting goods, electronics, and everyday consumables, as well as travel, and restaurant order and delivery services. In addition, the company offers Rocket Fresh, which offers fresh groceries; Coupang Eats, a restaurant ordering and delivery services; and Coupang Play, an online content streaming services, as well as advertising products. It also performs operations and support services in the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Japan, and India. Coupang, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.