Western Union (NYSE:WU) and Chime Financial (NASDAQ:CHYM) Critical Contrast

Chime Financial (NASDAQ:CHYM) and Western Union (NYSE:WU) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Chime Financial and Western Union’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chime Financial	-0.74%	-1.28%	-0.92%
Western Union	9.79%	50.89%	5.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Chime Financial and Western Union, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chime Financial	1	3	14	4	2.95
Western Union	8	6	0	0	1.43

Chime Financial presently has a consensus target price of $32.33, indicating a potential downside of 2.61%. Western Union has a consensus target price of $7.55, indicating a potential upside of 4.22%. Given Western Union’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Western Union is more favorable than Chime Financial.

Risk and Volatility

Chime Financial has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Union has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. 12.3% of Chime Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Western Union shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Chime Financial and Western Union”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chime Financial	$2.46 billion	5.12	-$1.01 billion	($0.07)	-474.29
Western Union	$4.05 billion	0.56	$499.60 million	$1.23	5.89

Western Union has higher revenue and earnings than Chime Financial. Chime Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Western Union, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Western Union beats Chime Financial on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chime Financial

Chime is a financial technology company that partners with federally regulated, FDIC-insured banks—The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC—to provide consumer banking products and services. The company’s model is designed to eliminate common fees and simplify access to basic financial services.

Chime does not charge overdraft fees, monthly service fees, or require minimum balances. All account balances are held at partner banks and protected by applicable regulatory safeguards to ensure funds remain secure and accessible.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices. The Consumer Services segments offers bill payment services, which facilitate payments for consumers, businesses, and other organizations, as well as money order services, retail foreign exchange services, prepaid cards, lending partnerships, and digital wallets. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.