Head-To-Head Comparison: PDD (NASDAQ:PDD) vs. Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT)

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and PDD (NASDAQ:PDD) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Lyft has a beta of 1.95, suggesting that its stock price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PDD has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lyft and PDD’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lyft	-7.73%	-54.80%	-5.41%
PDD	24.23%	39.10%	20.64%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.1% of Lyft shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.1% of PDD shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Lyft shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of PDD shares are held by 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Lyft and PDD, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lyft	1	17	5	0	2.17
PDD	0	1	8	0	2.89

Lyft currently has a consensus target price of $14.40, indicating a potential downside of 25.60%. PDD has a consensus target price of $146.85, indicating a potential upside of 26.32%. Given PDD’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe PDD is more favorable than Lyft.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lyft and PDD’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lyft	$4.40 billion	1.76	-$340.32 million	($0.89)	-21.74
PDD	$34.88 billion	4.40	$8.45 billion	$5.73	20.29

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

Summary

PDD beats Lyft on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc. operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips. It also offers centralized tools and enterprise transportation solutions, such as concierge transportation solutions for organizations; Lyft Pink subscription plans; Lyft Pass commuter programs; first-mile and last-mile services; and university safe rides programs. The company was formerly known as Zimride, Inc. and changed its name to Lyft, Inc. in April 2013. Lyft, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About PDD

PDD Holdings Inc., a multinational commerce group, owns and operates a portfolio of businesses. It operates Pinduoduo, an e-commerce platform that offers products in various categories, including agricultural produce, apparel, shoes, bags, mother and childcare products, food and beverage, electronic appliances, furniture and household goods, cosmetics and other personal care, sports and fitness items and auto accessories; and Temu, an online marketplace. It focuses on bringing businesses and people into the digital economy. The company was formerly known as Pinduoduo Inc. and changed its name to PDD Holdings Inc. in February 2023. PDD Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.