Financial Comparison: International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) versus Golden Arrow Merger (NASDAQ:GAMC)

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and Golden Arrow Merger (NASDAQ:GAMC) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for International Flavors & Fragrances and Golden Arrow Merger, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Flavors & Fragrances	1	9	8	0	2.39
Golden Arrow Merger	0	0	0	0	N/A

International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus target price of $94.18, suggesting a potential downside of 5.53%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than Golden Arrow Merger.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.5% of Golden Arrow Merger shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 77.4% of Golden Arrow Merger shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and Golden Arrow Merger’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Flavors & Fragrances	$11.48 billion	2.22	-$2.57 billion	($9.77)	-10.20
Golden Arrow Merger	N/A	N/A	-$1.47 million	N/A	N/A

Golden Arrow Merger has lower revenue, but higher earnings than International Flavors & Fragrances.

Profitability

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and Golden Arrow Merger’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Flavors & Fragrances	-22.01%	5.78%	2.84%
Golden Arrow Merger	N/A	-23.97%	-7.91%

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats Golden Arrow Merger on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment offers natural and plant-based specialty food ingredients, such as flavor compounds used in savory products; beverages; sweets; and dairy products. It also provides value-added spices and seasoning ingredients; savory solutions, including spices, sauces, marinades, and mixtures; and natural antioxidants and anti-microbials. The Health & Biosciences segment develops and produces enzymes, food cultures, probiotics, and specialty ingredients for food and non-food applications. Its Scent segment provides fragrance compounds, which include fine fragrances comprising perfumes and colognes, as well as consumer fragrances; fragrance ingredients comprising synthetic and natural ingredients that include natural flavor extracts, specialty botanical extracts, distillates, essential oils, citrus products, aroma chemicals, natural gums, and resins; and cosmetic active ingredients consisting of active and functional ingredients, and delivery systems for cosmetic and personal care product industries. Its Pharma Solutions segment produces and sells cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients. The company sells its products primarily to manufacturers of perfumes and cosmetics, hair and other personal care products, soaps and detergents, cleaning products, dairy, meat and other processed foods, beverages, snacks and savory foods, sweet and baked goods, dietary supplements, infant and elderly nutrition, functional food, and pharmaceutical excipients and oral care products. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. was incorporated in 1909 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Golden Arrow Merger

Golden Arrow Merger Corp. does not have significant operations. The company intends to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. It focuses on acquiring companies in the healthcare and healthcare-related infrastructure industries in the United States and other developed countries. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Golden Arrow Merger Corp. is a subsidiary of Golden Arrow Sponsor, LLC.