Critical Analysis: Linkage Global (NASDAQ:LGCB) and ThredUp (NASDAQ:TDUP)

Linkage Global (NASDAQ:LGCB) and ThredUp (NASDAQ:TDUP) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Linkage Global and ThredUp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Linkage Global	N/A	N/A	N/A
ThredUp	-22.16%	-78.74%	-29.58%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.3% of Linkage Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of ThredUp shares are held by institutional investors. 27.0% of ThredUp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Linkage Global has a beta of -1.74, indicating that its stock price is 274% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ThredUp has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Linkage Global and ThredUp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Linkage Global	0	0	0	0	0.00
ThredUp	0	1	2	0	2.67

ThredUp has a consensus target price of $7.25, indicating a potential upside of 1.40%. Given ThredUp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ThredUp is more favorable than Linkage Global.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Linkage Global and ThredUp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Linkage Global	$10.29 million	0.40	-$440,000.00	N/A	N/A
ThredUp	$266.79 million	3.17	-$71.25 million	($0.58)	-12.33

Linkage Global has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ThredUp.

Summary

ThredUp beats Linkage Global on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Linkage Global

Linkage Global Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a cross-border e-commerce integrated services provider in Japan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. It provides cross-border product sales; digital marketing services; and e-commerce operation training and software support services. Linkage Global Inc was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About ThredUp

ThredUp Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates an online resale platform in the United States and internationally. Its platform enables consumers to buy and sell primarily secondhand apparel, shoes, and accessories. ThredUp Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.