Head-To-Head Review: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) & Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alphabet and Akamai Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alphabet	$422.50 billion	10.00	$132.17 billion	$13.11	26.60
Akamai Technologies	$4.21 billion	4.17	$452.03 million	$2.97	40.65

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

Volatility and Risk

Alphabet has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akamai Technologies has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

27.3% of Alphabet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.3% of Akamai Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 13.0% of Alphabet shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Akamai Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Alphabet and Akamai Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alphabet	37.92%	38.99%	27.41%
Akamai Technologies	10.20%	12.96%	5.56%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Alphabet and Akamai Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alphabet	0	4	29	5	3.03
Akamai Technologies	3	7	12	0	2.41

Alphabet currently has a consensus target price of $376.78, indicating a potential upside of 8.03%. Akamai Technologies has a consensus target price of $145.29, indicating a potential upside of 20.33%. Given Akamai Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Akamai Technologies is more favorable than Alphabet.

Summary

Alphabet beats Akamai Technologies on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc. offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. It is also involved in the sale of apps and in-app purchases and digital content in the Google Play and YouTube; and devices, as well as in the provision of YouTube consumer subscription services. The Google Cloud segment offers infrastructure, cybersecurity, databases, analytics, AI, and other services; Google Workspace that include cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and Meet; and other services for enterprise customers. The Other Bets segment sells healthcare-related and internet services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

About Akamai Technologies

Akamai Technologies, Inc. provides cloud computing, security, and content delivery services in the United States and internationally. The company offers cloud solutions to keep infrastructure, websites, applications, application programming interfaces, and users safe from various cyberattacks and online threats while enhancing performance. It also provides web and mobile performance solutions to enable dynamic websites and applications; media delivery solutions, including video streaming and video player services, game and software delivery, broadcast operations, authoritative domain name system, resolution, and data and analytics; and cloud computing services, such as compute, storage, networking, database, and container management services to build, deploy, and secure applications and workloads. In addition, the company offers content delivery solutions; and an array of service and support to assist customers with integrating, configuring, optimizing, and managing its offerings. It sells its solutions through various channel partners. Akamai Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.