Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) & Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Financial Analysis

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) and Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Alibaba Group has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corpay has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Alibaba Group and Corpay”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alibaba Group	$961.96 billion	0.21	$11.08 billion	$4.93	17.35
Corpay	$3.88 billion	6.15	$981.89 million	$14.02	24.38

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

13.5% of Alibaba Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Corpay shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.5% of Alibaba Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Corpay shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Alibaba Group and Corpay, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alibaba Group	0	2	13	0	2.87
Corpay	0	4	10	1	2.80

Alibaba Group presently has a consensus price target of $114.07, suggesting a potential upside of 33.35%. Corpay has a consensus price target of $369.29, suggesting a potential upside of 8.03%. Given Alibaba Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alibaba Group is more favorable than Corpay.

Profitability

This table compares Alibaba Group and Corpay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alibaba Group	8.98%	12.28%	7.44%
Corpay	26.14%	39.44%	7.54%

Summary

Corpay beats Alibaba Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Consumer Services, Cainiao, Cloud, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others. It operates Taobao, a digital retail platform; Tmall, a third-party online and mobile commerce platform; Alimama, a monetization platform; 1688.com and Alibaba.com, which are online wholesale marketplaces; AliExpress, a retail marketplace; Lazada, Trendyol, and Daraz that are e-commerce platforms; Freshippo, a retail platform for groceries and fresh goods; and Tmall Global, an import e-commerce platform. The company also operates Cainiao Network logistic services platform; Ele.me, an on-demand delivery and local services platform; Koubei, a restaurant and local services guide platform; and Fliggy, an online travel platform. In addition, it offers pay-for-performance, in-feed, and display marketing services; and Taobao Ad Network and Exchange, a real-time online bidding marketing exchange. Further, the company provides elastic computing, storage, network, security, database, big data, and IoT services; and hardware, software license, software installation, and application development and maintenance services. Additionally, it operates Youku, an online video platform; Quark, a platform for information search, storage, and consumption; Alibaba Pictures and other content platforms that provide online videos, films, live events, news feeds, literature, music, and others; Amap, a mobile digital map, navigation, and real-time traffic information app; DingTalk, a business efficiency mobile app; and Tmall Genie smart speaker. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China.

About Corpay

Corpay, Inc. operates as a payments company that helps businesses and consumers manage vehicle-related expenses, lodging expenses, and corporate payments in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers vehicle payment solutions, which include fuel, tolls, parking, fleet maintenance, and long-haul transportation services, as well as prepaid food and transportation vouchers and cards. It also provides corporate payment solutions consisting of accounts payable automation; virtual cards, cross-border solutions; and purchasing and travel and entertainment card products, as well as lodging payments solutions for employees who travel overnight for work purposes; traveling crews and stranded passengers from airlines and cruise lines; and insurance policyholders displaced from their homes due to damage or catastrophe. In addition, the company offers gifts and payroll cards. It serves business, merchant, consumer, and payment network customers. The company was formerly known as FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Corpay, Inc. in March 2024. Corpay, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.