Reviewing AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) and Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ:IAS)

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) and Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ:IAS) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AppLovin and Integral Ad Science”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AppLovin	$4.71 billion	22.67	$1.58 billion	$4.54	69.17
Integral Ad Science	$530.10 million	2.75	$7.24 million	$0.23	38.70

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

Profitability

This table compares AppLovin and Integral Ad Science’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AppLovin	33.54%	188.55%	29.66%
Integral Ad Science	6.39%	3.47%	2.83%

Risk & Volatility

AppLovin has a beta of 2.33, suggesting that its stock price is 133% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Integral Ad Science has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for AppLovin and Integral Ad Science, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AppLovin	1	4	14	1	2.75
Integral Ad Science	0	3	6	0	2.67

AppLovin currently has a consensus price target of $438.28, suggesting a potential upside of 39.57%. Integral Ad Science has a consensus price target of $15.06, suggesting a potential upside of 69.16%. Given Integral Ad Science’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Integral Ad Science is more favorable than AppLovin.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.8% of AppLovin shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.8% of Integral Ad Science shares are held by institutional investors. 14.7% of AppLovin shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Integral Ad Science shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

AppLovin beats Integral Ad Science on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AppLovin

AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for advertisers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their content in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software Platform and Apps. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of a publisher's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform that provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and tools needed to grow their apps from early stage to maturity; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which distributes streaming video for content companies and provides advertising and publishing solutions through its AdPool, ContentDiscovery, and Global FAST Pass products. It also offers SparkLabs, which uses app store optimization to enhance ad visibility; AppLovin Exchange, which connects buyers to mobile and CTV devices through a single and direct RTB exchange; and Array, an end-to-end app management suite for mobile operators and end users. In addition, the company operates various free-to-play mobile games. It serves individuals, small and independent businesses, enterprises, advertisers and advertising networks, mobile app publishers, indie studio developers, and internet platforms. AppLovin Corporation was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

About Integral Ad Science

Integral Ad Science Holding Corp. operates as a digital advertising verification company in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Australia, Japan, India, and the Nordics. The company provides IAS Signal, a cloud-based technology platform that offers return on ad spend needs; and deliver independent measurement and verification of digital advertising across devices, channels, and formats, including desktop, mobile, connected TV, social, display, and video. Its digital media quality solutions offer ad fraud detection and prevention, viewability, brand safety and suitability, contextual targeting, inventory yield management, and reporting. In addition, the company offers Quality Impressions, a metric designed to verify that digital ads are served to a real person rather than a bot, viewable on-screen, and presented in a brand-safe and suitable environment in the correct geography; Context Control solution that delivers contextual targeting and brand suitability capabilities; pre-bid programmatic and post-bid verification solutions for advertisers; and optimization and verification solutions for publishers. It serves advertisers and agencies, publishers, and supply side platforms. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York, New York.