MediaAlpha vs QuinStreet
MAX and QNST side by side, both in miscellaneous business services. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How MAX and QNST compare
QuinStreet is the larger company, worth 1.3 times as much as MediaAlpha ($1.1B against $886M).
On earnings, MediaAlpha is cheaper: it trades at 8.3× trailing earnings, against 12.0× for QuinStreet.
QuinStreet grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (29.5% versus 15.2% for MediaAlpha).
MediaAlpha keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 8.4% compared with 6.6% at QuinStreet.
QuinStreet scores higher on the StockData Score (19 against 14 for MediaAlpha), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | MAX | QNST |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $886M | $1.1B |
| Share price | $14.97 | $19.44 |
| Change, 1 year | 15.6% | 34.8% |
| Change, 5 years | −12.1% | 17.9% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.87 | 0.91 |
| Employees | 147 | 1,074 |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 14 | 19 (better) |
| Valuation score | 4 | 5 (better) |
| Growth score | 2 | 4 (better) |
| Performance score | 4 | 5 (better) |
| Health score | 4 | 5 (better) |
| Dividend score | 0 | 0 |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 8.3× (better) | 12.0× |
| P/S | 0.7× (better) | 0.8× |
| P/B | 17.3× | 3.2× (better) |
| EV/EBITDA | 10.8× (better) | 13.1× |
| P/FCF | 16.3× | 8.4× (better) |
| FCF yield | 6.1% | 11.9% (better) |
| Fair value | $36.93 | $46.21 |
| Margin of safety | 59.5% (better) | 57.9% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 15.2% | 29.5% (better) |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 13.7% | 17.5% (better) |
| Net income growth (TTM) | – | 783% |
| EPS growth (TTM) | – | 753% |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | – | 26.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 14.8% (better) | 12.1% |
| Operating margin | 7.2% (better) | 3.8% |
| Net margin | 8.4% (better) | 6.6% |
| FCF margin | 4.2% | 9.3% (better) |
| Return on equity | 1002% (better) | 31.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 71.6% (better) | 25.8% |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 3.41 | 0.20 (better) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.67 (better) | −0.90 |
| Interest coverage | 8.8× (better) | 8.3× |
| Current ratio | 1.32 (better) | 1.32 |
| Altman Z-score | 4.45 (better) | 3.83 |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 7 (better) |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Buyback yield | 7.3% (better) | 2.2% |
| Shareholder yield | 7.3% (better) | 2.2% |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 82.2% | 93.0% |
| Held by insiders | 39.2% | 5.8% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$122M | −$17.4M (better) |
| Short interest, % of float | 9.3% | 9.0% |
Go deeper
- MAX stock overview
- MAX income statement
- MAX valuation and score
- QNST stock overview
- QNST income statement
- QNST valuation and score
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.