Critical Review: Cheer (NASDAQ:CHR) versus NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS)

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) and Cheer (NASDAQ:CHR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for NerdWallet and Cheer, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NerdWallet	0	1	4	0	2.80
Cheer	0	0	0	0	0.00

NerdWallet currently has a consensus target price of $17.20, suggesting a potential upside of 24.91%. Given NerdWallet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe NerdWallet is more favorable than Cheer.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NerdWallet and Cheer”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NerdWallet	$637.50 million	1.59	-$11.80 million	($0.14)	-98.36
Cheer	$152.33 million	0.17	$30.48 million	N/A	N/A

Cheer has lower revenue, but higher earnings than NerdWallet.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

38.8% of NerdWallet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.5% of Cheer shares are owned by institutional investors. 45.9% of NerdWallet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.7% of Cheer shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NerdWallet and Cheer’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NerdWallet	-1.65%	-2.90%	-2.45%
Cheer	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

NerdWallet has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cheer has a beta of -0.35, meaning that its stock price is 135% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NerdWallet beats Cheer on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet, Inc. operates a digital platform that provides consumer-driven advice about personal finance by connecting individuals and small and mid-sized businesses with financial products providers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Its platform offers guidance to consumers through educational content, tools and calculators, and product marketplaces, as well as through NerdWallet app for various financial products, including credit cards, mortgages, insurance, SMB products, personal loans, banking, investing, and student loans. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco, California.

About Cheer

Cheer Holding, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides advertisement and content production services in the People’s Republic of China. It operates through Cheers APP Internet Business and Traditional Media Businesses segments. The company also engages in mobile and online advertising, and media and entertainment businesses. In addition, it operates CHEERS app, an integrated e-commerce service with professionally produced content; CHEERS Video app, a media platform that engages users with content; and CHEERS e-Mall, an e-Mall app that offers products to the users through third party merchants through live streaming, online short videos, and online games. The company also provides CHEERS Telepathy, an artificial intelligence content creation platform; CHEERS Open Data, a platform that provides industry solutions; CheerCar, an interactive entertainment app; CheerReal, a digital collection NFT app; and production, such as short videos, online variety shows, online drama, live stream, and Cheers series. In addition, it is developing CheerChat App, a social app; and CHEERS Metaverse, a platform to provide immersive digital experiences. The company was formerly known as Glory Star New Media Group Holdings Limited and changed its name to Cheer Holding, Inc. in November 2023. Cheer Holding, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.