Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN – Get Free Report) and Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR – Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Cedar Fair and Sphere Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cedar Fair | 6.80% | -23.97% | 6.70% |
| Sphere Entertainment | -19.54% | -9.02% | -4.63% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
64.7% of Cedar Fair shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.0% of Sphere Entertainment shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cedar Fair shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.5% of Sphere Entertainment shares are owned 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.
Volatility and Risk
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings for Cedar Fair and Sphere Entertainment, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cedar Fair | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Sphere Entertainment | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.25 |
Cedar Fair presently has a consensus target price of $56.42, suggesting a potential upside of 41.22%. Sphere Entertainment has a consensus target price of $50.71, suggesting a potential upside of 15.18%. Given Cedar Fair’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cedar Fair is more favorable than Sphere Entertainment.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Cedar Fair and Sphere Entertainment”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cedar Fair | $1.82 billion | 1.13 | $124.56 million | $2.43 | 16.44 |
| Sphere Entertainment | $1.03 billion | 1.51 | -$200.65 million | $10.89 | 4.04 |
Cedar Fair has higher revenue and earnings than Sphere Entertainment. Sphere Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cedar Fair, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Cedar Fair beats Sphere Entertainment on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Cedar Fair
Cedar Fair, L.P. owns and operates amusement and water parks, as well as complementary resort facilities. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California's Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Michigan's Adventure situated near Muskegon, Michigan; Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas; and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston in Galveston, Texas. The company also owns and operates the Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort, Hotel Breakers, Cedar Point's Express Hotel, and Sawmill Creek Resort. Cedar Fair, L.P. was founded in 1983 and is based in Sandusky, Ohio.
About Sphere Entertainment
Sphere Entertainment Co. engages in the entertainment business. It produces, presents, or hosts various live entertainment events, including concerts, family shows, and special events, as well as sporting events, such as professional boxing, college basketball and hockey, professional bull riding, mixed martial arts, and esports and wrestling in its venues, including The Garden, Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall, and the Beacon Theatre in New York City; and The Chicago Theatre. The company also operates entertainment dining and nightlife venues markets under the Tao, Marquee, Lavo, Beauty & Essex, Cathédrale, Hakkasan, and Omnia brand names. The company was formerly known as Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and changed its name to Sphere Entertainment Co. in April 2023. Sphere Entertainment Co. was founded in 2006 and is based in New York, New York.
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