Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) and United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Head-To-Head Review

Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) and United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Silicon Laboratories and United Microelectronics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Silicon Laboratories	$504.98 million	8.13	-$34.52 million	($7.40)	-17.09
United Microelectronics	$226.87 billion	0.07	$1.95 billion	$0.65	10.35

United Microelectronics has higher revenue and earnings than Silicon Laboratories. Silicon Laboratories is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Microelectronics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Silicon Laboratories and United Microelectronics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Silicon Laboratories	-46.93%	-12.60%	-10.85%
United Microelectronics	22.89%	14.35%	9.13%

Risk & Volatility

Silicon Laboratories has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Microelectronics has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

5.1% of United Microelectronics shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Silicon Laboratories shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of United Microelectronics shares are held by 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Silicon Laboratories and United Microelectronics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Silicon Laboratories	0	6	5	0	2.45
United Microelectronics	0	4	1	0	2.20

Silicon Laboratories currently has a consensus price target of $122.44, suggesting a potential downside of 3.18%. United Microelectronics has a consensus price target of $7.40, suggesting a potential upside of 9.96%. Given United Microelectronics’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe United Microelectronics is more favorable than Silicon Laboratories.

Summary

United Microelectronics beats Silicon Laboratories on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Silicon Laboratories

Silicon Laboratories Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, provides various analog-intensive mixed-signal solutions in the United States, China, Taiwan, and internationally. The company's products include wireless microcontrollers and sensor products. Its products are used in various electronic products in a range of applications for the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), including industrial automation and control, smart buildings, access control, HVAC control, and industrial wearables and power tools; smart cities applications, such as smart metering, smart street lighting, renewable energy, electric vehicle supply equipment, and smart agriculture; commercial IoT applications, including smart lighting, asset tracking, electronic shelf labels, theft protection, and enterprise access points; smart home applications, comprising home automation/security systems, smart speakers, smart lighting, HVAC control, smart cameras, smart appliances, smart home sensing, smart locks, and window/blind controls; and connected health applications, including diabetes management, consumer health and fitness, elderly care, patient monitoring, and activity tracking; as well as in commercial building automation, consumer electronics, and medical instrumentation. The company sells its products through its direct sales force, as well as through a network of independent sales representatives and distributors. Silicon Laboratories Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers. United Microelectronics Corporation was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.