ZW Data Action Technologies (NASDAQ:CNET) vs. Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Critical Survey

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) and ZW Data Action Technologies (NASDAQ:CNET) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Interpublic Group of Companies and ZW Data Action Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Interpublic Group of Companies	3	4	2	0	1.89
ZW Data Action Technologies	0	0	0	0	N/A

Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus target price of $32.44, indicating a potential upside of 1.27%. Given Interpublic Group of Companies’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Interpublic Group of Companies is more favorable than ZW Data Action Technologies.

Risk & Volatility

Interpublic Group of Companies has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZW Data Action Technologies has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Interpublic Group of Companies and ZW Data Action Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Interpublic Group of Companies	$10.91 billion	1.11	$1.10 billion	$2.81	11.40
ZW Data Action Technologies	$24.40 million	0.65	-$5.97 million	($0.82)	-2.70

Interpublic Group of Companies has higher revenue and earnings than ZW Data Action Technologies. ZW Data Action Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Interpublic Group of Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Interpublic Group of Companies and ZW Data Action Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Interpublic Group of Companies	9.46%	27.98%	6.15%
ZW Data Action Technologies	-18.42%	-67.57%	-34.58%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.4% of Interpublic Group of Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of ZW Data Action Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Interpublic Group of Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.7% of ZW Data Action Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Interpublic Group of Companies beats ZW Data Action Technologies on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names. The Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions segment offers advertising, corporate, and brand identity services; and strategic consulting under FCB, IPG Health, McCann Worldgroup, and MullenLowe Group brands. Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions segment provides public relations and other specialized communications services, live events, sports and entertainment marketing, and strategic consulting under IPG DXTRA Health, The Weber Shandwick Collective, Golin, Jack Morton, Momentum, and Octagon brand names. The company was formerly known as McCann-Erickson Incorporated and changed its name to The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. in January 1961. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About ZW Data Action Technologies

ZW Data Action Technologies Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers omni-channel advertising, precision marketing, and data analysis management systems in the People’s Republic of China. The company offers Internet advertising, precision marketing, and related data services to small and medium enterprises through its Internet portals, including 28.com and liansuo.com that provide advertisers with tools to build sales channels in the form of franchisees, sales agents, distributors, and/or resellers. It also develops and operates blockchain technology-based products and services, as well as blockchain-based SaaS services that provides one-stop blockchain-powered enterprise management solutions in forms of NFT generations, data record, share, and storage module subscriptions, etc. In addition, the company offers other e-commerce O2O advertising, and marketing and related value-added technical services. Additionally, it offers online-content production, distribution, promotion, and live streamer training and management services. The company was formerly known as ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. in October 2020. Data Action Technologies Inc. was founded in 2003 and is based in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.