Wayfair (NYSE: W) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) are both mid-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitabiliy, earnings, valuation and risk.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Wayfair and Amazon.com’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Wayfair | $3.59 billion | 1.84 | -$166.48 million | ($2.46) | -30.92 |
| Amazon.com | $142.57 billion | 3.44 | $12.22 billion | $5.32 | 192.80 |
Amazon.com has higher revenue and earnings than Wayfair. Wayfair is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amazon.com, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Wayfair and Amazon.com’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Wayfair | -5.84% | -215.36% | -29.33% |
| Amazon.com | 1.81% | 13.72% | 3.44% |
Volatility and Risk
Wayfair has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amazon.com has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Wayfair and Amazon.com, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Wayfair | 0 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Amazon.com | 0 | 4 | 42 | 0 | 2.91 |
Wayfair currently has a consensus price target of $63.32, suggesting a potential downside of 16.75%. Amazon.com has a consensus price target of $1,019.65, suggesting a potential downside of 0.59%. Given Amazon.com’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Amazon.com is more favorable than Wayfair.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
62.5% of Amazon.com shares are held by institutional investors. 63.9% of Wayfair shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.7% of Amazon.com shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Amazon.com beats Wayfair on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
Wayfair Company Profile
Wayfair Inc. (Wayfair) offers browsing, merchandising and product discovery for a range of products from various suppliers. The Company operates through two segments: U.S. and International. The U.S. segment consists of amounts earned through product sales through the Company’s five sites in the United States and through sites operated by third parties in the United States. The International segment consists of amounts earned through product sales through its international sites. It has an online selection of furniture, decor, decorative accents, housewares, seasonal decor and other home goods. As of December 31, 2016, it had offered five sites, including Websites, mobile-optimized Websites and mobile applications: Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, DwellStudio and Birch Lane. Wayfair is an online destination for all things home. Birch Lane offers a collection of furnishings and home decor. Its sites feature certain products under its house brands, such as Three Posts and Mercury Row.
Amazon.com Company Profile
Amazon.com, Inc. offers a range of products and services through its Websites. The Company operates through three segments: North America, International and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The North America segment consists of retail sales of consumer products (including from sellers) and subscriptions through North America-focused Websites, such as www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca and www.amazon.com.mx. The International segment primarily consists of retail sales of consumer products (including from sellers) and subscriptions through internationally-focused Websites, such as www.amazon.com.au, www.amazon.nl, www.amazon.es and www.amazon.co.uk. The AWS segment consists of sales of compute, storage, database, and other service offerings for start-ups, enterprises, government agencies and academic institutions. The Company’s products include merchandise and content that it purchases for resale from vendors and those offered by third-party sellers. It manufactures and sells electronic devices.
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