Financial Contrast: Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) & Fiserv (NYSE:FI)

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) and Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.0% of Fiserv shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Marqeta shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Fiserv shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of Marqeta shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Fiserv has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marqeta has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fiserv and Marqeta”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fiserv	$20.46 billion	3.57	$3.13 billion	$5.99	22.44
Marqeta	$506.99 million	5.15	$27.29 million	($0.13)	-44.85

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Fiserv and Marqeta, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fiserv	1	2	21	1	2.88
Marqeta	0	10	3	0	2.23

Fiserv currently has a consensus target price of $207.36, indicating a potential upside of 54.25%. Marqeta has a consensus target price of $6.11, indicating a potential upside of 4.87%. Given Fiserv’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Fiserv is more favorable than Marqeta.

Profitability

This table compares Fiserv and Marqeta’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fiserv	16.00%	19.69%	6.69%
Marqeta	-11.69%	-6.45%	-4.73%

Summary

Fiserv beats Marqeta on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides payments and financial services technology services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Merchant Acceptance, Financial Technology, and Payments and Network segments. The Merchant Acceptance segment provides merchant acquiring and digital commerce services; mobile payment services; security and fraud protection products; Clover, a cloud based POS and integrated commerce operating system for small and mid-sized businesses and independent software vendors; and Carat, an integrated operating system for large businesses. This segment distributes through various channels, including direct sales teams, strategic partnerships with agent sales forces, independent software vendors, financial institutions, and other strategic partners in the form of joint venture alliances, revenue sharing alliances, and referral agreement. The Financial Technology segment offers customer deposit and loan accounts, as well as manages an institution's general ledger and central information files. This segment also provides digital banking, financial and risk management, professional services and consulting, check processing, and other products and services. The Payments and Network segment offers card transactions, such as debit, credit, and prepaid card processing and services; funds access, debit payments, cardless ATM access, and surcharge-free ATM network; security and fraud protection products; card production; print services; and various network services, as well as non-card digital payment software and services, including bill payment, account-to-account transfers, person-to-person payments, electronic billing, and security and fraud protection products. It serves merchants, banks, credit unions, other financial institutions, and corporate clients. Fiserv, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Marqeta

Marqeta, Inc. operates a cloud-based open application programming interface platform that delivers card issuing and transaction processing services. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as buy now, pay later. Marqeta, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.