Analyzing Sound Group (NASDAQ:SOGP) and PodcastOne (NASDAQ:PODC)

Sound Group (NASDAQ:SOGP) and PodcastOne (NASDAQ:PODC) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Sound Group and PodcastOne, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sound Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
PodcastOne	0	0	3	0	3.00

PodcastOne has a consensus target price of $4.75, suggesting a potential upside of 168.36%. Given PodcastOne’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PodcastOne is more favorable than Sound Group.

Profitability

This table compares Sound Group and PodcastOne’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sound Group	1.69%	8.71%	4.96%
PodcastOne	-34.02%	-108.47%	-53.06%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.6% of Sound Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.9% of PodcastOne shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.2% of Sound Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sound Group and PodcastOne’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sound Group	$316.83 million	0.04	$12.54 million	$0.99	2.17
PodcastOne	$43.30 million	0.95	-$14.73 million	N/A	N/A

Sound Group has higher revenue and earnings than PodcastOne.

Summary

Sound Group beats PodcastOne on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sound Group

Sound Group Inc. operates as an audio-centric social and entertainment company. It focuses on building audio platform to connect and communicate. The company, through its product portfolio and in-house technologies, caters to user interest in audio entertainment and social networking. The company was formerly known as LIZHI INC. and changed its name to Sound Group Inc. in January 2024. Sound Group Inc. was founded in 2010 and is based in Singapore.

About PodcastOne

PodcastOne, Inc. operates as a podcast platform and publisher. The company offers its content to audiences through podcasting distribution platforms, including its website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and others. It also produces vodcasts, branded podcasts, merchandise, and live events. In addition, the company builds, owns, and operates LaunchPadOne, a self-publishing podcast platform. The company was formerly known as Courtside Group, Inc. and changed its name to PodcastOne, Inc. in September 2023. PodcastOne, Inc. was founded in 2013 and is based in Beverly Hills, California. PodcastOne, Inc. is a subsidiary of LiveOne, Inc.