Head to Head Analysis: Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) versus Shopify (NYSE:SHOP)

Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) and Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.3% of Shopify shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.9% of Dayforce shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Shopify has a beta of 2.47, indicating that its share price is 147% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dayforce has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Shopify and Dayforce”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shopify	$8.88 billion	14.83	$2.02 billion	$1.55	65.60
Dayforce	$1.76 billion	5.11	$18.10 million	$0.11	518.86

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Shopify and Dayforce, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shopify	1	14	24	1	2.63
Dayforce	0	7	8	0	2.53

Shopify currently has a consensus price target of $126.31, suggesting a potential upside of 24.23%. Dayforce has a consensus price target of $78.64, suggesting a potential upside of 37.79%. Given Dayforce’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Dayforce is more favorable than Shopify.

Profitability

This table compares Shopify and Dayforce’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shopify	22.74%	12.00%	9.79%
Dayforce	1.03%	6.49%	1.75%

Summary

Shopify beats Dayforce on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shopify

Shopify Inc., a commerce company, provides a commerce platform and services in Canada, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, China, and Latin America. The company’s platform enables merchants to displays, manages, markets, and sells its products through various sales channels, including web and mobile storefronts, physical retail locations, pop-up shops, social media storefronts, native mobile apps, buy buttons, and marketplaces; and enables to manage products and inventory, process orders and payments, fulfill and ship orders, new buyers and build customer relationships, source products, leverage analytics and reporting, manage cash, payments and transactions, and access financing. It also sells custom themes and apps, and registration of domain names; and merchant solutions, which include accepting payments, shipping, and securing working capital. The company was formerly known as Jaded Pixel Technologies Inc. and changed its name to Shopify Inc. in November 2011. Shopify Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada.

About Dayforce

Dayforce Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a human capital management (HCM) software company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers Dayforce, a cloud HCM platform that provides human resources, payroll and tax, workforce management, wallet, benefits, and talent intelligence functionalities; and Powerpay, a cloud HR and payroll solution for the small business market. The company also provides payroll and payroll-related services; and implementation and professional services. It sells its solutions through direct sales force and third-party channels. The company was formerly known as Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. and changed its name to Dayforce Inc. in February 2024. Dayforce Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.