Financial Contrast: Rent the Runway (NASDAQ:RENT) versus Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL)

Rent the Runway (NASDAQ:RENT) and Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Rent the Runway and Fossil Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rent the Runway	3.37%	N/A	-36.65%
Fossil Group	-7.81%	-46.78%	-7.42%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Rent the Runway and Fossil Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rent the Runway	1	2	0	0	1.67
Fossil Group	1	1	2	0	2.25

Fossil Group has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 74.78%. Given Fossil Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Fossil Group is more favorable than Rent the Runway.

Risk & Volatility

Rent the Runway has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fossil Group has a beta of 1.68, meaning that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

73.1% of Rent the Runway shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of Fossil Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Rent the Runway shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Fossil Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Rent the Runway and Fossil Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rent the Runway	$306.20 million	0.49	-$69.90 million	($2.92)	-1.53
Fossil Group	$1.00 billion	0.23	-$78.30 million	($1.46)	-2.74

Rent the Runway has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Fossil Group. Fossil Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rent the Runway, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Rent the Runway

Rent the Runway, Inc. operates shared designer closet in the United States. The company offers evening wear and accessories, ready-to-wear, workwear, denim, casual, maternity, outerwear, blouses, knitwear, loungewear, jewelry, handbags, activewear, and ski wear under subscription, rental, and resale offering. It also engages in the software development and support activities. Rent the Runway, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

About Fossil Group

Fossil Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes consumer fashion accessories in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company’s products include traditional watches, smartwatches, jewelry, handbags, small leather goods, belts, and sunglasses. It also manufactures and distributes private label brands, as well as branded products purchased for resell in other branded retail stores. The company offers its products under its proprietary brands, such as FOSSIL, SKAGEN, MICHELE, RELIC, and ZODIAC; and under the licensed brands, including ARMANI EXCHANGE, DIESEL, DKNY, EMPORIO ARMANI, KATE SPADE NEW YORK, MICHAEL KORS, TORY BURCH, and Skechers. The company sells its products through company-owned retail and outlet stores, department and specialty retail stores, mass market stores, e-commerce sites, licensed and franchised FOSSIL retail stores, and retail concessions, as well as sells its products on airlines. The company was formerly known as Fossil, Inc. and changed its name to Fossil Group, Inc. in May 2013. Fossil Group, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Richardson, Texas.