Genasys (NASDAQ:GNSS) vs. Lantronix (NASDAQ:LTRX) Financial Analysis

Lantronix (NASDAQ:LTRX) and Genasys (NASDAQ:GNSS) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

39.4% of Lantronix shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.0% of Genasys shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of Lantronix shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.3% of Genasys shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lantronix	$120.90 million	2.19	-$4.18 million	($0.11)	-51.36
Genasys	$40.76 million	1.59	-$18.11 million	($0.13)	-10.92

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Lantronix and Genasys, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lantronix	1	0	6	0	2.71
Genasys	1	0	2	0	2.33

Lantronix presently has a consensus price target of $10.80, indicating a potential upside of 91.15%. Genasys has a consensus price target of $3.87, indicating a potential upside of 172.30%. Given Genasys’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Genasys is more favorable than Lantronix.

Profitability

This table compares Lantronix and Genasys’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lantronix	-3.46%	-4.88%	-3.21%
Genasys	-10.86%	-435.06%	-9.83%

Risk and Volatility

Lantronix has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Genasys has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lantronix beats Genasys on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lantronix

Lantronix, Inc. provides solutions for video surveillance, infotainment systems, and intelligent substations infrastructure in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific Japan. The company's IoT products include IoT System Solutions, which provide wired and wireless connections that enhance the value and utility of modern electronic systems and equipment through secure network connectivity, power for IoT end devices through Power over Ethernet, application hosting, protocol conversion, media conversion, secure access for distributed IoT deployments, and various other functions; Embedded IoT Modules, such as application processing delivering compute to meet customer needs for data transformation, computer vision, machine learning, augmented/virtual reality, audio/video aggregation and distribution, and custom applications; and Software and Engineering Services offers SaaS platform that enables customers to deploy, monitor, manage, and automate across their global deployments through a single platform login. It also offers telematics devices, which provides power efficient products designed to support communications across interfaces and industrial protocols for vehicle, fleet, and asset tracking and management; network switches, media converters, power over ethernet, NICS and optical SFPs, system on modules, and development kits; and services for mechanical, hardware, and software engineering for camera, audio, and artificial intelligence/machine learning development. In addition, the company provides console management, power management, and IP connected keyboard-video-mouse products that offers remote access to IT and networking infrastructure deployed in test labs, data centers, branch offices, remote sites, and server rooms; and hardware engineering, software engineering, and mechanical engineering, rapid prototyping and quality assurance engineering services. Lantronix, Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Irvine, California.

About Genasys

Genasys Inc. engages in the design, development, and commercialization of critical communications hardware and software solutions to alert, inform, and protect people principally in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Hardware and Software. It provides Genasys Protect ALERT, an interactive, cloud-based SaaS solution that is designed to enable SLED and enterprise customers to send critical information to at-risk individuals or groups when an emergency occurs using emails, voice calls, text messages, panic buttons, desktop alerts, TV, social media, and other; and Genasys Protect EVAC that enables responding agencies to determine and communicate the proper scope of a response or evacuation by replacing guesswork with data-driven intelligence; and Genasys Protect CONNECT, an instant communication platform that enables first responders and public safety personnel to collaborate and share information in a single space with text, videos, images, and audio from any location. The company also offers Genasys Protect ACOUSTICS, a mass notification speaker system with Genasys protect command-and-control software; and long range acoustic devices, such as acoustic hailing devices which are used to project alert tones and audible voice messages. It sells its products directly to governments, militaries, end-users, and commercial companies. The company was formerly known as LRAD Corporation. Genasys Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is based in San Diego, California.