eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) Head to Head Survey

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for eBay and Vipshop, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
eBay	2	16	13	2	2.45
Vipshop	2	4	3	1	2.30

eBay presently has a consensus price target of $115.84, suggesting a potential downside of 5.08%. Vipshop has a consensus price target of $17.16, suggesting a potential upside of 34.53%. Given Vipshop’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vipshop is more favorable than eBay.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares eBay and Vipshop”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
eBay	$11.10 billion	4.89	$2.03 billion	$4.83	25.27
Vipshop	$15.15 billion	0.40	$1.04 billion	$3.02	4.22

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

Dividends

eBay pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Vipshop pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. eBay pays out 25.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vipshop pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. eBay has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Vipshop is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.5% of eBay shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.8% of Vipshop shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of eBay shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 29.5% of Vipshop shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

eBay has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vipshop has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares eBay and Vipshop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
eBay	18.50%	47.88%	12.38%
Vipshop	9.88%	12.63%	7.09%

Summary

eBay beats Vipshop on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About eBay

eBay Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, and internationally. The company’s marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com, off-platform businesses, and the eBay suite of mobile apps. Its platforms enable users to list, sell, and buy various products. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Vipshop

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products. It also provides internet finance services, including consumer and supplier financing. In addition, the company engages in warehousing, retail business, product procurement, and software development and information technology support activities. The company provides branded products through its vip.com and vipshop.com online platforms, as well as through retail stores. Vipshop Holdings Limited was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China.