Analyzing Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) & eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

2.0% of Sezzle shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of eBay shares are owned by institutional investors. 57.7% of Sezzle shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of eBay shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sezzle	7.79%	62.26%	7.20%
eBay	25.97%	29.11%	8.24%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sezzle and eBay’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sezzle	$159.36 million	2.92	$7.10 million	$2.28	35.96
eBay	$10.11 billion	2.63	$2.77 billion	$5.02	10.55

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Sezzle and eBay, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sezzle	0	0	2	1	3.33
eBay	1	11	8	0	2.35

Sezzle currently has a consensus price target of $116.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.50%. eBay has a consensus price target of $53.85, suggesting a potential upside of 1.64%. Given Sezzle’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Sezzle is more favorable than eBay.

About Sezzle

Sezzle Inc. operates as a technology-enabled payments company primarily in the United States and Canada. The company provides payment solution in-store and at online retail stores; and through proprietary payments solution that connects consumers with merchants. It also offers Sezzle Platform that provides a payments solution for consumers that extends credit at the point-of-sale allowing consumers to purchase and receive the ordered merchandise at the time of sale while paying in installments over time; Pay-in-Four, which allows consumers to pay a fourth of the purchase price up front and then another fourth of the purchase price every two weeks thereafter over a total of six weeks; Pay-in-Full that allows consumers to pay for the full value of their order up-front through the Sezzle Platform without the extension of credit; and Pay-in-Two and other alternative installment options, which allow consumer to pay half of the value of their order up-front and the second half in two weeks. In addition, the company provides Sezzle Virtual Card that allows consumers to access the Sezzle Platform in the form of close-end installment loans and shop with merchants that are not integrated with Sezzle; Sezzle Anywhere, a paid subscription service that allows consumers to use their Sezzle Virtual Card at any merchant online or in-store; Sezzle Premium, a paid subscription service that allows its consumers to access large, non-integrated premium merchants; and Sezzle Up, an opt-in feature of the Sezzle Platform. Further, it offers Long-Term Lending through collaboration with third-party lenders and Product Innovation. Sezzle Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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.