Palladyne AI (NASDAQ:PDYN) vs. ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) Financial Analysis

Palladyne AI (NASDAQ:PDYN) and ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Palladyne AI and ESAB’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Palladyne AI	$6.15 million	9.47	-$115.59 million	($3.94)	-0.56
ESAB	$2.78 billion	2.08	$205.29 million	$3.82	25.08

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.0% of Palladyne AI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.1% of ESAB shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.0% of Palladyne AI shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of ESAB shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Palladyne AI has a beta of 3.36, indicating that its stock price is 236% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESAB has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Palladyne AI and ESAB’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palladyne AI	-1,390.02%	-74.87%	-57.30%
ESAB	8.39%	17.59%	7.39%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Palladyne AI and ESAB, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palladyne AI	0	0	0	0	N/A
ESAB	0	3	5	0	2.63

ESAB has a consensus price target of $98.63, suggesting a potential upside of 2.94%. Given ESAB’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ESAB is more favorable than Palladyne AI.

Summary

ESAB beats Palladyne AI on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Palladyne AI

Palladyne AI Corp., a software company, focuses on delivering software that enhances the utility and functionality of third-party stationary and mobile robotic systems in the United States. Its Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Machine Learning (ML) software platform enables robots to observe, learn, reason, and act in structured and unstructured environments. The company's software platform enables robotic systems to perceive their environment and quickly adapt to changing circumstances by generalizing from their experience using dynamic real-time operations without extensive programming and with minimal robot training. It serves customers from various industries, such as industrial manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, defense, infrastructure maintenance and repair, energy, aerospace and aviation, and others. The company was formerly known as Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation and changed its name to Palladyne AI Corp. in March 2024. Palladyne AI Corp. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About ESAB

ESAB Corporation engages in the formulation, development, manufacture, and supply of consumable products and equipment for use in cutting, joining, automated welding, and gas control equipment. Its comprehensive range of welding consumables includes electrodes, cored and solid wires, and fluxes using a range of specialty and other materials; and cutting consumables comprising electrodes, nozzles, shields, and tips. The company's equipment ranges from portable welding machines to large customized automated cutting and welding systems. It also offers a range of software and digital solutions to help its customers increase their productivity, remotely monitor their welding operations, and digitize their documentation. The company sells its products under the ESAB brand to various end markets, such as general industry, infrastructure, renewable energy, medical and life sciences, transportation, construction, and energy. It offers its products through independent distributors and direct salespeople. The company operates in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. ESAB Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland.