Canaan (NASDAQ:CAN) versus American Express (NYSE:AXP) Financial Survey

Canaan (NASDAQ:CAN) and American Express (NYSE:AXP) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Canaan and American Express”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canaan	$529.73 million	0.30	-$210.27 million	($0.48)	-0.89
American Express	$72.23 billion	3.05	$10.83 billion	$15.39	20.85

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

Volatility and Risk

Canaan has a beta of 2.85, indicating that its share price is 185% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Express has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Canaan and American Express’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canaan	-39.69%	-60.70%	-34.60%
American Express	15.00%	33.49%	3.69%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.1% of Canaan shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.3% of American Express shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Canaan shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of American Express shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Canaan and American Express, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canaan	1	2	6	0	2.56
American Express	1	15	9	0	2.32

Canaan currently has a consensus price target of $2.25, suggesting a potential upside of 424.48%. American Express has a consensus price target of $352.73, suggesting a potential upside of 9.93%. Given Canaan’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Canaan is more favorable than American Express.

Summary

American Express beats Canaan on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Canaan

Canaan Inc. engages in the research, design, and sale of integrated circuit (IC) final mining equipment products by integrating IC products for bitcoin mining and related components in the People's Republic of China. It is also involved in the assembly and distribution of mining equipment and spare parts. The company has operations in the United States, Australia, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Canada, Mainland China, Thailand, Sweden, and internationally. Canaan Inc. was founded in 2013 and is based in Singapore.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. The company’s products and services include credit card, charge card, banking, and other payment and financing products; network services; expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services. It also provides merchant acquisition and processing, servicing and settlement, point-of-sale marketing, and information products and services for merchants; and fraud prevention services, as well as the design and operation of customer loyalty programs. In addition, the company operates lounges at airports under Centurion Lounge brand name. It sells its products and services to consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations through mobile and online applications, affiliate marketing, customer referral programs, third-party service providers and business partners, direct mail, telephone, in-house sales teams, and direct response advertising. American Express Company was founded in 1850 and is headquartered in New York, New York.