Comparing Viking (NYSE:VIK) & Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Viking (NYSE:VIK) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Starbucks has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viking has a beta of 1.5, indicating that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Starbucks and Viking, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Starbucks	4	11	18	1	2.47
Viking	1	2	16	0	2.79

Starbucks presently has a consensus price target of $110.30, indicating a potential upside of 2.95%. Viking has a consensus price target of $107.33, indicating a potential upside of 23.47%. Given Viking’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Viking is more favorable than Starbucks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.3% of Starbucks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Viking shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Starbucks shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Starbucks and Viking’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Starbucks	5.17%	-34.10%	9.03%
Viking	19.33%	117.98%	10.80%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Starbucks and Viking”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Starbucks	$37.18 billion	3.28	$1.86 billion	$1.74	61.57
Viking	$6.97 billion	5.56	$1.15 billion	$3.01	28.88

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

Summary

Viking beats Starbucks on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items. The company also licenses its trademarks through licensed stores, and grocery and foodservice accounts. The company offers its products under the Starbucks Coffee, Teavana, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Ethos, Starbucks Reserve, and Princi brands. Starbucks Corporation was founded in 1971 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

About Viking

Viking Holdings Ltd engages in the passenger shipping and other forms of passenger transport in North America, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through River and Ocean segments. The company also operates as a tour entrepreneur for passengers and related activities in tourism. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 92 ships, including 81 river vessels comprising 58 Longships, 10 smaller classes based on the Longship design, 11 other river vessels, and 1 river vessel charter and the Viking Mississippi; 9 ocean ships; and 2 expedition ships. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.