Head-To-Head Review: Marcus (NYSE:MCS) and Inspirato (NASDAQ:ISPO)

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) and Inspirato (NASDAQ:ISPO) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Marcus has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Inspirato has a beta of -0.03, meaning that its share price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.6% of Marcus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.5% of Inspirato shares are held by institutional investors. 16.5% of Marcus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 50.0% of Inspirato shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Marcus and Inspirato”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marcus	$758.46 million	0.73	$12.69 million	$0.43	42.11
Inspirato	$247.65 million	0.22	-$5.39 million	($0.87)	-4.90

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

Profitability

This table compares Marcus and Inspirato’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marcus	1.85%	0.79%	0.35%
Inspirato	-4.24%	N/A	-4.10%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Marcus and Inspirato, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marcus	0	2	4	0	2.67
Inspirato	1	0	0	0	1.00

Marcus currently has a consensus target price of $23.33, suggesting a potential upside of 28.86%. Given Marcus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Marcus is more favorable than Inspirato.

Summary

Marcus beats Inspirato on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marcus

The Marcus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates movie theatres, and hotels and resorts in the United States. It operates a family entertainment center and multiscreen motion picture theatres under the Big Screen Bistro, Big Screen Bistro Express, BistroPlex, and Movie Tavern by Marcus brand names. The company also owns and operates full-service hotels and resorts, as well as manages full-service hotels, resorts, and other properties. In addition, it provides hospitality management services, including check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for a vacation ownership development; and manages condominium hotels under long-term management contracts. The Marcus Corporation was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Inspirato

Inspirato Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a subscription-based luxury travel company. The company's portfolio includes luxury vacation homes, and accommodations at luxury hotels and resorts, as well as luxury safaris, cruises, custom-designed itineraries, and other experiences. It is involved in solving critical pain points for hospitality suppliers seeking to monetize their property with rental income. In addition, the company offers Inspirato Pass for member to book pass trips; Inspirato Club for members to book trips up to one year in advance Inspirato for Good, a platform designed to help nonprofit organizations accelerate funding results; Inspirato for Business, a business-to-business channel through which subscription and travel products are sold directly to businesses seeking to leverage luxury accommodations to recruit, retain, and reward their employees. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.