Reviewing Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) and TH International (NASDAQ:THCH)

TH International (NASDAQ:THCH) and Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.9% of TH International shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Aramark shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares TH International and Aramark”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TH International	$221.94 million	0.61	-$123.81 million	($0.74)	-1.10
Aramark	$19.95 billion	0.50	$674.11 million	$2.38	16.03

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

Risk & Volatility

TH International has a beta of 0.26, suggesting that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aramark has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for TH International and Aramark, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TH International	0	0	0	0	N/A
Aramark	0	2	11	0	2.85

Aramark has a consensus price target of $37.36, indicating a potential downside of 2.05%. Given Aramark’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Aramark is more favorable than TH International.

Profitability

This table compares TH International and Aramark’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TH International	-43.33%	N/A	-17.56%
Aramark	1.93%	14.09%	3.21%

Summary

Aramark beats TH International on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TH International

TH International Limited operates Tim Hortons coffee shops in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The company offers brewed tea, coffee, milk tea, lemonade, hot chocolate, and coffee drinks. It is also involved in franchise related business. The company is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.

About Aramark

Aramark provides food and facilities services to education, healthcare, business and industry, sports, leisure, and corrections clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Food and Support Services United States, and Food and Support Services International. The company offers food-related managed services, including dining, catering, food service management, and convenience-oriented retail services; non-clinical food and food-related support services, such as patient food and nutrition, retail food, environmental services, and procurement services; and plant operations and maintenance, custodial/housekeeping, energy management, grounds keeping, and capital project management services. It also provides on-site restaurants, catering, convenience stores, and executive dining services; beverage and vending services; and facility management services comprising landscaping, transportation, capital program management, payment services, and other facility consulting services relating to building operations. In addition, the company offers concessions, banquet, and catering services; retail services and merchandise sale, recreational, and lodging services; and facility management services at sports, entertainment, and recreational facilities. Further, it offers correctional food; and operates commissaries, laundry facilities, and property rooms. It primarily serves business and industry, sports, leisure and corrections, education, healthcare, public institutions, manufacturing, transportation, service, and other industries. The company was formerly known as ARAMARK Holdings Corporation. Aramark was founded in 1959 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.