Reviewing ZW Data Action Technologies (NASDAQ:CNET) and X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG)

X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG) and ZW Data Action Technologies (NASDAQ:CNET) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares X3 and ZW Data Action Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
X3	N/A	N/A	N/A
ZW Data Action Technologies	-50.16%	-100.39%	-39.07%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares X3 and ZW Data Action Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
X3	$11.61 million	1.83	-$76.24 million	N/A	N/A
ZW Data Action Technologies	$7.69 million	0.81	-$3.76 million	($1.76)	-1.08

ZW Data Action Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than X3.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for X3 and ZW Data Action Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
X3	1	0	0	0	1.00
ZW Data Action Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.9% of X3 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of ZW Data Action Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.9% of X3 shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.2% of ZW Data Action Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

X3 has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZW Data Action Technologies has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

X3 beats ZW Data Action Technologies on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About X3

X3 Holdings Co Ltd. provides technology solutions and services worldwide. The company offers Global Trade Platform, a digital platform for trading partners, service providers, and government authorities. It also engages in bitcoin cryptomining operations, renewable energy projects, and agriculture technologies and trading. The company was formerly known as Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd. and changed its name to X3 Holdings Co Ltd. in January 2024. X3 Holdings Co Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About ZW Data Action Technologies

ZW Data Action Technologies Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers omni-channel advertising, precision marketing, and data analysis management systems in the People’s Republic of China. The company offers Internet advertising, precision marketing, and related data services to small and medium enterprises through its Internet portals, including 28.com and liansuo.com that provide advertisers with tools to build sales channels in the form of franchisees, sales agents, distributors, and/or resellers. It also develops and operates blockchain technology-based products and services, as well as blockchain-based SaaS services that provides one-stop blockchain-powered enterprise management solutions in forms of NFT generations, data record, share, and storage module subscriptions, etc. In addition, the company offers other e-commerce O2O advertising, and marketing and related value-added technical services. Additionally, it offers online-content production, distribution, promotion, and live streamer training and management services. The company was formerly known as ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. in October 2020. Data Action Technologies Inc. was founded in 2003 and is based in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.