Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) versus ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Critical Comparison

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) and Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

ArcBest has a beta of 1.55, indicating that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Uber Technologies has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ArcBest and Uber Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ArcBest	$4.01 billion	0.73	$60.10 million	$0.69	190.88
Uber Technologies	$52.02 billion	2.74	$10.05 billion	$4.55	15.35

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

Profitability

This table compares ArcBest and Uber Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ArcBest	0.39%	7.92%	4.15%
Uber Technologies	17.34%	43.36%	19.15%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.3% of ArcBest shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.2% of Uber Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of ArcBest shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Uber Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for ArcBest and Uber Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ArcBest	0	7	7	1	2.60
Uber Technologies	3	4	34	2	2.81

ArcBest presently has a consensus target price of $154.23, suggesting a potential upside of 17.10%. Uber Technologies has a consensus target price of $103.03, suggesting a potential upside of 47.50%. Given Uber Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Uber Technologies is more favorable than ArcBest.

Summary

Uber Technologies beats ArcBest on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation, an integrated logistics company, engages in the provision of ground, air, and ocean transportation solutions. It operates through two segments: Asset-Based and Asset-Light. The Asset-Based segment provides less-than-truckload (LTL) services, that transports general commodities, such as food, textiles, apparel, furniture, appliances, chemicals, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, plastics, metal and metal products, wood, glass, automotive parts, machinery, and miscellaneous manufactured products. The segment also offers motor carrier freight transportation services to customers in Mexico through arrangements with trucking companies. The Asset-Light segment provides ground expedite services; third-party transportation brokerage services by sourcing various capacity solutions, including dry van over-the-road, temperature-controlled and refrigerated, flatbed, intermodal or container shipping, and specialized equipment; less-than- and full container load ocean transportation services; warehousing and distribution services; managed transportation services; and moving services to do-it-yourself' consumer, as well as provides final mile, time critical, product launch, retail logistics, supply chain optimization, and trade show shipping services. This segment also offers premium logistics services, such as deployment of specialized equipment to meet linehaul requirements; international freight transportation with air, ocean, and ground services; and engages in the final mile, time-critical, product launch, retail logistics, supply chain optimization, brokered LTL, and trade show shipping activities. The company was formerly known as Arkansas Best Corporation and changed its name to ArcBest Corporation in May 2014. ArcBest Corporation was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

About Uber Technologies

Uber Technologies, Inc. develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services. The Delivery segment allows to search for and discover restaurants to grocery, alcohol, convenience, and other retails; order a meal or other items; and Uber direct, a white-label Delivery-as-a-Service for retailers and restaurants, as well as advertising. The Freight segment manages transportation and logistics network, which connects shippers and carriers in digital marketplace including carriers upfronts, pricing, and shipment booking; and provides on-demand platform to automate logistics end-to-end transactions for small-and medium-sized business to global enterprises. The company was formerly known as Ubercab, Inc. and changed its name to Uber Technologies, Inc. in February 2011. Uber Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.