Financial Survey: iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) and Reading International (NASDAQ:RDIB)

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) and Reading International (NASDAQ:RDIB) are both communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for iQIYI and Reading International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
iQIYI	1	4	1	0	2.00
Reading International	1	0	0	0	1.00

iQIYI presently has a consensus target price of $1.73, suggesting a potential upside of 81.91%. Given iQIYI’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe iQIYI is more favorable than Reading International.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares iQIYI and Reading International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
iQIYI	$3.80 billion	0.24	-$29.50 million	($0.12)	-7.92
Reading International	$214.46 million	N/A	N/A	($0.20)	-71.88

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

Profitability

This table compares iQIYI and Reading International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
iQIYI	-3.24%	-6.29%	-1.78%
Reading International	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

52.7% of iQIYI shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Reading International shares are held by institutional investors. 57.8% of iQIYI shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Reading International 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.

Summary

iQIYI beats Reading International on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About iQIYI

iQIYI, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides online entertainment video services in the People's Republic of China. It offers various products and services, including online video, online games, online literature, animations, and other products. The company operates a platform that provides a collection of internet video content, such as professionally produced content licensed from professional content providers and self-produced content. It also offers membership, online advertising, content distribution, and live broadcasting services. In addition, the company operates iQIYI Show, a live broadcasting platform that enables users to follow their favorite hosts and shows in real time through live broadcasting; and iQIYI Lite that offers an easy and quick access to the personalized videos based on their user preferences. Further, it is involved in the talent agency and IP licensing activities, as well as engages in developing a video community app. The company was formerly known as Qiyi.com, Inc. and changed its name to iQIYI, Inc. in November 2017. iQIYI, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Beijing, China. iQIYI, Inc. is a subsidiary of Baidu, Inc.

About Reading International

Reading International, Inc. is an entertainment and real estate company, which engages in the development, ownership, and operation of multiplex cinemas and retail and commercial real estate in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through the Cinema Exhibition and Real Estate segments. The Cinema Exhibition segment includes Reading Cinemas, Angelika Film Center, Consolidated Theatres, City Cinemas, 44 Union Square, and Liberty Theatres brands. The Real Estate segment comprises real estate development and the rental or licensing of retail, commercial and live theater assets. The company was founded by James J. Cotter Sr. in 1999 and is headquartered in Culver City, CA.