AERA vs IMAX vs PPLI Stock Comparison

AI Era, Imax and People Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AERA AI Era Corp.
$0.02 -83.3% 1M -95.0% 1Y
Market cap
$116.03K
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$10.01M
Div. yield
–
Film and Television Communication Services
2 wins
IMAX Imax Corp
$50.49 -10.0% 1M +54.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.77B
P/E
67.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$416.08M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins
PPLI People Inc
$35.75 -9.8% 1M +8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.45B
P/E
8.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

People leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (People 5, Imax 4, AI Era 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAERAIMAXPPLILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $116.03K $2.77B $2.45B IMAX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -0.3x 67.8x 8.0x PPLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 22.0x 5.4x PPLI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +102.4% +14.8% -8.4% AERA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.1% 9.8% 16.0% PPLI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.2% -2.0% IMAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.0x -0.8x -4.3x PPLI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -95.0% +54.1% +8.8% IMAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -80.0%/yr +21.8%/yr -22.2%/yr IMAX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 403.9% 42.9% 34.5% PPLI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 63/100 58/100 AERA

Percentile Scorecard

AERAIMAXPPLI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAERAIMAXPPLI
Valuation 91 #12 of 123 41 #121 of 203 59 #69 of 166
Growth 89 #13 of 107 93 #15 of 188 44 #86 of 152
Profitability 69 #33 of 105 82 #34 of 184 47 #81 of 152
Financial Health 58 #56 of 131 84 #36 of 217 64 #65 of 179
Shareholder Returns – 15 #130 of 153 76 #23 of 94
Overall 77 63 58
  • AERA ranked among 134 companies in Communication Services
  • IMAX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • PPLI ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAERAIMAXPPLISPY
1 month -83.3%-10.0%-9.8% +0.9%
3 months -95.5%+3.6%-14.9% +5.9%
6 months -98.0%+35.6%-19.8% +8.5%
Year to date -97.8%+36.6%-8.6% +13.3%
1 year -95.0%+54.1%+8.8% +12.4%
3 years -97.8%+181.4%+4.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year -71.9%+41.2%+1.4% +23.5%
5 years -100.0%+167.9%-71.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year -80.0%+21.8%-22.2% +11.0%
10 years -100.0%+66.4%+206.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year -72.1%+5.2%+11.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAERAIMAXPPLISPY
Volatility, 1Y 403.9%42.9%34.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 448.5%36.2%34.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.970.120.92 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.241.260.25 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -100.0%-42.3%-75.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -98.7%-10.4%-24.9% -0.9%
52-week high $1.52$56.35$47.62 $779.14
52-week low $0.02$32.43$31.52 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAERAIMAXPPLI
P/E now vs peer median -0.3xmedian 17.0x 67.8xmedian 25.4x 8.0xmedian 16.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 1.1x 6.7xmedian 1.9x 1.2xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 9.6x 17.8xmedian 14.3x -39.4xmedian 13.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 9.3x 21.9xmedian 21.8x 19.8xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 1.6x 6.2xmedian 2.2x 0.5xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.00median 0.32 0.63median 1.41 0.68median 0.36

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAERAIMAXPPLI
Revenue $10.01M $416.08M $2.10B
Gross profit – $248.12M $1.38B
Operating income $3.28M $83.87M -$188.12M
Net income -$313.02K $47.12M $337.28M
Free cash flow $2.58M $126.59M $123.92M
R&D – $6.42M $169.36M
EPS (diluted) $-0.06 $0.72 $4.43
Cash & equivalents $115.84K $159.92M $1.11B
Total debt $3.47M $38.84M $1.41B
Shares (diluted) 5.46M 56.57M 75.92M
Enterprise value -$534.20K $2.26B -$1.68B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAERAIMAXPPLI
P/E -0.3x 67.8x 8.0x
P/FCF 0.0x 21.9x 19.8x
P/Operating cash flow 0.0x 20.8x 15.9x
P/S 0.0x 6.7x 1.2x
P/B 0.0x 6.2x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 0.0x 6.6x 0.5x
EV/EBITDA 0.0x 17.8x -39.4x
EV/EBIT 0.1x 31.6x -14.7x
EV/Revenue 0.0x 6.4x 1.3x
EV/FCF 0.2x 20.9x 22.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 0.2x 19.9x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.00 0.63 0.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAERAIMAXPPLI
Revenue growth (1Y) 102.4% 14.8% -8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 65.5% 5.8% -23.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 20.4% -5.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 9.6% -24.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 249.5% 39.8% -358.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 44.1% 42.6% 21.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -134.8% 10.6% 175.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 54.6% 79.6% 10.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -40,365% 21.7% 181.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -164.0% 107.7% 11.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 167.3% 72.7% 57.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 57.6% 40.0% 42.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 167.3% 88.4% 52.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 57.6% 44.5% 44.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAERAIMAXPPLI
Gross margin – 59.6% 65.7%
EBITDA margin 117.6% 35.7% -3.3%
Operating margin 32.8% 20.2% -9.0%
Pretax margin -3.1% 15.0% 30.0%
Net margin -3.1% 9.8% 16.0%
FCF margin 25.8% 30.4% 5.9%
Operating cash flow margin 25.8% 31.9% 7.4%
Return on equity -7.1% 10.7% 7.0%
Return on assets -3.3% 5.2% 4.7%
Return on invested capital – 13.2% -2.0%
Return on capital employed 156.1% – -2.8%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -8.3x 2.8x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 6.5% 4.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAERAIMAXPPLI
Debt / assets 4.1% 4.2% 18.8%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.1x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.0x -0.8x -4.3x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 0.3x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 51.0% 31.9%
Equity / assets 26.1% 49.0% 68.1%
Interest coverage 46.9x 11.2x -1.8x
Current ratio 0.1x – 3.7x
Quick ratio 0.1x – 3.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x – 2.6x
Altman Z-score -0.43 – 0.95

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAERAIMAXPPLI
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -449.1% -0.7% 10.1%
Shareholder yield -449.1% -0.7% 10.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAERAIMAXPPLI
Forward P/E – 22.0xFY2026 5.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $2.29FY2026 $6.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +57.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +4.4% -83.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $497.98MFY2026 $1.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +21.4%FY2026 -29.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – -5.7% +11.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAERAIMAXPPLI
Held by institutions – 91.5% –
Institutions holding – 257 –
Change in shares held, QoQ – +4.5% –
Institutions buying – 144 –
Institutions selling – 69 –
Buyers to sellers – 2.09 –

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AERAIMAXPPLI
AERA 1.00 -0.06 0.09
IMAX -0.06 1.00 0.08
PPLI 0.09 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AERA, IMAX and PPLI?

Imax (IMAX) is the largest by market capitalisation: AI Era (AERA) $116.03K, Imax (IMAX) $2.77B, People (PPLI) $2.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, AERA, IMAX and PPLI?

People (PPLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (AI Era (AERA) -0.3x, Imax (IMAX) 67.8x, People (PPLI) 8.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, People (PPLI) is cheapest (Imax (IMAX) 22.0x, People (PPLI) 5.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

AI Era (AERA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: AI Era (AERA) +102.4%, Imax (IMAX) +14.8%, People (PPLI) -8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

People (PPLI) has the highest net margin (AI Era (AERA) -3.1%, Imax (IMAX) 9.8%, People (PPLI) 16.0%). On return on invested capital, Imax (IMAX) leads (Imax (IMAX) 13.2%, People (PPLI) -2.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Imax (IMAX) returned the most: AI Era (AERA) -95.0%, Imax (IMAX) +54.1%, People (PPLI) +8.8%. Over five years, Imax (IMAX) compounded fastest (AI Era (AERA) -80.0%/yr, Imax (IMAX) +21.8%/yr, People (PPLI) -22.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, People (PPLI) has been the steadiest (AI Era (AERA) 403.9%, Imax (IMAX) 42.9%, People (PPLI) 34.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AERA, IMAX and PPLI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, People (PPLI) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.