APP vs CURI vs IQ Stock Comparison

AppLovin, CuriosityStream and iQIYI Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
APP AppLovin Corp
$259.97 -15.7% 1M -58.5% 1Y
Market cap
$87.17B
P/E
19.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.83B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
7 wins
CURI CuriosityStream Inc.
$2.59 -10.7% 1M -41.8% 1Y
Market cap
$153.08M
P/E
71.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$79.81M
Div. yield
13.13%
Streaming Technology
2 wins
IQ iQIYI, Inc.
$0.83 -19.4% 1M -63.3% 1Y
Market cap
$800.88M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.71B
Div. yield
–
Streaming Technology
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

AppLovin leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (AppLovin 7, CuriosityStream 2, iQIYI 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAPPCURIIQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $87.17B $153.08M $800.88M APP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.8x 71.8x -3.0x APP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.4x 13.6x — CURI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +60.6% +31.2% -3.2% APP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 64.6% 2.7% -3.2% APP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 71.3% — -0.8% APP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 13.13% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -58.5% -41.8% -63.3% CURI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.5%/yr -23.6%/yr -36.9%/yr APP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 73.7% 76.7% 50.8% IQ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 60/100 30/100 APP

Percentile Scorecard

APPCURIIQ

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

AxisAPPCURIIQ
Valuation 41 #98 of 166 38 #104 of 166 70 #50 of 166
Growth 99 #2 of 152 89 #18 of 152 0 #152 of 152
Profitability 99 #2 of 152 59 #63 of 152 32 #104 of 152
Financial Health 69 #57 of 179 25 #135 of 179 20 #144 of 179
Shareholder Returns 50 #48 of 94 89 #11 of 94 –
Overall 72 60 30
  • APP ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • CURI ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • IQ ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAPPCURIIQSPY
1 month -15.7%-10.7%-19.4% +0.9%
3 months -34.9%+4.0%-32.5% +5.9%
6 months -41.4%-16.2%-28.4% +8.5%
Year to date -61.4%-31.8%-56.8% +13.3%
1 year -58.5%-41.8%-63.3% +12.4%
3 years +617.8%+388.6%-82.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +93.0%+69.7%-44.3% +23.5%
5 years +164.6%-74.0%-90.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year +21.5%-23.6%-36.9% +11.0%

Risk

MeasureAPPCURIIQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 73.7%76.7%50.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 81.6%73.4%52.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.251.371.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.79-0.55-1.25 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -91.9%-95.5%-90.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -64.6%-47.3%-64.7% -0.9%
52-week high $733.60$4.91$2.35 $779.14
52-week low $259.97$2.35$0.83 $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.

MultipleAPPCURIIQ
P/E now vs peer median 19.8xmedian 16.8x 71.8xmedian 16.8x -3.0xmedian 16.8x
P/S now vs peer median 12.8xmedian 1.4x 1.9xmedian 1.4x 0.2xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 13.9x —median 13.9x —median 13.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 11.4x —median 11.4x 12.1xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 1.8x 3.7xmedian 1.8x 0.4xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.04median 0.36 2.65median 0.36 0.08median 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 monthsAPPCURIIQ
Revenue $6.83B $79.81M $3.71B
Gross profit $6.04B $49.47M $665.38M
Operating income $5.29B $1.80M -$57.57M
Net income $4.41B $2.14M -$89.99M
Free cash flow $4.53B – $66.12M
R&D $320.08M – $233.12M
EPS (diluted) $13.08 $0.04 $-0.05
Cash & equivalents $3.05B – $471.90M
Total debt $14.05B – $3.74B
Shares (diluted) 337.03M 60.61M 2.36B
Enterprise value $77.20B $100.75M -$1.58B

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
MetricAPPCURIIQ
P/E 19.8x 71.8x -3.0x
P/FCF 19.3x – 12.1x
P/Operating cash flow 19.3x – 17.4x
P/S 12.8x 1.9x 0.2x
P/B 27.6x 3.7x 0.4x
P/Tangible book 31.0x 3.7x 0.4x
EV/EBITDA 16.2x – –
EV/EBIT 16.6x 84.4x -21.5x
EV/Revenue 12.8x 1.9x 0.3x
EV/FCF 19.4x – 18.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.4x – 26.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.04 2.65 0.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAPPCURIIQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 60.6% 31.2% -3.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 7.3% -6.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 64.6% 53.2% -24.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 52.9% 37.8% -18.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 78.6% 127.3% -150.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 188.9% 27.0% -29.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 81.5% 144.8% -239.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 503.2% 27.2% -39.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 84.4% 142.5% -1,091%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 524.6% 27.1% -39.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 58.5% – -69.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 74.2% – -52.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 58.5% – -57.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 74.5% – -46.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAPPCURIIQ
Gross margin 88.5% 62.0% 17.9%
EBITDA margin 79.4% – –
Operating margin 77.4% 2.3% -1.6%
Pretax margin 76.3% 3.2% -2.1%
Net margin 64.6% 2.7% -3.2%
FCF margin 66.3% – 1.8%
Operating cash flow margin 66.3% – 1.2%
Return on equity 159.6% 5.4% -4.8%
Return on assets 55.2% 3.1% -1.3%
Return on invested capital 71.3% – -0.8%
Return on capital employed 78.5% 3.5% -1.6%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.1x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x – -0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 4.1% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAPPCURIIQ
Debt / assets 42.5% – 15.6%
Debt / equity 1.1x – 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x – –
Debt / FCF 0.8x – 15.8x
Liabilities / assets 61.7% 38.5% 72.3%
Equity / assets 38.3% 61.5% 27.7%
Interest coverage 25.8x – -0.5x
Current ratio 4.3x 0.8x 0.4x
Quick ratio 4.2x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 2.4x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 14.23 -2.30 -1.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAPPCURIIQ
Dividend yield – 13.1% –
Net buyback yield 2.8% – –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 13.1% –
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.

ConsensusAPPCURIIQ
Forward P/E 15.4xFY2026 13.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $16.83FY2026 $0.19FY2026 $-0.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +72.6%FY2026 – -275.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +25.8% +26.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.60BFY2026 $81.18MFY2026 $3.56BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +56.9%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026 -8.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.9% +16.0% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAPPCURIIQ
Held by institutions 74.3% 31.0% 26.0%
Institutions holding 1,457 100 128
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.5% -2.2% -5.6%
Institutions buying 835 51 57
Institutions selling 478 32 40
Buyers to sellers 1.75 1.59 1.43

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.

APPCURIIQ
APP 1.00 0.16 0.15
CURI 0.16 1.00 0.15
IQ 0.15 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, APP, CURI and IQ?

AppLovin (APP) is the largest by market capitalisation: AppLovin (APP) $87.17B, CuriosityStream (CURI) $153.08M, iQIYI (IQ) $800.88M.

Which stock is cheaper, APP, CURI and IQ?

AppLovin (APP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (AppLovin (APP) 19.8x, CuriosityStream (CURI) 71.8x, iQIYI (IQ) -3.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, CuriosityStream (CURI) is cheapest (AppLovin (APP) 15.4x, CuriosityStream (CURI) 13.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

AppLovin (APP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: AppLovin (APP) +60.6%, CuriosityStream (CURI) +31.2%, iQIYI (IQ) -3.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

AppLovin (APP) has the highest net margin (AppLovin (APP) 64.6%, CuriosityStream (CURI) 2.7%, iQIYI (IQ) -3.2%). On return on invested capital, AppLovin (APP) leads (AppLovin (APP) 71.3%, iQIYI (IQ) -0.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year CuriosityStream (CURI) returned the most: AppLovin (APP) -58.5%, CuriosityStream (CURI) -41.8%, iQIYI (IQ) -63.3%. Over five years, AppLovin (APP) compounded fastest (AppLovin (APP) +21.5%/yr, CuriosityStream (CURI) -23.6%/yr, iQIYI (IQ) -36.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: CuriosityStream (CURI) 13.13%. AppLovin (APP) and iQIYI (IQ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, iQIYI (IQ) has been the steadiest (AppLovin (APP) 73.7%, CuriosityStream (CURI) 76.7%, iQIYI (IQ) 50.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, APP, CURI and IQ?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AppLovin (APP) leads on 7. 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.