APPF vs NWSA vs SMRT Stock Comparison

Appfolio, News and SmartRent Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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APPF Appfolio Inc
$205.00 +3.6% 1M -16.1% 1Y
Market cap
$7.24B
P/E
42.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.09B
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology
4 wins
NWSA News Corp
$29.31 +0.7% 1M +9.9% 1Y
Market cap
$16.41B
P/E
28.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.03B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
5 wins
SMRT SmartRent, Inc.
$1.36 +13.3% 1M -2.2% 1Y
Market cap
$264.57M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$151.20M
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionAPPFNWSASMRTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.24B $16.41B $264.57M NWSA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 42.6x 28.6x -13.5x NWSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.7x 23.4x — NWSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.0% +6.8% -2.8% APPF
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.6% 6.3% -13.0% APPF
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 6.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -16.1% +9.9% -2.2% NWSA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.3%/yr +5.1%/yr -36.5%/yr APPF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.2% 26.3% 60.2% NWSA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 69/100 50/100 APPF

Percentile Scorecard

APPFNWSASMRT

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

AxisAPPFNWSASMRT
Valuation 47 #48 of 89 58 #23 of 53 44 #50 of 89
Growth 91 #8 of 81 93 #4 of 44 83 #15 of 81
Profitability 92 #7 of 76 76 #11 of 42 33 #51 of 76
Financial Health 91 #9 of 94 85 #10 of 61 67 #32 of 94
Shareholder Returns 59 #22 of 52 32 #18 of 26 22 #41 of 52
Overall 76 69 50
  • APPF ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • NWSA ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • SMRT ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAPPFNWSASMRTSPY
1 month +3.6%+0.7%+13.3% +0.9%
3 months +9.6%+1.7%+37.4% +5.9%
6 months +24.0%+11.7%+1.5% +8.5%
Year to date -11.9%+12.2%-32.7% +13.3%
1 year -16.1%+9.9%-2.2% +12.4%
3 years +9.1%+45.0%-41.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +2.9%+13.2%-16.6% +23.5%
5 years +55.7%+28.0%-89.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year +9.3%+5.1%-36.5% +11.0%
10 years +978.4%+140.8%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +26.9%+9.2%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAPPFNWSASMRTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.2%26.3%60.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.0%27.8%56.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.440.171.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.360.37-0.04 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.4%-38.7%-94.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.8%-6.0%-35.8% -0.9%
52-week high $262.26$31.19$2.12 $779.14
52-week low $143.34$22.40$0.95 $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.

MultipleAPPFNWSASMRT
P/E now vs peer median 42.8xmedian 40.6x 28.5xmedian 18.7x -13.3xmedian 40.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 2.4x 1.8xmedian 0.6x 1.7xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 18.3x 10.6xmedian 10.6x -12.3xmedian 18.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 20.5x 20.1xmedian 8.9x -247.7xmedian 20.5x
P/B now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 1.8x 1.8xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.54median 1.74 0.49median 0.49 -0.39median 1.74

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 monthsAPPFNWSASMRT
Revenue $1.09B $9.03B $151.20M
Gross profit $693.53M – $54.98M
Operating income $204.71M – -$22.56M
Net income $169.86M $743.00M -$19.60M
Free cash flow $282.10M $811.00M -$1.05M
R&D $199.70M – $23.23M
EPS (diluted) $4.77 $1.03 $-0.10
Cash & equivalents $258.54M $2.10B $92.66M
Total debt – $1.99B –
Shares (diluted) 35.58M 558.40M 192.41M
Enterprise value $6.31B $7.89B -$131.49M

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
MetricAPPFNWSASMRT
P/E 42.8x 28.5x -13.3x
P/FCF 25.8x 20.1x -247.7x
P/Operating cash flow 25.6x 13.2x -369.1x
P/S 6.7x 1.8x 1.7x
P/B 12.5x 1.8x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 13.2x 2.2x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 29.3x 10.6x -12.3x
EV/EBIT 34.0x 15.5x -7.4x
EV/Revenue 6.4x 1.8x 1.1x
EV/FCF 24.7x 20.0x -159.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.5x 13.1x -237.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.54 0.49 -0.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAPPFNWSASMRT
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.0% 6.8% -2.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 23.8% 4.1% -9.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.6% – 10.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 26.1% – 31.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 54.7% – 71.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 85.0% – 33.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -16.6% -44.6% 72.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 77.5% 58.4% 34.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -15.0% -50.4% 73.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 78.5% 58.6% 34.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 32.7% 26.5% 98.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 100.5% 16.8% 77.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 33.3% 42.0% 97.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 114.3% 23.6% 73.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAPPFNWSASMRT
Gross margin 63.8% – 36.4%
EBITDA margin 21.9% 17.0% -9.0%
Operating margin 18.8% – -14.9%
Pretax margin 19.6% 11.6% -13.1%
Net margin 15.6% 6.3% -13.0%
FCF margin 25.9% 9.0% -0.7%
Operating cash flow margin 26.1% 13.7% -0.5%
Return on equity 30.6% 8.0% -8.6%
Return on assets 24.9% 4.8% -6.6%
Return on invested capital – 6.6% –
Return on capital employed 35.3% 8.2% -8.9%
Asset turnover 1.6x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.7x 0.0x
Stock comp / revenue 6.8% – 6.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAPPFNWSASMRT
Debt / assets – 12.8% –
Debt / equity – 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.1x –
Debt / FCF – 2.5x –
Liabilities / assets 18.6% 40.6% 23.3%
Equity / assets 81.4% 59.4% 76.7%
Interest coverage – – -59.4x
Current ratio 4.0x 1.6x 3.8x
Quick ratio 3.5x 1.4x 3.1x
Cash ratio 3.0x 0.8x 2.2x
Altman Z-score 36.81 2.46 1.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAPPFNWSASMRT
Dividend yield – 0.7% –
Net buyback yield 1.7% 3.9% -0.4%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 4.6% -0.4%
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.

ConsensusAPPFNWSASMRT
Forward P/E 30.7xFY2026 23.4xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $6.68FY2026 $1.25FY2027 $-0.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +26.3%FY2026 +5.9%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after +17.4% +30.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.19BFY2026 $9.15BFY2027 $154.91MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +25.2%FY2026 +1.3%FY2027 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.3% +3.9% +28.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAPPFNWSASMRT
Held by institutions 65.3% 100.0% 64.9%
Institutions holding 391 636 130
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.3% -3.3% +3.0%
Institutions buying 225 344 72
Institutions selling 130 189 33
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.82 2.18

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.

APPFNWSASMRT
APPF 1.00 0.36 0.10
NWSA 0.36 1.00 0.01
SMRT 0.10 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, APPF, NWSA and SMRT?

News (NWSA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Appfolio (APPF) $7.24B, News (NWSA) $16.41B, SmartRent (SMRT) $264.57M.

Which stock is cheaper, APPF, NWSA and SMRT?

News (NWSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Appfolio (APPF) 42.6x, News (NWSA) 28.6x, SmartRent (SMRT) -13.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, News (NWSA) is cheapest (Appfolio (APPF) 30.7x, News (NWSA) 23.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Appfolio (APPF) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Appfolio (APPF) +20.0%, News (NWSA) +6.8%, SmartRent (SMRT) -2.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Appfolio (APPF) has the highest net margin (Appfolio (APPF) 15.6%, News (NWSA) 6.3%, SmartRent (SMRT) -13.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year News (NWSA) returned the most: Appfolio (APPF) -16.1%, News (NWSA) +9.9%, SmartRent (SMRT) -2.2%. Over five years, Appfolio (APPF) compounded fastest (Appfolio (APPF) +9.3%/yr, News (NWSA) +5.1%/yr, SmartRent (SMRT) -36.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, News (NWSA) has been the steadiest (Appfolio (APPF) 45.2%, News (NWSA) 26.3%, SmartRent (SMRT) 60.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, APPF, NWSA and SMRT?

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