CAST vs APP vs IQ Stock Comparison

FreeCast, AppLovin and iQIYI Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAST FreeCast, Inc.
$1.04 -12.6% 1M
Market cap
$45.65M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$729.33K
Div. yield
–
Streaming Technology
APP AppLovin Corp
$260.74 -16.1% 1M -57.9% 1Y
Market cap
$88.29B
P/E
20.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.83B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
8 wins
IQ iQIYI, Inc.
$0.88 -13.7% 1M -59.6% 1Y
Market cap
$365.97M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.71B
Div. yield
–
Streaming Technology
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

AppLovin leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (AppLovin 8, iQIYI 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCASTAPPIQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $45.65M $88.29B $365.97M APP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -3.4x 20.0x -3.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 15.5x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +60.6% -3.2% APP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -1,832.2% 64.6% -3.2% APP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 71.3% -0.8% APP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 0.1x — APP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months — -57.9% -59.6% APP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +22.4%/yr -36.8%/yr APP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 281.9% 73.9% 50.7% IQ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 10/100 72/100 30/100 APP

Percentile Scorecard

CASTAPPIQ

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

AxisCASTAPPIQ
Valuation 1 #165 of 167 42 #98 of 167 68 #54 of 167
Growth – 99 #2 of 153 0 #153 of 153
Profitability 6 #144 of 153 100 #1 of 153 32 #105 of 153
Financial Health 26 #133 of 179 70 #55 of 179 19 #145 of 179
Shareholder Returns 5 #89 of 94 51 #47 of 94 –
Overall 10 72 30
  • CAST ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • APP 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

PeriodCASTAPPIQSPY
1 month -12.6%-16.1%-13.7% -0.8%
3 months -45.0%-36.8%-28.5% +3.5%
6 months -64.0%-43.4%-20.7% +7.0%
Year to date —-61.3%-54.2% +12.2%
1 year —-57.9%-59.6% +13.0%
3 years —+619.9%-81.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year —+93.2%-43.2% +23.1%
5 years —+174.7%-89.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+22.4%-36.8% +11.0%

Risk

MeasureCASTAPPIQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 281.9%73.9%50.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 206.7%81.7%52.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.252.251.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y —-0.78-1.18 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.5%-91.9%-90.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -89.4%-64.5%-62.6% -1.8%
52-week high $9.84$733.60$2.35 $779.14
52-week low $0.59$260.25$0.86 $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.

MultipleCASTAPPIQ
P/E now vs peer median -3.1xmedian 17.5x 19.9xmedian 17.5x -3.2xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 66.9xmedian 1.4x 12.8xmedian 1.4x 0.2xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -3.4xmedian 14.5x 16.2xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -4.7xmedian 12.1x 19.3xmedian 12.1x 12.8xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 1.7x 27.6xmedian 1.7x 0.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.41 0.04median 0.41 0.08median 0.41

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 monthsCASTAPPIQ
Revenue $729.33K $6.83B $3.71B
Gross profit $577.20K $6.04B $665.38M
Operating income -$12.92M $5.29B -$57.57M
Net income -$13.36M $4.41B -$89.99M
Free cash flow -$10.49M $4.53B $66.12M
R&D – $320.08M $233.12M
EPS (diluted) $-0.34 $13.08 $-0.05
Cash & equivalents $8.92M $3.05B $471.90M
Total debt $10.11M $14.05B $3.74B
Shares (diluted) 39.52M 337.03M 2.36B
Enterprise value $35.63M $78.33B -$2.00B

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
MetricCASTAPPIQ
P/E -3.1x 19.9x -3.2x
P/FCF -4.7x 19.3x 12.8x
P/Operating cash flow -4.7x 19.3x 18.4x
P/S 66.9x 12.8x 0.2x
P/B 21.7x 27.6x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 21.7x 31.1x 0.5x
EV/EBITDA -3.4x 16.2x –
EV/EBIT -3.4x 16.6x -22.3x
EV/Revenue 59.7x 12.9x 0.3x
EV/FCF -4.2x 19.4x 19.5x
EV/Operating cash flow -4.2x 19.4x 27.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.04 0.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCASTAPPIQ
Revenue growth (1Y) – 60.6% -3.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 33.3% -6.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 64.6% -24.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 52.9% -18.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 78.6% -150.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 188.9% -29.2%
Net income growth (1Y) – 81.5% -239.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 503.2% -39.2%
EPS growth (1Y) – 84.4% -1,091%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 524.6% -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
MetricCASTAPPIQ
Gross margin 79.1% 88.5% 17.9%
EBITDA margin -1,769% 79.4% –
Operating margin -1,772% 77.4% -1.6%
Pretax margin -1,834% 76.3% -2.1%
Net margin -1,832% 64.6% -3.2%
FCF margin -1,438% 66.3% 1.8%
Operating cash flow margin -1,435% 66.3% 1.2%
Return on equity – 159.6% -4.8%
Return on assets -243.0% 55.2% -1.3%
Return on invested capital – 71.3% -0.8%
Return on capital employed – 78.5% -1.6%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.0x -0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 157.9% 4.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCASTAPPIQ
Debt / assets 37.2% 42.5% 15.6%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.1x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 0.1x –
Debt / FCF -0.4x 0.8x 15.8x
Liabilities / assets 77.2% 61.7% 72.3%
Equity / assets 22.8% 38.3% 27.7%
Interest coverage – 25.8x -0.5x
Current ratio 1.3x 4.3x 0.4x
Quick ratio 1.2x 4.2x 0.3x
Cash ratio 1.2x 2.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score -31.31 14.26 -1.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCASTAPPIQ
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -19.9% 2.8% –
Shareholder yield -19.9% 2.8% –
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.

ConsensusCASTAPPIQ
Forward P/E – 15.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.22FY2027 $16.83FY2026 $-0.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +72.6%FY2026 -275.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +25.8% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.82MFY2027 $8.60BFY2026 $3.56BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +296.6%FY2027 +56.9%FY2026 -8.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1,697.5% +13.9% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCASTAPPIQ
Held by institutions – 67.5% 26.0%
Institutions holding – 1,457 128
Change in shares held, QoQ – +6.5% -5.6%
Institutions buying – 835 57
Institutions selling – 478 40
Buyers to sellers – 1.75 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.

CASTAPPIQ
CAST 1.00 0.05 0.02
APP 0.05 1.00 0.15
IQ 0.02 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAST, APP and IQ?

AppLovin (APP) is the largest by market capitalisation: FreeCast (CAST) $45.65M, AppLovin (APP) $88.29B, iQIYI (IQ) $365.97M.

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

AppLovin (APP) has the highest net margin (FreeCast (CAST) -1,832.2%, AppLovin (APP) 64.6%, 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 AppLovin (APP) returned the most: AppLovin (APP) -57.9%, iQIYI (IQ) -59.6%. Over five years, AppLovin (APP) compounded fastest (AppLovin (APP) +22.4%/yr, iQIYI (IQ) -36.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, iQIYI (IQ) has been the steadiest (FreeCast (CAST) 281.9%, AppLovin (APP) 73.9%, iQIYI (IQ) 50.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAST, APP 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 8. 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.