CSGP vs APPF Stock Comparison

Costar and Appfolio Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSGP Costar Group, Inc.
$33.92 +20.0% 1M -56.3% 1Y
Market cap
$13.44B
P/E
182.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.56B
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology
3 wins
APPF Appfolio Inc
$210.62 +0.3% 1M -12.1% 1Y
Market cap
$7.56B
P/E
44.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.09B
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Appfolio leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Appfolio 6, Costar 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSGPAPPFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.44B $7.56B CSGP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 182.7x 44.5x APPF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.1x 31.2x CSGP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +22.0% +20.0% CSGP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.1% 15.6% APPF
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.5x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -56.3% -12.1% APPF
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.3%/yr +9.6%/yr APPF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.7% 44.7% APPF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 75/100 APPF

Percentile Scorecard

CSGPAPPF

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

AxisCSGPAPPF
Valuation 49 #46 of 90 46 #49 of 90
Growth 46 #45 of 82 90 #9 of 82
Profitability 57 #34 of 77 92 #7 of 77
Financial Health 79 #21 of 96 90 #11 of 96
Shareholder Returns 87 #8 of 54 57 #24 of 54
Overall 63 75
  • CSGP ranked among 99 companies in Vertical Software
  • APPF ranked among 99 companies in Vertical Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSGPAPPFSPY
1 month +20.0%+0.3% -1.0%
3 months +22.6%+27.6% +2.9%
6 months -6.9%+24.4% +6.4%
Year to date -49.6%-9.5% +11.4%
1 year -56.3%-12.1% +13.1%
3 years -54.3%+16.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year -23.0%+5.1% +21.5%
5 years -65.8%+58.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year -19.3%+9.6% +10.9%
10 years +61.8%+1,004.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +4.9%+27.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCSGPAPPFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.7%44.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.7%43.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.180.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.18-0.27 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-55.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.6%-19.7% -2.5%
52-week high $78.23$262.26 $779.14
52-week low $26.95$143.34 $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.

MultipleCSGPAPPF
P/E now vs peer median 186.2xmedian 42.7x 43.9xmedian 42.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 2.7x 6.9xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.5xmedian 19.0x 30.1xmedian 19.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 49.1xmedian 19.6x 26.5xmedian 19.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.8x 12.8xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median -4.41median 1.75 0.56median 1.75

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 monthsCSGPAPPF
Revenue $3.56B $1.09B
Gross profit $2.80B $693.53M
Operating income $77.00M $204.71M
Net income $73.60M $169.86M
Free cash flow $280.00M $282.10M
R&D $435.40M $199.70M
EPS (diluted) $0.18 $4.77
Cash & equivalents $1.27B $258.54M
Total debt $994.00M –
Shares (diluted) 404.40M 35.58M
Enterprise value $7.40B $6.63B

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
MetricCSGPAPPF
P/E 186.2x 43.9x
P/FCF 49.1x 26.5x
P/Operating cash flow 27.7x 26.3x
P/S 3.9x 6.9x
P/B 1.7x 12.8x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 13.5x
EV/EBITDA 25.5x 30.1x
EV/EBIT 175.0x 35.0x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 6.6x
EV/FCF 48.1x 25.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.1x 25.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.41 0.56

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSGPAPPF
Revenue growth (1Y) 22.0% 20.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.3% 23.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.0% 20.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 26.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1,383% 54.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -40.4% 85.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -29.3% -16.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -42.4% 77.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -25.8% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -42.2% 78.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 25.7% 32.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 100.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 201.7% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.1% 114.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSGPAPPF
Gross margin 78.7% 63.8%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 21.9%
Operating margin 2.2% 18.8%
Pretax margin 2.8% 19.6%
Net margin 2.1% 15.6%
FCF margin 7.9% 25.9%
Operating cash flow margin 14.0% 26.1%
Return on equity 0.9% 30.6%
Return on assets 0.7% 24.9%
Return on invested capital 0.6% –
Return on capital employed 0.8% 35.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 6.8x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 5.4% 6.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSGPAPPF
Debt / assets 9.8% –
Debt / equity 0.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.5x –
Debt / FCF 3.6x –
Liabilities / assets 21.6% 18.6%
Equity / assets 78.4% 81.4%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 2.2x 4.0x
Quick ratio 2.0x 3.5x
Cash ratio 1.7x 3.0x
Altman Z-score – 37.70

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSGPAPPF
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 7.2% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 7.2% 1.7%
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.

ConsensusCSGPAPPF
Forward P/E 24.1xFY2026 31.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.41FY2026 $6.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +62.1%FY2026 +27.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.8% +18.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.92BFY2026 $1.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.8%FY2026 +24.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSGPAPPF
Held by institutions 100.0% 96.0%
Institutions holding 751 391
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.0% +9.3%
Institutions buying 415 225
Institutions selling 257 130
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.73

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.

CSGPAPPF
CSGP 1.00 0.51
APPF 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSGP and APPF?

Costar (CSGP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Costar (CSGP) $13.44B, Appfolio (APPF) $7.56B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSGP and APPF?

Appfolio (APPF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Costar (CSGP) 182.7x, Appfolio (APPF) 44.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Costar (CSGP) is cheapest (Costar (CSGP) 24.1x, Appfolio (APPF) 31.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Costar (CSGP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Costar (CSGP) +22.0%, Appfolio (APPF) +20.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Appfolio (APPF) has the highest net margin (Costar (CSGP) 2.1%, Appfolio (APPF) 15.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Appfolio (APPF) returned the most: Costar (CSGP) -56.3%, Appfolio (APPF) -12.1%. Over five years, Appfolio (APPF) compounded fastest (Costar (CSGP) -19.3%/yr, Appfolio (APPF) +9.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Appfolio (APPF) has been the steadiest (Costar (CSGP) 47.7%, Appfolio (APPF) 44.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CSGP and APPF move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.51, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CSGP and APPF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Appfolio (APPF) leads on 6. 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.