CSGP vs SMRT vs APPF Stock Comparison

Costar, SmartRent and Appfolio Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CSGP Costar Group, Inc.
$32.01 +14.0% 1M -59.0% 1Y
Market cap
$11.05B
P/E
148.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.67B
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology
3 wins
SMRT SmartRent, Inc.
$1.31 +11.0% 1M -9.7% 1Y
Market cap
$254.95M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$151.20M
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology
1 win
APPF Appfolio Inc
$201.45 -1.4% 1M -17.9% 1Y
Market cap
$7.25B
P/E
42.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.09B
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Appfolio leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Appfolio 5, Costar 3, SmartRent 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSGPSMRTAPPFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.05B $254.95M $7.25B CSGP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 148.0x -13.0x 42.7x APPF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.7x — 30.2x CSGP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.2% -2.8% +20.0% CSGP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — -13.0% 15.6% APPF
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -59.0% -9.7% -17.9% SMRT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -18.2%/yr -36.8%/yr +8.7%/yr APPF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.9% 60.2% 45.2% APPF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 50/100 76/100 APPF

Percentile Scorecard

CSGPSMRTAPPF

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

AxisCSGPSMRTAPPF
Valuation 55 #41 of 89 44 #50 of 89 47 #48 of 89
Growth 79 #18 of 81 83 #15 of 81 91 #8 of 81
Profitability 44 #43 of 76 33 #51 of 76 92 #7 of 76
Financial Health 68 #31 of 94 67 #32 of 94 91 #9 of 94
Shareholder Returns – 22 #40 of 51 60 #21 of 51
Overall 61 50 76
  • CSGP ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • SMRT ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • APPF ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSGPSMRTAPPFSPY
1 month +14.0%+11.0%-1.4% -0.2%
3 months +5.5%+31.0%+13.0% +3.9%
6 months -11.0%-2.2%+19.4% +8.2%
Year to date -52.4%-35.1%-13.4% +12.9%
1 year -59.0%-9.7%-17.9% +12.3%
3 years -54.6%-44.0%+7.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year -23.2%-17.6%+2.3% +23.3%
5 years -63.4%-89.9%+51.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year -18.2%-36.8%+8.7% +10.9%
10 years +66.5%—+960.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +5.2%—+26.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCSGPSMRTAPPFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.9%60.2%45.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.8%56.2%43.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.151.300.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.23-0.16-0.40 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -72.4%-94.9%-55.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -59.1%-38.2%-23.2% -1.2%
52-week high $78.23$2.12$262.26 $779.14
52-week low $26.95$0.95$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.

MultipleCSGPSMRTAPPF
P/E now vs peer median 148.0xmedian 40.1x -12.9xmedian 40.1x 42.0xmedian 40.1x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.5x 1.7xmedian 2.5x 6.6xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 18.5x -11.6xmedian 18.5x 28.7xmedian 18.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 39.0xmedian 20.1x -238.6xmedian 20.1x 25.3xmedian 20.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.8x 1.1xmedian 1.8x 12.3xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.73 -0.38median 1.73 0.54median 1.73

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 monthsCSGPSMRTAPPF
Revenue $3.67B $151.20M $1.09B
Gross profit $2.88B $54.98M $693.53M
Operating income $212.10M -$22.56M $204.71M
Net income – -$19.60M $169.86M
Free cash flow – -$1.05M $282.10M
R&D – $23.23M $199.70M
EPS (diluted) – $-0.10 $4.77
Cash & equivalents $500.00M $92.66M $258.54M
Shares (diluted) 404.40M 192.41M 35.58M
Enterprise value $11.05B -$141.11M $6.32B

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
MetricCSGPSMRTAPPF
P/E 148.0x -12.9x 42.0x
P/FCF 39.0x -238.6x 25.3x
P/Operating cash flow 21.0x -355.5x 25.2x
P/S 3.5x 1.7x 6.6x
P/B 1.6x 1.1x 12.3x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 1.2x 12.9x
EV/EBITDA – -11.6x 28.7x
EV/EBIT – -7.0x 33.4x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 1.0x 6.3x
EV/FCF – -150.5x 24.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x -224.3x 24.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -0.38 0.54

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSGPSMRTAPPF
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.2% -2.8% 20.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.4% -9.9% 23.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.8% 10.3% 20.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 31.6% 26.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 362.5% 71.0% 54.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -14.6% 33.4% 85.0%
Net income growth (1Y) – 72.9% -16.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 34.9% 77.5%
EPS growth (1Y) – 73.4% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 34.1% 78.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 70.0% 98.4% 32.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 77.1% 100.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 97.8% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 73.9% 114.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSGPSMRTAPPF
Gross margin – 36.4% 63.8%
EBITDA margin – -9.0% 21.9%
Operating margin – -14.9% 18.8%
Pretax margin – -13.1% 19.6%
Net margin – -13.0% 15.6%
FCF margin – -0.7% 25.9%
Operating cash flow margin 16.8% -0.5% 26.1%
Return on equity – -8.6% 30.6%
Return on assets – -6.6% 24.9%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – -8.9% 35.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.0x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 4.2% 6.7% 6.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSGPSMRTAPPF
Debt / assets – – –
Debt / equity – – –
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 22.1% 23.3% 18.6%
Equity / assets 77.7% 76.7% 81.4%
Interest coverage – -59.4x –
Current ratio 1.3x 3.8x 4.0x
Quick ratio – 3.1x 3.5x
Cash ratio – 2.2x 3.0x
Altman Z-score – 0.91 36.24

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSGPSMRTAPPF
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -0.4% 1.8%
Shareholder yield – -0.4% 1.8%
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.

ConsensusCSGPSMRTAPPF
Forward P/E 22.7xFY2026 – 30.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.41FY2026 $-0.10FY2026 $6.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +62.1%FY2026 – +26.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.8% – +17.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.92BFY2026 $154.91MFY2026 $1.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.8%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 +25.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.8% +28.9% +18.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSGPSMRTAPPF
Held by institutions 100.0% 64.9% 65.3%
Institutions holding 751 130 391
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.0% +3.0% +9.3%
Institutions buying 415 72 225
Institutions selling 257 33 130
Buyers to sellers 1.61 2.18 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.

CSGPSMRTAPPF
CSGP 1.00 0.12 0.52
SMRT 0.12 1.00 0.10
APPF 0.52 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSGP, SMRT and APPF?

Costar (CSGP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Costar (CSGP) $11.05B, SmartRent (SMRT) $254.95M, Appfolio (APPF) $7.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSGP, SMRT and APPF?

Appfolio (APPF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Costar (CSGP) 148.0x, SmartRent (SMRT) -13.0x, Appfolio (APPF) 42.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Costar (CSGP) is cheapest (Costar (CSGP) 22.7x, Appfolio (APPF) 30.2x). 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) +20.2%, SmartRent (SMRT) -2.8%, Appfolio (APPF) +20.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year SmartRent (SMRT) returned the most: Costar (CSGP) -59.0%, SmartRent (SMRT) -9.7%, Appfolio (APPF) -17.9%. Over five years, Appfolio (APPF) compounded fastest (Costar (CSGP) -18.2%/yr, SmartRent (SMRT) -36.8%/yr, Appfolio (APPF) +8.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Appfolio (APPF) has been the steadiest (Costar (CSGP) 47.9%, SmartRent (SMRT) 60.2%, Appfolio (APPF) 45.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CSGP, SMRT 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 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.