IBTA vs QNST vs APP Stock Comparison

Ibotta, Quinstreet and AppLovin Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IBTA Ibotta, Inc.
$50.10 +20.4% 1M +55.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.13B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$343.17M
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
1 win
QNST Quinstreet, Inc
$17.56 +17.3% 1M +18.7% 1Y
Market cap
$992.04M
P/E
12.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
4 wins
APP AppLovin Corp
$228.85 -14.7% 1M -64.1% 1Y
Market cap
$76.73B
P/E
17.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.83B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

AppLovin leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (AppLovin 6, Quinstreet 4, Ibotta 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIBTAQNSTAPPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.13B $992.04M $76.73B APP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -102.8x 12.4x 17.4x QNST
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 10.3x 13.6x QNST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.6% +18.3% +60.6% APP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.2% 6.3% 64.6% APP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.2% 71.3% APP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.0x 0.1x QNST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +55.3% +18.7% -64.1% IBTA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +5.5%/yr +18.4%/yr APP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 76.6% 57.5% 74.6% QNST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 47/100 70/100 73/100 APP

Percentile Scorecard

IBTAQNSTAPP

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

AxisIBTAQNSTAPP
Valuation 39 #101 of 165 76 #40 of 165 46 #89 of 165
Growth 3 #148 of 153 99 #3 of 153 99 #2 of 153
Profitability 49 #79 of 153 63 #57 of 153 100 #1 of 153
Financial Health 57 #78 of 179 60 #72 of 179 69 #56 of 179
Shareholder Returns 86 #14 of 94 50 #48 of 94 52 #46 of 94
Overall 47 70 73
  • IBTA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • QNST ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • APP ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIBTAQNSTAPPSPY
1 month +20.4%+17.3%-14.7% -2.3%
3 months +103.4%+12.5%-43.7% -0.7%
6 months +40.4%+37.8%-51.8% +4.8%
Year to date +120.4%+22.2%-66.0% +10.3%
1 year +55.3%+18.7%-64.1% +10.3%
3 years —+59.5%+482.8% +73.0%
3 years, per year —+16.8%+80.0% +20.1%
5 years —+30.7%+132.7% +61.9%
5 years, per year —+5.5%+18.4% +10.1%
10 years —+493.2%— +258.6%
10 years, per year —+19.5%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIBTAQNSTAPPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 76.6%57.5%74.6% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.4%51.4%83.0% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.150.722.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.720.33-0.86 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.5%-62.8%-91.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-20.3%-68.8% -3.5%
52-week high $50.10$22.02$733.60 $779.14
52-week low $19.25$10.56$228.50 $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.

MultipleIBTAQNSTAPP
P/E now vs peer median -102.8xmedian 17.3x 12.4xmedian 17.3x 17.4xmedian 17.3x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.4x 0.8xmedian 1.4x 11.2xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -538.2xmedian 14.5x 15.4xmedian 14.5x 14.2xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 10.8x 7.8xmedian 10.8x 16.9xmedian 10.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 1.7x 3.1xmedian 1.7x 24.3xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.40 0.27median 0.40 0.03median 0.40

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 monthsIBTAQNSTAPP
Revenue $343.17M $1.29B $6.83B
Gross profit $268.50M $145.81M $6.04B
Operating income -$11.99M $35.43M $5.29B
Net income -$11.02M $81.24M $4.41B
Free cash flow $74.46M $127.91M $4.53B
R&D $57.84M $37.30M $320.08M
EPS (diluted) $-0.47 $1.40 $13.08
Cash & equivalents $148.17M $128.32M $3.05B
Total debt – $70.00M $3.52B
Shares (diluted) 23.28M 58.16M 337.03M
Enterprise value $409.93M $553.43M $66.77B

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
MetricIBTAQNSTAPP
P/E -102.8x 12.4x 17.4x
P/FCF 15.2x 7.8x 16.9x
P/Operating cash flow 12.2x 7.6x 16.9x
P/S 3.3x 0.8x 11.2x
P/B 4.7x 3.1x 24.3x
P/Tangible book 4.7x 3.9x 27.3x
EV/EBITDA -538.2x 15.4x 14.2x
EV/EBIT -82.1x 26.4x 14.6x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 0.7x 11.3x
EV/FCF 13.2x 7.3x 17.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.6x 7.1x 17.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.27 0.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIBTAQNSTAPP
Revenue growth (1Y) -6.6% 18.3% 60.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 30.6% 33.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -12.0% 31.5% 64.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 44.3% 52.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -137.3% 472.0% 78.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 54.7% 188.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -111.4% 1,626% 81.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 47.0% 503.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -114.9% 1,630% 84.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 45.7% 524.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.1% 54.5% 58.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 123.0% 74.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.4% 54.3% 58.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 144.3% 74.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIBTAQNSTAPP
Gross margin 78.2% 11.3% 88.5%
EBITDA margin -0.5% 4.7% 79.4%
Operating margin -3.5% 2.7% 77.4%
Pretax margin -1.3% 2.4% 76.3%
Net margin -3.2% 6.3% 64.6%
FCF margin 21.7% 9.9% 66.3%
Operating cash flow margin 27.2% 10.1% 66.3%
Return on equity -4.5% 25.6% 159.6%
Return on assets -2.3% 11.4% 55.2%
Return on invested capital – 9.2% 71.3%
Return on capital employed -4.5% 7.8% 78.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.8x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -8.5x 1.6x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 14.1% 2.9% 4.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIBTAQNSTAPP
Debt / assets – 9.7% 42.5%
Debt / equity – 0.2x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.0x 0.1x
Debt / FCF – 0.5x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 50.2% 55.2% 61.7%
Equity / assets 49.8% 44.8% 38.3%
Interest coverage – 8.1x 25.8x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.2x 4.3x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.2x 4.2x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.5x 2.4x
Altman Z-score 3.36 3.46 13.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIBTAQNSTAPP
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 13.8% 3.2% 3.2%
Shareholder yield 13.8% 3.2% 3.2%
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.

ConsensusIBTAQNSTAPP
Forward P/E – 10.3xFY2027 13.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.64FY2026 $1.70FY2027 $16.83FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -633.3%FY2026 +33.9%FY2027 +72.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +3.5% +25.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $334.20MFY2026 $1.46BFY2027 $8.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.4%FY2026 +13.4%FY2027 +56.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +22.9% +14.6% +13.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIBTAQNSTAPP
Held by institutions 69.4% 92.6% 67.5%
Institutions holding 149 214 1,459
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.6% +0.0% +6.5%
Institutions buying 68 113 835
Institutions selling 48 69 480
Buyers to sellers 1.42 1.64 1.74

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.

IBTAQNSTAPP
IBTA 1.00 0.25 0.22
QNST 0.25 1.00 0.21
APP 0.22 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IBTA, QNST and APP?

AppLovin (APP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ibotta (IBTA) $1.13B, Quinstreet (QNST) $992.04M, AppLovin (APP) $76.73B.

Which stock is cheaper, IBTA, QNST and APP?

Quinstreet (QNST) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ibotta (IBTA) -102.8x, Quinstreet (QNST) 12.4x, AppLovin (APP) 17.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Quinstreet (QNST) is cheapest (Quinstreet (QNST) 10.3x, AppLovin (APP) 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: Ibotta (IBTA) -6.6%, Quinstreet (QNST) +18.3%, AppLovin (APP) +60.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

AppLovin (APP) has the highest net margin (Ibotta (IBTA) -3.2%, Quinstreet (QNST) 6.3%, AppLovin (APP) 64.6%). On return on invested capital, AppLovin (APP) leads (Quinstreet (QNST) 9.2%, AppLovin (APP) 71.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ibotta (IBTA) returned the most: Ibotta (IBTA) +55.3%, Quinstreet (QNST) +18.7%, AppLovin (APP) -64.1%. Over five years, AppLovin (APP) compounded fastest (Quinstreet (QNST) +5.5%/yr, AppLovin (APP) +18.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Quinstreet (QNST) has been the steadiest (Ibotta (IBTA) 76.6%, Quinstreet (QNST) 57.5%, AppLovin (APP) 74.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IBTA, QNST and APP?

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 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.