IQ vs CAST vs BABA Stock Comparison

iQIYI, FreeCast and Alibaba Group Holding Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
CAST FreeCast, Inc.
$1.04 -12.6% 1M
Market cap
$45.65M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$729.33K
Div. yield
–
Streaming Technology
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
$100.26 -8.7% 1M -42.6% 1Y
Market cap
$232.68B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$150.46B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
8 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionIQCASTBABALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $365.97M $45.65M $232.68B BABA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -3.0x -3.4x 22.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 14.3x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -3.2% — +8.1% BABA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.2% -1,832.2% 7.0% BABA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -0.8% — 2.4% BABA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.4x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -59.6% — -42.6% BABA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -36.8%/yr — -9.9%/yr BABA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.7% 281.9% 40.4% BABA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 30/100 10/100 46/100 BABA

Percentile Scorecard

IQCASTBABA

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

AxisIQCASTBABA
Valuation 68 #54 of 167 1 #165 of 167 70 #51 of 167
Growth 0 #153 of 153 – 17 #127 of 153
Profitability 32 #105 of 153 6 #144 of 153 53 #72 of 153
Financial Health 19 #145 of 179 26 #133 of 179 59 #74 of 179
Shareholder Returns – 5 #89 of 94 30 #66 of 94
Overall 30 10 46
  • IQ ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • CAST ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • BABA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIQCASTBABASPY
1 month -13.7%-12.6%-8.7% -0.8%
3 months -28.5%-45.0%-12.8% +3.5%
6 months -20.7%-64.0%-24.3% +7.0%
Year to date -54.2%—-31.6% +12.2%
1 year -59.6%—-42.6% +13.0%
3 years -81.7%—+21.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year -43.2%—+6.6% +23.1%
5 years -89.9%—-40.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year -36.8%—-9.9% +11.0%
10 years ——-2.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year ——-0.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIQCASTBABASPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.7%281.9%40.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 52.9%206.7%36.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.263.251.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.18—-1.06 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -90.5%-93.5%-62.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -62.6%-89.4%-44.3% -1.8%
52-week high $2.35$9.84$179.97 $779.14
52-week low $0.86$0.59$94.81 $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.

MultipleIQCASTBABA
P/E now vs peer median -3.2xmedian 17.5x -3.1xmedian 17.5x 22.1xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 1.4x 66.9xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.5x -3.4xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.8xmedian 12.1x -4.7xmedian 12.1x 7.0xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.7x 21.7xmedian 1.7x 1.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.08median 0.41 —median 0.41 -15.35median 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 monthsIQCASTBABA
Revenue $3.71B $729.33K $150.46B
Gross profit $665.38M $577.20K $57.45B
Operating income -$57.57M -$12.92M $4.39B
Net income -$89.99M -$13.36M $10.08B
Free cash flow $66.12M -$10.49M $33.19B
R&D $233.12M – $10.68B
EPS (diluted) $-0.05 $-0.34 $4.38
Cash & equivalents $471.90M $8.92M $21.06B
Total debt $3.74B $10.11M $83.76B
Shares (diluted) 2.36B 39.52M 2.40B
Enterprise value -$2.00B $35.63M $46.32B

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
MetricIQCASTBABA
P/E -3.2x -3.1x 22.1x
P/FCF 12.8x -4.7x 7.0x
P/Operating cash flow 18.4x -4.7x 20.6x
P/S 0.2x 66.9x 1.5x
P/B 0.5x 21.7x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 0.5x 21.7x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA – -3.4x –
EV/EBIT -22.3x -3.4x 48.0x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 59.7x 1.4x
EV/FCF 19.5x -4.2x 6.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.9x -4.2x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.08 – -15.35

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIQCASTBABA
Revenue growth (1Y) -3.2% – 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -6.2% – 5.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -24.2% – 0.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -18.0% – 6.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -150.6% – -77.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -29.2% – -35.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -239.9% – -50.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -39.2% – -3.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -1,091% – -47.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -39.0% – -1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -69.5% – -45.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -52.2% – -27.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -57.7% – -8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -46.4% – -0.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIQCASTBABA
Gross margin 17.9% 79.1% 38.2%
EBITDA margin – -1,769% –
Operating margin -1.6% -1,772% 2.9%
Pretax margin -2.1% -1,834% 9.7%
Net margin -3.2% -1,832% 7.0%
FCF margin 1.8% -1,438% 22.1%
Operating cash flow margin 1.2% -1,435% 7.5%
Return on equity -4.8% – 6.2%
Return on assets -1.3% -243.0% 3.6%
Return on invested capital -0.8% – 2.4%
Return on capital employed -1.6% – 2.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.1x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.5x 0.8x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 157.9% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIQCASTBABA
Debt / assets 15.6% 37.2% 7.5%
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.6x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.4x –
Debt / FCF 15.8x -0.4x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 72.3% 77.2% 43.6%
Equity / assets 27.7% 22.8% 56.4%
Interest coverage -0.5x – 3.2x
Current ratio 0.4x 1.3x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.2x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.2x 0.6x
Altman Z-score -1.06 -31.31 2.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIQCASTBABA
Dividend yield – – 1.0%
Net buyback yield – -19.9% –
Shareholder yield – -19.9% 1.0%
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.

ConsensusIQCASTBABA
Forward P/E – – 14.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.07FY2026 $-0.22FY2027 $7.02FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -275.0%FY2026 – +80.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – +22.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.56BFY2026 $2.82MFY2027 $174.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -8.8%FY2026 +296.6%FY2027 +17.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.7% +1,697.5% +14.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIQCASTBABA
Held by institutions 26.0% – 10.1%
Institutions holding 128 – 1,218
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.6% – -5.4%
Institutions buying 57 – 555
Institutions selling 40 – 421
Buyers to sellers 1.43 – 1.32

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.

IQCASTBABA
IQ 1.00 0.02 0.31
CAST 0.02 1.00 0.06
BABA 0.31 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IQ, CAST and BABA?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is the largest by market capitalisation: iQIYI (IQ) $365.97M, FreeCast (CAST) $45.65M, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) $232.68B.

Which company is growing faster?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: iQIYI (IQ) -3.2%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) has the highest net margin (iQIYI (IQ) -3.2%, FreeCast (CAST) -1,832.2%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 7.0%). On return on invested capital, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) leads (iQIYI (IQ) -0.8%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 2.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) returned the most: iQIYI (IQ) -59.6%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -42.6%. Over five years, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) compounded fastest (iQIYI (IQ) -36.8%/yr, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -9.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) has been the steadiest (iQIYI (IQ) 50.7%, FreeCast (CAST) 281.9%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 40.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IQ, CAST and BABA?

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