MANU vs SPHR Stock Comparison

Manchester United and Sphere Entertainment Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MANU Manchester United plc
$20.61 +0.4% 1M +11.6% 1Y
Market cap
$3.57B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$909.31M
Div. yield
–
Entertainment Venues Consumer Discretionary
2 wins
SPHR Sphere Entertainment Co.
$109.02 -19.7% 1M +67.3% 1Y
Market cap
$3.98B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.39B
Div. yield
–
Entertainment Venues Consumer Discretionary
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Sphere Entertainment leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Sphere Entertainment 7, Manchester United 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMANUSPHRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.57B $3.98B SPHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -61.8x -54.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.5% +30.7% SPHR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.4% -5.2% SPHR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.6% -2.0% MANU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.3x SPHR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.6% +67.3% SPHR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.9%/yr +27.7%/yr SPHR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.6% 53.3% MANU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 50/100 SPHR

Percentile Scorecard

MANUSPHR

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

AxisMANUSPHR
Valuation 30 #31 of 44 44 #25 of 44
Growth 74 #12 of 43 86 #7 of 43
Profitability 46 #23 of 42 34 #28 of 42
Financial Health 21 #38 of 48 77 #12 of 48
Shareholder Returns – 11 #25 of 28
Overall 43 50
  • MANU ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure
  • SPHR ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMANUSPHRSPY
1 month +0.4%-19.7% -1.0%
3 months -9.1%-20.0% +2.9%
6 months +20.7%-17.0% +6.4%
Year to date +29.5%+14.7% +11.4%
1 year +11.6%+67.3% +13.1%
3 years +15.9%+213.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +5.1%+46.4% +21.5%
5 years +27.2%+239.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +4.9%+27.7% +10.9%
10 years +29.6%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.6%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureMANUSPHRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.6%53.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.0%47.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.661.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.341.26 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.5%-52.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.8%-38.3% -2.5%
52-week high $24.19$176.62 $779.14
52-week low $15.20$65.15 $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.

MultipleMANUSPHR
P/E now vs peer median -61.4xmedian 17.0x -54.2xmedian 17.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 1.9x 2.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 10.5x 23.7xmedian 10.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 11.2x 16.5xmedian 11.2x
P/B now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 2.5x 1.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 3.63median 0.54 1.88median 0.54

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 monthsMANUSPHR
Revenue $909.31M $1.39B
Gross profit -$21.12M $773.11M
Operating income $30.28M -$166.95M
Net income -$57.81M -$66.24M
Free cash flow $363.93M $237.09M
EPS (diluted) $-0.34 $-2.01
Cash & equivalents $89.13M $552.02M
Total debt $3.96B $780.41M
Shares (diluted) 172.43M 36.15M
Enterprise value $3.24B $1.88B

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
MetricMANUSPHR
P/E -61.4x -54.2x
P/FCF 9.9x 16.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.2x 13.5x
P/S 3.9x 2.8x
P/B 18.0x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 18.0x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 12.9x 23.7x
EV/EBIT 145.8x -24.8x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 3.0x
EV/FCF 12.1x 17.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.4x 14.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.63 1.88

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMANUSPHR
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.5% 30.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 34.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 24.6% 59.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 79.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 223.3% 47.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 62.2% 15.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -36.0% 41.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.1% -28.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -35.3% 19.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -16.9% -28.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 128.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.8% 23.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 141.3% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 34.6% 31.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMANUSPHR
Gross margin -2.3% 55.6%
EBITDA margin 37.6% 12.6%
Operating margin 3.3% -12.0%
Pretax margin -7.0% -12.8%
Net margin -6.4% -5.2%
FCF margin 40.0% 17.0%
Operating cash flow margin 27.8% 20.8%
Return on equity -26.5% -2.1%
Return on assets -2.8% -1.1%
Return on invested capital 2.6% -2.0%
Return on capital employed 2.5% -4.8%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.4x -4.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.0% 4.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMANUSPHR
Debt / assets 44.5% 19.3%
Debt / equity 4.6x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 2.5x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 90.3% 44.8%
Equity / assets 9.7% 55.2%
Interest coverage 0.5x -9.7x
Current ratio 0.3x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 0.96 1.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMANUSPHR
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield – -0.3%
Shareholder yield 0.0% -0.3%
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.

ConsensusMANUSPHR
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.17FY2027 $-2.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -459.5%FY2026
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.06BFY2027 $1.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.4%FY2027 +5.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.0% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMANUSPHR
Held by institutions 17.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 125 419
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +5.7%
Institutions buying 63 223
Institutions selling 30 139
Buyers to sellers 2.10 1.60

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.

MANUSPHR
MANU 1.00 0.23
SPHR 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MANU and SPHR?

Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Manchester United (MANU) $3.57B, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) $3.98B.

Which company is growing faster?

Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Manchester United (MANU) +5.5%, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) +30.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) has the highest net margin (Manchester United (MANU) -6.4%, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) -5.2%). On return on invested capital, Manchester United (MANU) leads (Manchester United (MANU) 2.6%, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) -2.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) returned the most: Manchester United (MANU) +11.6%, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) +67.3%. Over five years, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) compounded fastest (Manchester United (MANU) +4.9%/yr, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) +27.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Manchester United (MANU) has been the steadiest (Manchester United (MANU) 33.6%, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) 53.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do MANU and SPHR move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.23, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, MANU and SPHR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) leads on 7. 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.