MAX vs APPS vs QNST Stock Comparison

MediaAlpha, Digital Turbine and Quinstreet Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MAX MediaAlpha, Inc.
$15.06 +56.1% 1M +12.8% 1Y
Market cap
$793.07M
P/E
7.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
5 wins
APPS Digital Turbine, Inc.
$9.54 -14.9% 1M +61.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.15B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$600.31M
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
3 wins
QNST Quinstreet, Inc
$19.26 +28.5% 1M +28.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.09B
P/E
13.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionMAXAPPSQNSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $793.07M $1.15B $1.09B APPS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.4x -32.9x 13.6x MAX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.3x 12.9x 11.3x MAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +15.2% +19.2% +18.3% APPS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.4% -5.8% 6.3% MAX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 47.0% 11.2% 9.2% MAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 2.2x -1.0x QNST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.8% +61.1% +28.1% APPS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.8%/yr -33.0%/yr +4.9%/yr QNST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.0% 95.5% 57.8% MAX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 36/100 70/100 QNST

Percentile Scorecard

MAXAPPSQNST

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

AxisMAXAPPSQNST
Valuation 67 #55 of 166 46 #91 of 166 76 #41 of 166
Growth 93 #12 of 154 54 #71 of 154 99 #2 of 154
Profitability 70 #47 of 154 53 #73 of 154 63 #57 of 154
Financial Health 32 #123 of 179 19 #145 of 179 60 #73 of 179
Shareholder Returns 26 #72 of 97 9 #88 of 97 51 #48 of 97
Overall 58 36 70
  • MAX ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • APPS ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • QNST ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMAXAPPSQNSTSPY
1 month +56.1%-14.9%+28.5% -1.0%
3 months +22.3%-27.6%+24.5% -0.4%
6 months +67.9%+139.7%+47.9% +4.5%
Year to date +16.3%+90.8%+34.0% +12.4%
1 year +12.8%+61.1%+28.1% +13.6%
3 years +54.1%+81.4%+74.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +15.5%+22.0%+20.5% +20.8%
5 years -8.5%-86.5%+26.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year -1.8%-33.0%+4.9% +10.4%
10 years —+1,367.7%+542.0% +267.7%
10 years, per year —+30.8%+20.4% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureMAXAPPSQNSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.0%95.5%57.8% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.2%79.9%51.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.322.190.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.220.640.49 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.0%-98.3%-62.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.7%-33.7%-12.5% -1.6%
52-week high $15.16$14.39$22.02 $779.14
52-week low $7.17$2.82$10.56 $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.

MultipleMAXAPPSQNST
P/E now vs peer median 7.4xmedian 18.2x -32.9xmedian 18.2x 13.6xmedian 18.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 1.5x 1.9xmedian 1.5x 0.8xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 15.3x 10.4xmedian 15.3x 17.0xmedian 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 12.2x 54.4xmedian 12.2x 8.5xmedian 12.2x
P/B now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 1.8x 6.1xmedian 1.8x 3.4xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.16median 0.38 0.51median 0.38 0.30median 0.38

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 monthsMAXAPPSQNST
Revenue $1.29B $600.31M $1.29B
Gross profit $192.01M $343.76M $145.81M
Operating income $93.48M $61.76M $35.43M
Net income $119.17M -$34.96M $81.24M
Free cash flow $54.20M $21.19M $127.91M
R&D $23.04M $40.92M $37.30M
EPS (diluted) $1.72 $-0.29 $1.40
Cash & equivalents $18.68M $43.21M $128.32M
Total debt $174.92M $352.86M $70.00M
Shares (diluted) 62.83M 120.67M 58.16M
Enterprise value $646.15M $992.86M $649.47M

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
MetricMAXAPPSQNST
P/E 7.4x -32.9x 13.6x
P/FCF 14.6x 54.4x 8.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.4x 22.7x 8.3x
P/S 0.6x 1.9x 0.8x
P/B 15.5x 6.1x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 16.1x -64.5x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 9.9x 10.4x 17.0x
EV/EBIT 10.2x 23.7x 29.1x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 2.4x 0.8x
EV/FCF 17.5x 69.0x 8.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.2x 28.8x 7.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.16 0.51 0.30

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMAXAPPSQNST
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.2% 19.2% 18.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 48.5% -1.3% 30.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.8% 29.3% 31.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 43.8% 1.1% 44.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 417.7% 244.8% 472.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 58.6% 53.7% 54.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 154,671% 56.9% 1,626%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 51.3% -75.9% 47.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 8,620% 61.9% 1,630%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 47.7% -65.1% 45.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -37.0% 131.0% 54.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 88.4% -13.3% 123.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -37.9% 396.8% 54.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 87.7% -26.5% 144.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMAXAPPSQNST
Gross margin 14.8% 57.3% 11.3%
EBITDA margin 7.4% 23.5% 4.7%
Operating margin 7.2% 10.3% 2.7%
Pretax margin 0.7% -4.0% 2.4%
Net margin 8.4% -5.8% 6.3%
FCF margin 4.2% 3.5% 9.9%
Operating cash flow margin 4.3% 8.5% 10.1%
Return on equity 513.9% -17.9% 25.6%
Return on assets 32.6% -4.1% 11.4%
Return on invested capital 47.0% 11.2% 9.2%
Return on capital employed 42.4% 10.9% 7.8%
Asset turnover 3.5x 0.7x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x -1.5x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 2.4% 2.1% 2.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMAXAPPSQNST
Debt / assets 47.0% 41.8% 9.7%
Debt / equity 3.4x 1.9x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 2.2x -1.0x
Debt / FCF 3.2x 16.6x 0.5x
Liabilities / assets 86.2% 77.4% 55.2%
Equity / assets 13.8% 22.6% 44.8%
Interest coverage 8.8x – 8.1x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.2x 1.2x
Quick ratio 1.3x 1.5x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 4.42 0.89 3.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMAXAPPSQNST
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -0.2% -5.0% 2.9%
Shareholder yield -0.2% -5.0% 2.9%
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.

ConsensusMAXAPPSQNST
Forward P/E 11.3xFY2026 12.9xFY2026 11.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $1.33FY2026 $0.74FY2026 $1.70FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +241.0%FY2026 +32.1%FY2026 +33.9%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -7.5% +32.4% +3.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.26BFY2026 $690.88MFY2026 $1.46BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +22.2%FY2026 +13.4%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +17.4% +3.6% +14.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMAXAPPSQNST
Held by institutions 91.9% 64.5% 92.6%
Institutions holding 156 211 215
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +7.1% +0.0%
Institutions buying 70 128 114
Institutions selling 66 62 69
Buyers to sellers 1.06 2.06 1.65

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.

MAXAPPSQNST
MAX 1.00 0.22 0.61
APPS 0.22 1.00 0.14
QNST 0.61 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MAX, APPS and QNST?

Digital Turbine (APPS) is the largest by market capitalisation: MediaAlpha (MAX) $793.07M, Digital Turbine (APPS) $1.15B, Quinstreet (QNST) $1.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, MAX, APPS and QNST?

MediaAlpha (MAX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (MediaAlpha (MAX) 7.4x, Digital Turbine (APPS) -32.9x, Quinstreet (QNST) 13.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, MediaAlpha (MAX) is cheapest (MediaAlpha (MAX) 11.3x, Digital Turbine (APPS) 12.9x, Quinstreet (QNST) 11.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Digital Turbine (APPS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: MediaAlpha (MAX) +15.2%, Digital Turbine (APPS) +19.2%, Quinstreet (QNST) +18.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

MediaAlpha (MAX) has the highest net margin (MediaAlpha (MAX) 8.4%, Digital Turbine (APPS) -5.8%, Quinstreet (QNST) 6.3%). On return on invested capital, MediaAlpha (MAX) leads (MediaAlpha (MAX) 47.0%, Digital Turbine (APPS) 11.2%, Quinstreet (QNST) 9.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Digital Turbine (APPS) returned the most: MediaAlpha (MAX) +12.8%, Digital Turbine (APPS) +61.1%, Quinstreet (QNST) +28.1%. Over five years, Quinstreet (QNST) compounded fastest (MediaAlpha (MAX) -1.8%/yr, Digital Turbine (APPS) -33.0%/yr, Quinstreet (QNST) +4.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, MediaAlpha (MAX) has been the steadiest (MediaAlpha (MAX) 57.0%, Digital Turbine (APPS) 95.5%, Quinstreet (QNST) 57.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MAX, APPS and QNST?

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