MGNI vs QNST vs MAX Stock Comparison

Magnite, Quinstreet and MediaAlpha Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MGNI Magnite, Inc.
$22.79 -8.7% 1M +36.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.99B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$766.75M
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
3 wins
QNST Quinstreet, Inc
$19.26 +28.5% 1M +28.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.16B
P/E
14.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
4 wins
MAX MediaAlpha, Inc.
$15.06 +56.1% 1M +12.8% 1Y
Market cap
$767.09M
P/E
7.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.29B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

MediaAlpha leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (MediaAlpha 4, Quinstreet 4, Magnite 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMGNIQNSTMAXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.99B $1.16B $767.09M MGNI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.1x 14.3x 7.1x MAX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.5x 11.3x 11.3x MAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +18.3% +15.2% QNST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.6% 6.3% 8.4% MGNI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.9% 9.2% 47.0% MAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.2x -1.0x 1.6x QNST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.2% +28.1% +12.8% MGNI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.1%/yr +4.9%/yr -1.8%/yr QNST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.3% 57.8% 57.0% MAX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 70/100 58/100 QNST

Percentile Scorecard

MGNIQNSTMAX

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

AxisMGNIQNSTMAX
Valuation 53 #78 of 166 76 #41 of 166 67 #55 of 166
Growth 80 #31 of 154 99 #2 of 154 93 #12 of 154
Profitability 78 #35 of 154 63 #57 of 154 70 #47 of 154
Financial Health 48 #93 of 179 60 #73 of 179 32 #123 of 179
Shareholder Returns 46 #53 of 97 51 #48 of 97 26 #72 of 97
Overall 61 70 58
  • MGNI ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • QNST ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • MAX ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMGNIQNSTMAXSPY
1 month -8.7%+28.5%+56.1% -1.0%
3 months +10.3%+24.5%+22.3% -0.4%
6 months +70.2%+47.9%+67.9% +4.5%
Year to date +40.4%+34.0%+16.3% +12.4%
1 year +36.2%+28.1%+12.8% +13.6%
3 years +208.0%+74.9%+54.1% +76.4%
3 years, per year +45.5%+20.5%+15.5% +20.8%
5 years +0.6%+26.9%-8.5% +63.7%
5 years, per year +0.1%+4.9%-1.8% +10.4%
10 years +257.8%+542.0%— +267.7%
10 years, per year +13.6%+20.4%— +13.9%

Risk

MeasureMGNIQNSTMAXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.3%57.8%57.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 58.5%51.4%55.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.010.770.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.630.490.22 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.0%-62.8%-71.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.2%-12.5%-0.7% -1.6%
52-week high $25.67$22.02$15.16 $779.14
52-week low $11.20$10.56$7.17 $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.

MultipleMGNIQNSTMAX
P/E now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 18.2x 13.6xmedian 18.2x 7.4xmedian 18.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 1.5x 0.8xmedian 1.5x 0.6xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 15.3x 17.0xmedian 15.3x 9.9xmedian 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 12.2x 8.5xmedian 12.2x 14.6xmedian 12.2x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 1.8x 3.4xmedian 1.8x 15.5xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.46median 0.38 0.30median 0.38 0.16median 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 monthsMGNIQNSTMAX
Revenue $766.75M $1.29B $1.29B
Gross profit $510.77M $145.81M $192.01M
Operating income $141.45M $35.43M $93.48M
Net income $180.84M $81.24M $119.17M
Free cash flow $240.36M $127.91M $54.20M
R&D $91.31M $37.30M $23.04M
EPS (diluted) $1.20 $1.40 $1.72
Cash & equivalents $392.86M $128.32M $18.68M
Total debt $349.95M $70.00M $174.92M
Shares (diluted) 150.81M 58.16M 62.83M
Enterprise value $2.53B $726.08M $651.74M

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
MetricMGNIQNSTMAX
P/E 18.1x 13.6x 7.4x
P/FCF 13.6x 8.5x 14.6x
P/Operating cash flow 11.0x 8.3x 14.4x
P/S 4.3x 0.8x 0.6x
P/B 3.4x 3.4x 15.5x
P/Tangible book 3.4x 4.2x 16.1x
EV/EBITDA 16.1x 17.0x 9.9x
EV/EBIT 22.8x 29.1x 10.2x
EV/Revenue 4.2x 0.8x 0.7x
EV/FCF 13.4x 8.1x 17.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.9x 7.8x 17.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.46 0.30 0.16

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMGNIQNSTMAX
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 18.3% 15.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 30.6% 48.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.7% 31.5% 11.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 48.1% 44.3% 43.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 64.8% 472.0% 417.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 38.3% 54.7% 58.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 211.9% 1,626% 154,671%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 47.0% 51.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 216.8% 1,630% 8,620%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 39.7% 45.7% 47.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 33.6% 54.5% -37.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 123.0% 88.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 38.5% 54.3% -37.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 144.3% 87.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMGNIQNSTMAX
Gross margin 66.6% 11.3% 14.8%
EBITDA margin 26.2% 4.7% 7.4%
Operating margin 18.4% 2.7% 7.2%
Pretax margin 16.0% 2.4% 0.7%
Net margin 23.6% 6.3% 8.4%
FCF margin 31.3% 9.9% 4.2%
Operating cash flow margin 38.8% 10.1% 4.3%
Return on equity 19.1% 25.6% 513.9%
Return on assets 5.9% 11.4% 32.6%
Return on invested capital 10.9% 9.2% 47.0%
Return on capital employed 10.9% 7.8% 42.4%
Asset turnover 0.2x 1.8x 3.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.6x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 9.6% 2.9% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMGNIQNSTMAX
Debt / assets 11.2% 9.7% 47.0%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.2x 3.4x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.2x -1.0x 1.6x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 0.5x 3.2x
Liabilities / assets 69.3% 55.2% 86.2%
Equity / assets 30.7% 44.8% 13.8%
Interest coverage 7.2x 8.1x 8.8x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.2x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.2x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.12 3.60 4.42

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMGNIQNSTMAX
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.1% 2.9% -0.2%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 2.9% -0.2%
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.

ConsensusMGNIQNSTMAX
Forward P/E 20.5xFY2026 11.3xFY2027 11.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.11FY2026 $1.70FY2027 $1.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +27.6%FY2026 +33.9%FY2027 +241.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.7% +3.5% -7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $743.97MFY2026 $1.46BFY2027 $1.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.1%FY2026 +13.4%FY2027 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.5% +14.6% +17.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMGNIQNSTMAX
Held by institutions 98.6% 92.6% 91.9%
Institutions holding 311 215 156
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.0% +0.0% -0.3%
Institutions buying 170 114 70
Institutions selling 91 69 66
Buyers to sellers 1.87 1.65 1.06

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.

MGNIQNSTMAX
MGNI 1.00 0.36 0.33
QNST 0.36 1.00 0.60
MAX 0.33 0.60 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MGNI, QNST and MAX?

Magnite (MGNI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Magnite (MGNI) $3.99B, Quinstreet (QNST) $1.16B, MediaAlpha (MAX) $767.09M.

Which stock is cheaper, MGNI, QNST and MAX?

MediaAlpha (MAX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Magnite (MGNI) 22.1x, Quinstreet (QNST) 14.3x, MediaAlpha (MAX) 7.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, MediaAlpha (MAX) is cheapest (Magnite (MGNI) 20.5x, Quinstreet (QNST) 11.3x, MediaAlpha (MAX) 11.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Quinstreet (QNST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Magnite (MGNI) +9.1%, Quinstreet (QNST) +18.3%, MediaAlpha (MAX) +15.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Magnite (MGNI) has the highest net margin (Magnite (MGNI) 23.6%, Quinstreet (QNST) 6.3%, MediaAlpha (MAX) 8.4%). On return on invested capital, MediaAlpha (MAX) leads (Magnite (MGNI) 10.9%, Quinstreet (QNST) 9.2%, MediaAlpha (MAX) 47.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Magnite (MGNI) returned the most: Magnite (MGNI) +36.2%, Quinstreet (QNST) +28.1%, MediaAlpha (MAX) +12.8%. Over five years, Quinstreet (QNST) compounded fastest (Magnite (MGNI) +0.1%/yr, Quinstreet (QNST) +4.9%/yr, MediaAlpha (MAX) -1.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, MediaAlpha (MAX) has been the steadiest (Magnite (MGNI) 57.3%, Quinstreet (QNST) 57.8%, MediaAlpha (MAX) 57.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 4. 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.