SCHL vs ZD vs TDAY Stock Comparison

Scholastic, Ziff Davis and Usa Today Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SCHL Scholastic Corp
$38.84 +15.7% 1M +34.5% 1Y
Market cap
$740.69M
P/E
13.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.57B
Div. yield
0.03%
Publishing Communication Services
1 win
ZD Ziff Davis, Inc.
$55.37 -0.6% 1M +62.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.03B
P/E
3.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.32B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
9 wins
TDAY USA TODAY Co., Inc.
$6.38 +0.3% 1M +56.8% 1Y
Market cap
$920.05M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.23B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ziff Davis leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Ziff Davis 9, Usa Today 1, Scholastic 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSCHLZDTDAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $740.69M $2.03B $920.05M ZD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.1x 3.2x -22.8x ZD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.2x 10.2x 22.8x ZD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -2.5% -0.7% -6.7% ZD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.6% 48.6% -1.8% ZD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.2% 2.6% 0.0% ZD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -2.6x 1.6x ZD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.5% +62.8% +56.8% ZD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.4%/yr -15.5%/yr +1.9%/yr TDAY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.3% 55.7% 48.3% SCHL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 88/100 45/100 ZD

Percentile Scorecard

SCHLZDTDAY

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

AxisSCHLZDTDAY
Valuation 56 #24 of 53 98 #2 of 53 83 #10 of 53
Growth 33 #30 of 44 86 #7 of 44 37 #28 of 44
Profitability 51 #21 of 42 68 #14 of 42 59 #18 of 42
Financial Health 67 #21 of 61 88 #8 of 61 38 #38 of 61
Shareholder Returns 64 #10 of 26 100 #1 of 26 8 #24 of 26
Overall 54 88 45
  • SCHL ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • ZD ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • TDAY ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSCHLZDTDAYSPY
1 month +15.7%-0.6%+0.3% +0.9%
3 months -5.3%+2.0%-27.6% +5.9%
6 months -3.5%+18.4%-12.4% +8.5%
Year to date +31.1%+57.5%+23.9% +13.3%
1 year +34.5%+62.8%+56.8% +12.4%
3 years +4.4%-5.0%+183.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +1.4%-1.7%+41.6% +23.5%
5 years +7.3%-56.8%+10.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year +1.4%-15.5%+1.9% +11.0%
10 years +2.2%-10.2%-55.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +0.2%-1.1%-7.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureSCHLZDTDAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.3%55.7%48.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.3%40.6%40.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.310.630.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.981.131.18 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -66.7%-80.1%-79.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.0%-6.4%-29.5% -0.9%
52-week high $47.34$59.13$9.05 $779.14
52-week low $27.00$26.51$4.07 $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.

MultipleSCHLZDTDAY
P/E now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 18.7x 3.1xmedian 18.7x -23.2xmedian 18.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 0.6x 1.5xmedian 0.6x 0.4xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 10.6x 4.2xmedian 10.6x 3.9xmedian 10.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -47.5xmedian 8.9x 6.1xmedian 8.9x 15.2xmedian 8.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x 6.1xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.72median 0.49 0.03median 0.49 3.30median 0.49

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 monthsSCHLZDTDAY
Revenue $1.57B $1.32B $2.23B
Gross profit $888.70M $1.12B $880.46M
Operating income $15.20M $72.68M $252.85M
Net income $56.60M $643.49M -$40.28M
Free cash flow -$14.40M $316.73M $61.59M
R&D – $57.65M –
EPS (diluted) $2.99 $17.69 $-0.21
Cash & equivalents $106.80M $1.61B $86.66M
Total debt $184.80M $867.64M $710.15M
Shares (diluted) 18.90M 36.38M 193.95M
Enterprise value $295.09M -$1.17B $582.76M

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
MetricSCHLZDTDAY
P/E 13.0x 3.1x -23.2x
P/FCF -47.5x 6.1x 15.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.9x 4.3x 8.3x
P/S 0.4x 1.5x 0.4x
P/B 1.0x 0.9x 6.1x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 1.0x -6.1x
EV/EBITDA 7.8x 4.2x 3.9x
EV/EBIT 50.1x 16.5x 6.2x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 0.9x 0.7x
EV/FCF -52.9x 3.8x 25.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.0x 2.7x 13.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.72 0.03 3.30

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSCHLZDTDAY
Revenue growth (1Y) -2.5% -0.7% -6.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.0% -1.2% -7.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.2% -2.1% -4.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.3% -1.8% -4.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 25.6% -6.2% 329.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -38.5% -27.1% 122.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 639.0% 873.6% -134.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -0.6% 89.4% -19.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 818.7% 1,055% -135.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.0% 106.0% -7.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -54.8% 31.1% 14.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% 14.5% 7.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -134.2% 35.9% 42.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -28.8% 18.3% 4.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSCHLZDTDAY
Gross margin 56.5% 84.9% 39.5%
EBITDA margin 6.2% 21.5% 17.7%
Operating margin 1.0% 5.5% 11.3%
Pretax margin 5.6% -1.9% 3.0%
Net margin 3.6% 48.6% -1.8%
FCF margin -0.9% 23.9% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 2.4% 33.8% 5.1%
Return on equity 8.0% 33.5% -27.3%
Return on assets 3.3% 17.9% -2.2%
Return on invested capital 1.2% 2.6% 0.0%
Return on capital employed 1.3% 2.7% 19.5%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.4x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x 0.7x -2.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 3.6% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSCHLZDTDAY
Debt / assets 10.7% 21.7% 39.7%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.4x 4.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -2.6x 1.6x
Debt / FCF -12.8x 2.7x 11.5x
Liabilities / assets 61.9% 44.0% 91.4%
Equity / assets 38.1% 56.0% 8.6%
Interest coverage – – 2.8x
Current ratio 1.3x 2.2x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 2.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.7x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.21 2.04 1.19

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSCHLZDTDAY
Dividend yield 2.2% – –
Net buyback yield 38.8% 14.2% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 41.0% 14.2% 0.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 32.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -129.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -15.8% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -11.7% – –

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.

ConsensusSCHLZDTDAY
Forward P/E 29.2xFY2026 10.2xFY2026 22.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.33FY2026 $5.44FY2026 $0.28FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -28.9%FY2026 -17.9%FY2026 +366.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +78.2% +4.0% +3.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.66BFY2026 $1.15BFY2026 $2.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.1%FY2026 -20.6%FY2026 -9.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.8% +0.6% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSCHLZDTDAY
Held by institutions 73.2% 100.0% 95.2%
Institutions holding 226 267 222
Change in shares held, QoQ -8.2% -2.6% +0.2%
Institutions buying 109 116 108
Institutions selling 89 106 60
Buyers to sellers 1.22 1.09 1.80

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.

SCHLZDTDAY
SCHL 1.00 0.16 0.19
ZD 0.16 1.00 0.15
TDAY 0.19 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SCHL, ZD and TDAY?

Ziff Davis (ZD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Scholastic (SCHL) $740.69M, Ziff Davis (ZD) $2.03B, Usa Today (TDAY) $920.05M.

Which stock is cheaper, SCHL, ZD and TDAY?

Ziff Davis (ZD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Scholastic (SCHL) 13.1x, Ziff Davis (ZD) 3.2x, Usa Today (TDAY) -22.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ziff Davis (ZD) is cheapest (Scholastic (SCHL) 29.2x, Ziff Davis (ZD) 10.2x, Usa Today (TDAY) 22.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ziff Davis (ZD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Scholastic (SCHL) -2.5%, Ziff Davis (ZD) -0.7%, Usa Today (TDAY) -6.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ziff Davis (ZD) has the highest net margin (Scholastic (SCHL) 3.6%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 48.6%, Usa Today (TDAY) -1.8%). On return on invested capital, Ziff Davis (ZD) leads (Scholastic (SCHL) 1.2%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 2.6%, Usa Today (TDAY) 0.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ziff Davis (ZD) returned the most: Scholastic (SCHL) +34.5%, Ziff Davis (ZD) +62.8%, Usa Today (TDAY) +56.8%. Over five years, Usa Today (TDAY) compounded fastest (Scholastic (SCHL) +1.4%/yr, Ziff Davis (ZD) -15.5%/yr, Usa Today (TDAY) +1.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Scholastic (SCHL) 0.03%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 0.00%, Usa Today (TDAY) 0.00%. Ziff Davis (ZD) and Usa Today (TDAY) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Scholastic (SCHL) has been the steadiest (Scholastic (SCHL) 35.3%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 55.7%, Usa Today (TDAY) 48.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SCHL, ZD and TDAY?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ziff Davis (ZD) leads on 9. 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.