SPOT vs BABA vs CAST Stock Comparison

Spotify Technology, Alibaba Group Holding and FreeCast Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
4 wins
CAST FreeCast, Inc.
$1.04 -12.6% 1M
Market cap
$45.65M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$729.33K
Div. yield
–
Streaming Technology

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Spotify Technology leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Spotify Technology 5, Alibaba Group Holding 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSPOTBABACASTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $114.24B $232.68B $45.65M BABA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.2x 22.1x -3.4x BABA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 45.5x 14.3x — BABA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.0% +8.1% — SPOT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.7% 7.0% -1,832.2% SPOT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 2.4% — –
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 -11.4% -42.6% — SPOT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.9%/yr -9.9%/yr — SPOT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.4% 40.4% 281.9% BABA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 46/100 10/100 SPOT

Percentile Scorecard

SPOTBABACAST

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

AxisSPOTBABACAST
Valuation 30 #117 of 167 70 #51 of 167 1 #165 of 167
Growth 96 #7 of 153 17 #127 of 153 –
Profitability 83 #27 of 153 53 #72 of 153 6 #144 of 153
Financial Health 84 #30 of 179 59 #74 of 179 26 #133 of 179
Shareholder Returns 16 #79 of 94 30 #66 of 94 5 #89 of 94
Overall 62 46 10
  • SPOT ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • BABA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • CAST ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSPOTBABACASTSPY
1 month +12.3%-8.7%-12.6% -0.8%
3 months +15.7%-12.8%-45.0% +3.5%
6 months +15.4%-24.3%-64.0% +7.0%
Year to date -1.5%-31.6%— +12.2%
1 year -11.4%-42.6%— +13.0%
3 years +259.0%+21.1%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +53.2%+6.6%— +23.1%
5 years +109.5%-40.8%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +15.9%-9.9%— +11.0%
10 years —-2.5%— +258.0%
10 years, per year —-0.2%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSPOTBABACASTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.4%40.4%281.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.4%36.0%206.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.301.113.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.25-1.06— 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.4%-62.9%-93.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.1%-44.3%-89.4% -1.8%
52-week high $665.67$179.97$9.84 $779.14
52-week low $412.75$94.81$0.59 $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.

MultipleSPOTBABACAST
P/E now vs peer median 34.2xmedian 17.5x 22.1xmedian 17.5x -3.1xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 1.4x 66.9xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 32.1xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x -3.4xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.9xmedian 12.1x 7.0xmedian 12.1x -4.7xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 1.7x 1.4xmedian 1.7x 21.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.41median 0.41 -15.35median 0.41 —median 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 monthsSPOTBABACAST
Revenue $21.85B $150.46B $729.33K
Gross profit $7.24B $57.45B $577.20K
Operating income $3.19B $4.39B -$12.92M
Net income $3.44B $10.08B -$13.36M
Free cash flow $3.69B $33.19B -$10.49M
R&D $1.67B $10.68B –
EPS (diluted) $16.34 $4.38 $-0.34
Cash & equivalents $6.84B $21.06B $8.92M
Total debt – $83.76B $10.11M
Shares (diluted) 210.51M 2.40B 39.52M
Enterprise value $71.16B $46.32B $35.63M

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
MetricSPOTBABACAST
P/E 34.2x 22.1x -3.1x
P/FCF 31.9x 7.0x -4.7x
P/Operating cash flow 31.2x 20.6x -4.7x
P/S 5.4x 1.5x 66.9x
P/B 11.9x 1.4x 21.7x
P/Tangible book 11.9x 1.5x 21.7x
EV/EBITDA 32.1x – -3.4x
EV/EBIT 33.4x 48.0x -3.4x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 1.4x 59.7x
EV/FCF 28.8x 6.3x -4.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.2x 18.6x -4.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.41 -15.35 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSPOTBABACAST
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.0% 8.1% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 17.1% 5.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 22.0% 0.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 28.2% 6.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 45.9% -77.5% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 91.3% -35.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) 117.4% -50.0% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 86.0% -3.6% –
EPS growth (1Y) 113.8% -47.9% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 82.8% -1.4% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.0% -45.8% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 152.0% -27.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.1% -8.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 166.5% -0.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSPOTBABACAST
Gross margin 33.1% 38.2% 79.1%
EBITDA margin 15.2% – -1,769%
Operating margin 14.6% 2.9% -1,772%
Pretax margin 18.0% 9.7% -1,834%
Net margin 15.7% 7.0% -1,832%
FCF margin 16.9% 22.1% -1,438%
Operating cash flow margin 17.3% 7.5% -1,435%
Return on equity 35.3% 6.2% –
Return on assets 21.5% 3.6% -243.0%
Return on invested capital – 2.4% –
Return on capital employed 20.0% 2.1% –
Asset turnover 1.4x 0.5x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.1x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 1.1% 157.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSPOTBABACAST
Debt / assets – 7.5% 37.2%
Debt / equity – 0.1x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 0.4x
Debt / FCF – 0.6x -0.4x
Liabilities / assets 38.9% 43.6% 77.2%
Equity / assets 61.1% 56.4% 22.8%
Interest coverage 3.0x 3.2x –
Current ratio – 1.4x 1.3x
Quick ratio 223.0x 0.6x 1.2x
Cash ratio 206.0x 0.6x 1.2x
Altman Z-score – 2.30 -31.31

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSPOTBABACAST
Dividend yield – 1.0% –
Net buyback yield -0.6% – -19.9%
Shareholder yield -0.6% 1.0% -19.9%
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.

ConsensusSPOTBABACAST
Forward P/E 45.5xFY2026 14.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $12.58FY2026 $7.02FY2026 $-0.22FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +1.9%FY2026 +80.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +39.4% +22.8% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $20.91BFY2026 $174.00BFY2026 $2.82MFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +3.6%FY2026 +17.3%FY2026 +296.6%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +27.7% +14.7% +1,697.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSPOTBABACAST
Held by institutions 65.9% 10.1% –
Institutions holding 1,235 1,218 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% -5.4% –
Institutions buying 615 555 –
Institutions selling 480 421 –
Buyers to sellers 1.28 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.

SPOTBABACAST
SPOT 1.00 0.10 -0.04
BABA 0.10 1.00 0.06
CAST -0.04 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SPOT, BABA and CAST?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Spotify Technology (SPOT) $114.24B, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) $232.68B, FreeCast (CAST) $45.65M.

Which stock is cheaper, SPOT, BABA and CAST?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Spotify Technology (SPOT) 33.2x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 22.1x, FreeCast (CAST) -3.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is cheapest (Spotify Technology (SPOT) 45.5x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 14.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Spotify Technology (SPOT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Spotify Technology (SPOT) +17.0%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Spotify Technology (SPOT) has the highest net margin (Spotify Technology (SPOT) 15.7%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 7.0%, FreeCast (CAST) -1,832.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Spotify Technology (SPOT) returned the most: Spotify Technology (SPOT) -11.4%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -42.6%. Over five years, Spotify Technology (SPOT) compounded fastest (Spotify Technology (SPOT) +15.9%/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 (Spotify Technology (SPOT) 46.4%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 40.4%, FreeCast (CAST) 281.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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