VALU vs ZD Stock Comparison

Value Line and Ziff Davis Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
VALU Value Line Inc
$42.25 +5.2% 1M +7.6% 1Y
Market cap
$402.40M
P/E
20.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$32.89M
Div. yield
0.03%
Publishing Communication Services
3 wins
ZD Ziff Davis, Inc.
$57.71 +2.1% 1M +53.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.07B
P/E
3.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.32B
Div. yield
–
Publishing Communication Services
5 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionVALUZDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $402.40M $2.07B ZD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.3x 3.2x ZD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 10.6x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -5.5% -0.7% ZD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 60.3% 48.6% VALU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 2.6% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -2.6x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.6% +53.1% ZD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.7%/yr -14.7%/yr VALU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.1% 56.1% VALU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 89/100 ZD

Percentile Scorecard

VALUZD

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

AxisVALUZD
Valuation 30 #38 of 54 94 #4 of 54
Growth 27 #33 of 45 91 #5 of 45
Profitability 76 #11 of 43 69 #14 of 43
Financial Health 93 #5 of 62 89 #8 of 62
Shareholder Returns 36 #17 of 26 100 #1 of 26
Overall 53 89
  • VALU ranked among 62 companies in Advertising and Media
  • ZD ranked among 62 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodVALUZDSPY
1 month +5.2%+2.1% -0.8%
3 months +11.9%+10.2% +3.5%
6 months +18.6%+19.7% +7.0%
Year to date +9.9%+64.2% +12.2%
1 year +7.6%+53.1% +13.0%
3 years +9.7%-1.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +3.1%-0.3% +23.1%
5 years +32.2%-54.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.7%-14.7% +11.0%
10 years +126.3%-6.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +8.5%-0.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureVALUZDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.1%56.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.3%41.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.090.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.220.95 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.3%-80.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.9%-2.4% -1.8%
52-week high $44.44$59.13 $779.14
52-week low $32.00$26.51 $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.

MultipleVALUZD
P/E now vs peer median 20.0xmedian 18.4x 3.3xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 0.6x 1.5xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 70.9xmedian 11.0x 4.5xmedian 11.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.4xmedian 9.1x 6.4xmedian 9.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.44 0.03median 0.44

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 monthsVALUZD
Revenue $32.89M $1.32B
Gross profit – $1.12B
Operating income $3.56M $72.68M
Net income $19.83M $643.49M
Free cash flow $17.73M $316.73M
R&D – $57.65M
EPS (diluted) – $17.69
Cash & equivalents $16.02M $1.61B
Total debt – $867.64M
Shares (diluted) – 36.38M
Enterprise value $149.70M -$1.13B

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
MetricVALUZD
P/E 20.0x 3.3x
P/FCF 22.4x 6.4x
P/Operating cash flow 22.4x 4.5x
P/S 12.1x 1.5x
P/B 3.6x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 70.9x 4.5x
EV/EBIT 96.4x 17.6x
EV/Revenue 10.4x 1.0x
EV/FCF 19.4x 4.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.4x 2.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVALUZD
Revenue growth (1Y) -5.5% -0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.9% -1.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -2.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -1.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -36.8% -6.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -32.7% -27.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -6.7% 873.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 89.4%
EPS growth (1Y) – 1,055%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 106.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -15.7% 31.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 14.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -15.0% 35.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 18.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVALUZD
Gross margin – 84.9%
EBITDA margin 14.7% 21.5%
Operating margin 10.8% 5.5%
Pretax margin 40.5% -1.9%
Net margin 60.3% 48.6%
FCF margin 53.9% 23.9%
Operating cash flow margin 53.9% 33.8%
Return on equity 5.5% 33.5%
Return on assets 3.9% 17.9%
Return on invested capital – 2.6%
Return on capital employed 2.7% 2.7%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue – 3.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVALUZD
Debt / assets – 21.7%
Debt / equity – 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – -2.6x
Debt / FCF – 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 28.5% 44.0%
Equity / assets 71.5% 56.0%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 4.1x 2.2x
Quick ratio 2.4x 2.1x
Cash ratio 2.4x 1.7x
Altman Z-score 7.43 2.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVALUZD
Dividend yield 4.0% –
Net buyback yield 0.2% 13.6%
Shareholder yield 4.3% 13.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 62.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 70.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.6% –

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.

ConsensusVALUZD
Forward P/E – 10.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $5.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -17.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +4.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $1.15BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – -20.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +0.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVALUZD
Held by institutions 5.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 53 267
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -2.6%
Institutions buying 16 116
Institutions selling 18 106
Buyers to sellers 0.89 1.09

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.

VALUZD
VALU 1.00 0.01
ZD 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VALU and ZD?

Ziff Davis (ZD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Value Line (VALU) $402.40M, Ziff Davis (ZD) $2.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, VALU and ZD?

Ziff Davis (ZD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Value Line (VALU) 20.3x, Ziff Davis (ZD) 3.2x). 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: Value Line (VALU) -5.5%, Ziff Davis (ZD) -0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Value Line (VALU) has the highest net margin (Value Line (VALU) 60.3%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 48.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ziff Davis (ZD) returned the most: Value Line (VALU) +7.6%, Ziff Davis (ZD) +53.1%. Over five years, Value Line (VALU) compounded fastest (Value Line (VALU) +5.7%/yr, Ziff Davis (ZD) -14.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Value Line (VALU) 0.03%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 0.00%. Ziff Davis (ZD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Value Line (VALU) has been the steadiest (Value Line (VALU) 35.1%, Ziff Davis (ZD) 56.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do VALU and ZD move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.01, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, VALU and ZD?

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 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.