Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST) and Zevia PBC (NYSE:ZVIA) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation. \n\nInstitutional and Insider Ownership\n45.1% of Westrock Coffee shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.2% of Zevia PBC shares are held by institutional investors. 42.1% of Westrock Coffee shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of Zevia PBC shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.\n\nRisk & Volatility\nWestrock Coffee has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zevia PBC has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. \n\nEarnings and Valuation\nThis table compares Westrock Coffee and Zevia PBC’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. \n\nWestrock Coffee\nGross Revenue: $850.73 million\nPrice/Sales Ratio: 0.75\nNet Income: -$80.30 million\nEarnings Per Share: ($0.91)\nPrice/Earnings Ratio: -7.41\n\nZevia PBC\nGross Revenue: $155.05 million\nPrice/Sales Ratio: 1.52\nNet Income: -$20.00 million\nEarnings Per Share: ($0.31)\nPrice/Earnings Ratio: -10.26\n\nZevia PBC has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Westrock Coffee. Zevia PBC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westrock Coffee, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. \n\nProfitability\nThis table compares Westrock Coffee and Zevia PBC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.\n\nWestrock Coffee\nNet Margins: -9.61%\nReturn on Equity: -41.92%\nReturn on Assets: -3.46%\n\nZevia PBC\nNet Margins: -12.58%\nReturn on Equity: -35.52%\nReturn on Assets: -23.13%\n\nAnalyst Recommendations\nThis is a breakdown of recent ratings for Westrock Coffee and Zevia PBC, as reported by MarketBeat. \n\nWestrock Coffee\nSell Ratings: 0\nHold Ratings: 0\nBuy Ratings: 5\nStrong Buy Ratings: 0\nRating Score: 3.00\n\nZevia PBC\nSell Ratings: 0\nHold Ratings: 2\nBuy Ratings: 0\nStrong Buy Ratings: 0\nRating Score: 2.00\n\nWestrock Coffee presently has a consensus target price of $10.40, indicating a potential upside of 54.30%. Zevia PBC has a consensus target price of $3.38, indicating a potential upside of 6.13%. Given Westrock Coffee’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Westrock Coffee is more favorable than Zevia PBC.\n\nSummary\nWestrock Coffee beats Zevia PBC on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.\n\nAbout Westrock Coffee\nWestrock Coffee Company, LLC operates as an integrated coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredients solutions provider in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Beverage Solutions, and Sustainable Sourcing & Traceability (SS&T). The Beverage Solutions segment provides various packaging, including branded and private label coffee in bags, fractional packs, and single serve cups, as well as extract solutions for applications in cold brew and ready-to-drink offerings. The SS&T segment engages in delivery and settlement of forward sales contracts for green coffee. The company offers coffee sourcing, supply chain management, product development, roasting, packaging, and distribution services to the retail, food service and restaurant, convenience store and travel center, non-commercial account, CPG, and hospitality industries. Westrock Coffee Company, LLC was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.\n\nAbout Zevia PBC\nZevia PBC, a beverage company, develops, markets, sells, and distributes various carbonated beverages in the United States and Canada. It offers soda, energy drinks, organic tea, and kidz drinks. The company offers its products through a network of food, drug, warehouse club, mass, natural, convenience, and e-commerce channels, as well as grocery distributors and natural product stores and specialty outlets. It provides its products under the Zevia brand name. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Encino, California.

Critical Review: Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST) vs. Zevia PBC (NYSE:ZVIA)

The article compares Westrock Coffee and Zevia PBC based on institutional ownership, risk metrics, financial performance, and analyst ratings. Westrock Coffee has higher institutional ownership (45.1%) and lower volatility (beta 0.51) compared to Zevia PBC (53.2% institutional ownership, beta 0.91). Westrock Coffee has higher revenue ($850.73M vs. $155.05M) but lower net income (-$80.30M vs. -$20.00M). Zevia PBC has a better price-to-earnings ratio (-10.26 vs. -7.41) and stronger analyst ratings (score 2.00 vs. 3.00). Westrock Coffee outperforms on 8 of 14 factors.