Critical Analysis: CISO Global (NASDAQ:CISO) vs. Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) and CISO Global (NASDAQ:CISO) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Exponent and CISO Global, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exponent	0	0	1	0	3.00
CISO Global	0	0	1	0	3.00

Exponent presently has a consensus price target of $120.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.64%. Given Exponent’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Exponent is more favorable than CISO Global.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.4% of Exponent shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.1% of CISO Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Exponent shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 42.8% of CISO Global shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Exponent and CISO Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exponent	19.52%	27.73%	15.59%
CISO Global	-54.91%	-359.31%	-76.63%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Exponent and CISO Global”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exponent	$536.77 million	9.48	$100.34 million	$2.07	48.45
CISO Global	$57.06 million	0.26	-$80.23 million	N/A	N/A

Exponent has higher revenue and earnings than CISO Global.

Volatility and Risk

Exponent has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CISO Global has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Exponent beats CISO Global on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering. The Environmental and Health segment offers services in the areas of chemical regulation and food safety, ecological and biological sciences, environmental and earth sciences, and health sciences. The company offers approximately 90 technical disciplines to solve pressing and complicated challenges facing stakeholders. It serves clients in chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, food, beverage and nutrition, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, technology, industrial equipment, transportation, and other sectors of the economy. The company was formerly known as The Failure Group, Inc. and changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

About CISO Global

CISO Global Inc. operates as a cybersecurity and compliance company in the United States, Chile, and internationally. The company offers security managed services, including compliance, secured managed, and cyber defense operation services; culture education and enablement; tools and technology provisioning; data, privacy, regulations, and compliance monitoring; remote infrastructure administration; and antivirus and patch management services. It also provides cybersecurity professional services, such as incident response and digital forensics; security testing and training; cybersecurity consulting; compliance auditing; vulnerability assessment and penetration testing; and disaster recovery and data backup solutions. The company was formerly known as Cerberus Cyber Sentinel Corporation and changed its name to CISO Global Inc. in May 2023. CISO Global Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.