MAX
MediaAlpha, Inc.
MAX has a slight edge over META overall, supported by stronger fundamentals.
META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
META has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
MAX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
MAX's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is under pressure.
META Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
META's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
MAX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.1x | $14.77 | -0.3% |
| Current | 8.1x | $14.81 | — |
| Forward | 13x | $14.81 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $46.73 | +216% |
| Expensive | 64x | $116 | +685% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MAX has the edge over META in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
META PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $624 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $613 | -1.7% |
| Current | 21x | $624 | — |
| Fair | 27x | $803 | +29% |
| Expensive | 32x | $934 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
META's PE is in its cheap range at 21x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
MAX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MAX, with profitability holding steady.
META Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for META, but weaker profitability. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
MAX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.17 | -36% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.82 | +$1.84 |
| Q2 2026 | $1.62 | +$1.73 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.64 | +121% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.39 | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.02 | -112% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.11 | +$0.18 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.29 | +$0.97 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.31 | +$1.20 |
MAX has the edge over META on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
META Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $32.16 | +9.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $29.32 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $26.54 | -3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $27.50 | +7.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.49 | -1.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $22.58 | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $27.56 | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $25.58 | +47% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.86 | +60% |
META earned $29.32 per share over the past year, up 30% from the year before.
MAX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $375.9M | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $316.9M | +26% |
| Q1 2026 | $310M | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $291.2M | -3.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $306.5M | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $251.6M | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $264.3M | +109% |
| Q4 2024 | $300.6M | +157% |
MAX's revenue is growing: $376M last quarter, up 23% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.7% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.3% | +14 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.2% | +7.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.7% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.4% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | -8% | -12 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.1% | +5.7 points |
MAX's operating margin was 7.7% last quarter, up 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
META Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.6B | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.8B | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $56.3B | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $59.9B | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $51.2B | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $47.5B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $42.3B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.4B | +21% |
META has the edge over MAX on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | -20 points |
| Q2 2026 | 31% | -12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 41% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | -7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 40% | -2.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 43% | +5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 41% | +3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 48% | +7.4 points |
META has the edge over MAX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MAX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $21.5M | -8.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $41.8M | +64% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.6M | -107% |
| Q4 2025 | -$7.5M | -152% |
| Q3 2025 | $23.6M | +194% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.5M | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $23.6M | +1338% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.5M | +174% |
MAX has the edge over META on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
META Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.2B | -110% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.2B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.8B | +9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.2B | -32% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.1B | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.6B | +16% |
META usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$1.2B, but it generated $28.6B over the past year.
MAX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +759K shares |
| 1 year | +11% | +6.2M shares |
| 3 years | +36% | +16.6M shares |
| 5 years | +2.7% | +1.6M shares |
MAX has 63M diluted shares, up 11% from a year ago, despite $64M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $20.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $20.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $14.4M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | $1.6M |
MAX spent $64M buying back its own shares over the past year.
META Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +7M shares |
| 1 year | 0% | +1M shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -68M shares |
| 5 years | -10% | -286M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -303M shares |
META has the edge over MAX on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $3.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $10.2B |
| Q1 2025 | $12.8B |
| Q4 2024 | — |
META hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
MAX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 5.2x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.4x | Moderate |
MAX's net debt is about 1.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 5.2 years a year ago.
META Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
META has the edge over MAX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MAX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 85.1 | Overbought |
MAX's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 85 (overbought).
META Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.7 | Neutral |
META's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
MAX PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | MAX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 8.1x | 16x | 51% below |
| PE % | 18 | 27 | 9 pts below |
MAX has the edge over META on valuation relative to its sector.
META PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | META | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 16x | 29% above |
| PE % | 18 | 26 | 8 pts below |
META is trading at 21x earnings, a 29% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
MAX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $12.0 | 23% above |
| 20 week MA | $12.5 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $11.0 | 34% above |
| 100 week MA | $10.9 | 36% above |
| 200 week MA | $12.1 | 22% above |
MAX has the edge over META on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
META Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $674.9 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $634.5 | 1.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.8 | 1.1% below |
| 100 week MA | $647.8 | 3.7% below |
| 200 week MA | $517.5 | 21% above |
META has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 21% above its 200-week average.
MAX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.8 | $45.0 | +33% |
| 2021 | $45.0 | $15.4 | -66% |
| 2022 | $15.4 | $9.97 | -35% |
| 2023 | $9.97 | $11.2 | +12% |
| 2024 | $11.2 | $11.1 | -0.1% |
| 2025 | $11.1 | $12.7 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $12.7 | $14.8 | +17% |
MAX has the edge over META on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
META Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $208.1 | $267.4 | +28% |
| 2021 | $267.4 | $335.2 | +25% |
| 2022 | $335.2 | $118.0 | -65% |
| 2023 | $118.0 | $354.0 | +200% |
| 2024 | $354.0 | $599.8 | +69% |
| 2025 | $599.8 | $663.3 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $663.3 | $623.6 | -6% |
META's yearly returns have swung widely, from +200% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's down 6% so far in 2026.