MAX
MediaAlpha, Inc.
MAX has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
RDDT
Reddit, Inc.
RDDT has the edge over MAX overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
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.
RDDT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
RDDT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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's PE is 8.1x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
RDDT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 16x | $99.55 | — |
| Current | 20x | $99.55 | — |
| Cheap | 35x | $171 | +72% |
| Fair | 46x | $228 | +129% |
| Expensive | 53x | $262 | +163% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
RDDT has the edge over MAX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MAX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MAX, with profitability holding steady.
RDDT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
RDDT has the edge over MAX on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and profitability expectations.
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 stronger earnings trend. Trailing diluted EPS is up 9,000% for MAX versus RDDT down 39%.
RDDT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.32 | +29% |
| Q3 2024 | -$7.98 | -$7.17 |
| Q2 2024 | -$8.19 | -$7.15 |
| Q1 2024 | -$8.38 | -$7.25 |
| Q4 2023 | -$0.56 | +$0.41 |
| Q3 2023 | -$0.81 | -$0.02 |
| Q2 2023 | -$1.04 | -$0.48 |
| Q1 2023 | -$1.13 | -$0.48 |
| Q4 2022 | -$0.97 | -$0.19 |
RDDT has returned to profit: it earned $4.90 per share over the past year, after losing money 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.
RDDT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $895M | +53% |
| Q2 2026 | $804.9M | +61% |
| Q1 2026 | $663.4M | +69% |
| Q4 2025 | $725.6M | +70% |
| Q3 2025 | $584.9M | +68% |
| Q2 2025 | $499.6M | +78% |
| Q1 2025 | $392.4M | +61% |
| Q4 2024 | $427.7M | +71% |
RDDT has the edge over MAX on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +5.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 29% | +15 points |
| Q1 2026 | 28% | +27 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +20 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +22 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | +25 points |
| Q1 2025 | 1% | +244 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | +11 points |
RDDT 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 still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2026 peak: $54M over the past year.
RDDT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $362.6M | +98% |
| Q2 2026 | $260.7M | +135% |
| Q1 2026 | $311.2M | +146% |
| Q4 2025 | $263.6M | +196% |
| Q3 2025 | $183.1M | +161% |
| Q2 2025 | $110.8M | +308% |
| Q1 2025 | $126.6M | +333% |
| Q4 2024 | $89.2M | +$111.2M |
RDDT has the edge over MAX on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
RDDT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -169K shares |
| 1 year | -0.4% | -868K shares |
| 3 years | +24% | +38.5M shares |
| 5 years | +24% | +38.5M shares |
RDDT has the edge over MAX on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $100.4M |
| Q2 2026 | $234.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $5M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | $4.2M |
| Q4 2022 | — |
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.
RDDT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -3.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -5.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -13.1x | Net Cash |
RDDT 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).
RDDT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 6.5 | Oversold |
RDDT's weekly RSI is 35 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 6 (oversold).
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 RDDT on valuation relative to its sector.
RDDT PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | RDDT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 20x | 16x | 23% above |
| PE % | 5 | 23 | 18 pts below |
RDDT is trading at 20x earnings, a 23% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x, though its earnings don't support one.
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 stronger trend alignment. MAX is above 5 of 5 weekly averages versus RDDT above 0 of 4.
RDDT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $130.6 | 24% below |
| 20 week MA | $151.7 | 34% below |
| 50 week MA | $165.0 | 40% below |
| 100 week MA | $167.1 | 40% below |
RDDT is in a downtrend: it's below all four of its weekly moving averages, and 40% below its 100-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 RDDT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
RDDT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $46.0 | $173.5 | +277% |
| 2025 | $173.5 | $225.8 | +30% |
| 2026 YTD | $225.8 | $99.6 | -56% |
RDDT has finished every year since 2024 higher, and it's down 56% so far in 2026.