Vivid Seats (NASDAQ:SEAT) versus United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) Head-To-Head Comparison

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) and Vivid Seats (NASDAQ:SEAT) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares United Parks & Resorts and Vivid Seats’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Parks & Resorts	13.84%	-88.59%	9.23%
Vivid Seats	9.21%	-170.34%	4.92%

Volatility & Risk

United Parks & Resorts has a beta of 1.83, suggesting that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vivid Seats has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.9% of Vivid Seats shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of United Parks & Resorts shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 57.2% of Vivid Seats shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares United Parks & Resorts and Vivid Seats’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Parks & Resorts	$1.73 billion	1.83	$234.20 million	$3.72	13.57
Vivid Seats	$712.88 million	1.53	$74.54 million	N/A	N/A

United Parks & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Vivid Seats.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for United Parks & Resorts and Vivid Seats, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Parks & Resorts	1	2	2	0	2.20
Vivid Seats	0	3	7	0	2.70

United Parks & Resorts presently has a consensus target price of $59.80, indicating a potential upside of 18.63%. Vivid Seats has a consensus target price of $10.15, indicating a potential upside of 94.82%. Given Vivid Seats’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vivid Seats is more favorable than United Parks & Resorts.

Summary

United Parks & Resorts beats Vivid Seats on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a theme park and entertainment company in the United States. It operates and licenses SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and San Diego, California, as well as Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia. The company also operates water park attractions in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Chula Vista, California; Tampa, Florida; and Williamsburg, Virginia. In addition, the company operates a reservations-only theme park in Orlando, Florida and a park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania; and theme park in Chula Vista, California. It operates a portfolio of theme parks under the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Water Country USA, Adventure Island, and Sesame Place brand name. The company was formerly known as SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. and changed its name to United Parks & Resorts Inc. in February 2024. SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About Vivid Seats

Vivid Seats Inc. operates an online ticket marketplace in the United States, Canada, and Japan. The company operates in two segments, Marketplace and Resale. The Marketplace segment acts as an intermediary between event ticket buyers and sellers; processes ticket sales on its website and mobile applications through its distribution partners; and sells tickets for sports, concerts, theater events, and other live events. This segment offers Skybox, a proprietary enterprise resource planning tool that helps ticket sellers manage ticket inventories, adjust pricing, and fulfill orders across multiple ticket resale marketplaces; and Vivid Picks daily fantasy sports that allows users to partake in contests by making picks from various sport and player matchups. The Resale segment acquires tickets to resell on secondary ticket marketplaces; and provides internal research and development support for Skybox and to deliver seller software and tools. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.