Critical Survey: TaskUs (NASDAQ:TASK) versus 8X8 (NASDAQ:EGHT)

8X8 (NASDAQ:EGHT) and TaskUs (NASDAQ:TASK) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

8X8 has a beta of 1.81, meaning that its stock price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TaskUs has a beta of 2.17, meaning that its stock price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares 8X8 and TaskUs”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
8X8	$717.44 million	0.32	-$67.59 million	($0.36)	-4.78
TaskUs	$994.99 million	1.17	$45.69 million	$0.51	25.33

TaskUs has higher revenue and earnings than 8X8. 8X8 is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TaskUs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.0% of 8X8 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of TaskUs shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of 8X8 shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.3% of TaskUs shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares 8X8 and TaskUs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
8X8	-6.33%	-1.45%	-0.21%
TaskUs	5.58%	17.73%	9.17%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for 8X8 and TaskUs, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
8X8	3	2	3	0	2.00
TaskUs	1	2	4	0	2.43

8X8 currently has a consensus price target of $2.99, suggesting a potential upside of 73.59%. TaskUs has a consensus price target of $17.86, suggesting a potential upside of 38.21%. Given 8X8’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe 8X8 is more favorable than TaskUs.

Summary

TaskUs beats 8X8 on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About 8X8

8×8, Inc. engages in the provision of enterprise communication solutions. It offers solutions to the business services, education, financial services, government, healthcare, and manufacturing industries. The company was founded in February 1987 and is headquartered in Campbell, CA.

About TaskUs

TaskUs, Inc. provides digital outsourcing services for companies in Philippines, the United States, India, and internationally. It offers digital customer experience that consists of omni-channel customer care services primarily delivered through non-voice digital channels; and other solutions, including experience and customer care services for new product or market launches, and customer acquisition solutions. The company also provides trust and safety solutions, such as review and disposition of user and advertiser generated visual, text, and audio content, which include removal or labeling of policy violating, and offensive or misleading content, as well as risk management, compliance, identity management, and fraud services; and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that consist of data labeling, annotation, context relevance, and transcription services for training and tuning machine learning algorithms that enables to develop AI systems. It serves clients in various industry segments comprising e-commerce, FinTech, food delivery and ride sharing, gaming, technology, HealthTech, social media, and streaming media. The company was formerly known as TU TopCo, Inc. and changed its name to TaskUs, Inc. in December 2020. TaskUs, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas.