ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) and Flotek Industries (NYSE:FTK) Critical Analysis

ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) and Flotek Industries (NYSE:FTK) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.9% of Flotek Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 22.2% of ARQ shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of Flotek Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ARQ and Flotek Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARQ	-12.35%	-8.35%	-6.16%
Flotek Industries	13.14%	-0.65%	-0.37%

Volatility & Risk

ARQ has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Flotek Industries has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for ARQ and Flotek Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARQ	0	0	0	0	N/A
Flotek Industries	0	0	0	0	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ARQ and Flotek Industries’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARQ	$99.18 million	2.43	-$12.25 million	($0.50)	-14.52
Flotek Industries	$188.06 million	0.54	$24.71 million	($0.13)	-26.47

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

Summary

Flotek Industries beats ARQ on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About Flotek Industries

Flotek Industries, Inc. operates as a technology-driven green chemistry and data company that serves customers across industrial and commercial markets in the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Chemistry Technologies (CT) and Data Analytics (DA). The CT segment designs, develops, manufactures, packages, distributes, delivers, and markets green specialty chemicals that enhance the profitability of hydrocarbon producers, as well as green specialty chemistries, and logistics and technology services. This segment primarily serves integrated oil and gas, oilfield services, independent oil and gas, national and state-owned oil, geothermal energy, solar energy, and alternative energy companies. The DA segment designs, develops, produces, sells, and supports equipment and services that create and provide valuable information on the composition and properties of energy customers' hydrocarbon fluids. It sells its products directly through a mix of in-house sales professionals, as well as contractual agency agreements. Flotek Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.