Kairous Acquisition (NASDAQ:KACL) and CION Investment (NYSE:CION) Financial Survey

CION Investment (NYSE:CION) and Kairous Acquisition (NASDAQ:KACL) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares CION Investment and Kairous Acquisition’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CION Investment	31.21%	11.49%	5.04%
Kairous Acquisition	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CION Investment and Kairous Acquisition”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CION Investment	$251.01 million	2.43	$95.31 million	$1.47	7.80
Kairous Acquisition	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

CION Investment has higher revenue and earnings than Kairous Acquisition.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.0% of CION Investment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.4% of Kairous Acquisition shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of CION Investment shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Kairous Acquisition shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

CION Investment has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kairous Acquisition has a beta of -0.04, indicating that its share price is 104% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for CION Investment and Kairous Acquisition, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CION Investment	0	2	0	0	2.00
Kairous Acquisition	0	0	0	0	0.00

CION Investment presently has a consensus target price of $12.25, indicating a potential upside of 6.85%. Given CION Investment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe CION Investment is more favorable than Kairous Acquisition.

Summary

CION Investment beats Kairous Acquisition on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CION Investment

CION Investment Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in investments in senior secured loans, including unitranche loans, First Lien, second lien loans, long-term subordinated loans, and mezzanine loans; equity interests such as warrants or options; and corporate bonds; and other debt securities in middle-market companies. The firm invests in growth capital, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, market/product expansion, refinancing and recapitalization. The fund also invests up to 30 percent of their assets opportunistically in other types of investments, including the securities of larger public companies and foreign securities. It also makes investments in the secondary loan market. The fund does not invest in start-up companies, turnaround situations, or companies with speculative business plans. The fund prefers to invest in high tech industries, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, business services, media, chemicals, plastic, rubber, telecommunication, consumer services, advertising, printing and publishing, consumer goods, durables, diversified financials, and other industries. It also invests in homebuilding, restaurants, beverage and tobacco bars, broadcasting, distributors, Non-durable good distribution, food beverage and tobacco, energy, oil gas and consumables fuels, insurance, aerospace and defense, industrial machinery, paper and forest product machinery, information technology, metals and mining, and real estate. It primarily seeks to invest in the United States. The fund seeks to invest between $5 million and $50 million in companies with an EBITDA between $25 million and $75 million with average targeted hold of $25 million. It also purchases minority interests in the form of common or preferred equity in the target companies, typically in conjunction with its debt investments or through a co-investment with a financial sponsor. The fund seeks to exit its investments through an initial public offering of common stock, a merger, a sale, or other recapitalization.

About Kairous Acquisition

Kairous Acquisition Corp. Limited does not have significant operations. It focuses on effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The company intends to focus on opportunities in Asia, excluding China. Kairous Acquisition Corp. Limited was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.