APP vs DV Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
APP and DV occupy different economic positions in advertising. AppLovin sells performance advertising outcomes, with growth driven by how well its models convert spend into results and by expansion into new advertiser categories, producing very high margins. DoubleVerify sells measurement, earning fees on impressions verified regardless of which platform delivered them.
Use this APP vs DV comparison to weigh performance upside against infrastructure steadiness. AppLovin's returns have come from model improvements that are difficult to assess from outside and from entering new categories, which is higher variance. DoubleVerify's revenue is tied to measured volume and price, a slower but more predictable base.
APP holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. DV leads on both 1-year return (+9.83%) and forward P/E quality (11.53x vs 15.44x for APP), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. APP leads on both revenue growth (52.80%) and operating margin (77.68%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for APP (+56.93%) than for DV (+0.90%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to machine learning driven performance advertising
- Value very high margins and strong free cash flow
- Believe expansion into e-commerce advertising will succeed
- Accept forecast difficulty, platform privacy rules, and execution risk
- Prefer a measurement layer that is largely platform-agnostic
- Value verification as required rather than discretionary advertiser spend
- See connected television and social as expanding measured volume
- Accept pricing pressure and potential platform-native measurement
| Metric | APP | DV |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 61.7 | 23.6 |
| AI ranki | #122 | #3490 |
| Latest closei | $310.75 | $13.41 |
| 1M returni | +0.86% | +0.83% |
| 6M returni | -18.48% | +44.04% |
| 1Y returni | -51.59% | +9.83% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | APP | DV |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $4.86K (-51.4%) started 2025-09-25 | $11.31K (+13.1%) started 2025-09-25 |
| 5Y ago | $40.52K (+305.1%) started 2021-09-27 | $3.75K (-62.5%) started 2021-09-27 |
| 10Y ago | $47.66K (+376.6%) started 2021-04-15 | $3.73K (-62.8%) started 2021-04-21 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | APP | DV |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $108.83B | $2.07B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 24.88 | 38.17 |
| Forward P/Ei | 15.44 | 11.53 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 15.94 | 2.56 |
| Analyst targeti | $508.39 | $13.48 |
| Target upsidei | +56.93% | +0.90% |
| Metric | APP | DV |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 52.80% | 2.50% |
| Earnings growthi | 57.00% | 60.00% |
| EPS growthi | +57.00% | +60.00% |
| FCF margini | +46.56% | +21.09% |
| Operating margini | 77.68% | 11.94% |
| Profit margini | 64.58% | 7.66% |
| ROIC proxyi | 203.69% | 5.39% |
| Return on equityi | 203.69% | 5.39% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 2.49 | 0.97 |
| Debt/equityi | 111.13 | 10.22 |
| Current ratioi | 4.30 | 4.50 |
| Quick ratioi | 4.17 | 4.06 |
Over the past year, APP and DV have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.25), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | APP | DV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -51.44% | +13.07% |
| CAGRi | -51.49% | +13.09% | |
| Volatilityi | 73.61% | 44.72% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.66 | 0.40 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.85 | 0.58 | |
| Max drawdowni | 59.30% | 29.02% | |
| Current drawdowni | 57.64% | 0.81% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 31.83% | 10.49% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 35.84% | 12.61% | |
| Max daily dropi | 19.68% | 14.40% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 34.08% | 20.65% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +305.15% | -62.46% |
| CAGRi | +32.33% | -17.81% | |
| Volatilityi | 78.08% | 51.58% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.68 | -0.19 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.07 | -0.25 | |
| Max drawdowni | 91.90% | 79.74% | |
| Current drawdowni | 57.64% | 68.45% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 45.05% | 45.17% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 52.84% | 50.40% | |
| Max daily dropi | 20.12% | 38.57% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 34.08% | 38.24% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +376.61% | -62.75% |
| CAGRi | +33.21% | -16.63% | |
| Volatilityi | 76.97% | 52.54% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.69 | -0.15 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.08 | -0.20 | |
| Max drawdowni | 91.90% | 81.70% | |
| Current drawdowni | 57.64% | 71.50% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 42.64% | 49.38% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 50.89% | 53.54% | |
| Max daily dropi | 20.12% | 38.57% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 34.08% | 38.24% |
| Category | APP | DV |
|---|---|---|
| Company | AppLovin Corporation | DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services | Communication Services |
| Industry | Advertising Agencies | Advertising Agencies |
| Core business | Advertising platform using machine learning to match advertisements with users, historically focused on mobile app install advertising and expanding into e-commerce and other advertiser categories after divesting its games business. | Advertising verification and measurement company confirming ad viewability, fraud-free delivery, and brand-suitable placement across open web, connected television, and major social platforms. |
| Investor focus | Advertising revenue growth, model performance improvements, expansion into non-gaming advertiser categories, margins, and buybacks. | Measured impression volume, connected television and social measurement growth, pricing per impression, retention, and margins. |
- Machine learning driven ad matching has delivered strong measurable returns for advertisers
- Very high margins and substantial free cash flow generation
- Expansion beyond mobile gaming into e-commerce advertising broadens the addressable market
- Verification functions as necessary infrastructure for large advertisers
- Neutral position works across buying platforms and publishers
- Expanding measurement into connected television and social increases addressable volume
- Growth has depended on continued model improvement, which is hard to forecast externally
- Mobile advertising is affected by platform privacy rules set by the operating system owners
- Rapid expansion into new advertiser categories carries execution risk
- Large advertisers exert pricing pressure on per-impression fees
- Platforms building native measurement could reduce third-party need in places
- Volume growth and pricing can move in opposite directions, muddying revenue growth
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