In the spirit of World Cup competition, we're holding our own tournament in search of the Better Stock Today. We're pitting 32 companies against each other, and you, the reader, will determine the winner.
Visa takes on Sirius XM Radio for this first round-robin match up in our search for the better stock today.
Financials analyst David Hanson thinks Visa (V 0.72%) should advance to the next round because of the business' importance to the global economy. During the recent economic-sanctions battle between the U.S. and Russia, the potential loss of Visa's network caused the Russian government to work out a deal with the payment processor. In addition to its crucial function, the company sports some of the most impressive margins across any business. With a management team committed to returning capital to shareholders, investors would be hard-pressed to find a better long-term buy than Visa.
Consumer-goods analyst Mike Finarelli believes Sirius XM Radio (SIRI 1.76%) should take the crown for one simple reason: a veritable franchise that includes exclusive content like The Howard Stern Show and programming from ESPN Radio. Higher-quality content affords Sirius the ability to raise subscription prices, offsetting costs as well as increasing profit. While the company has continued to grow in the face of Internet radio, there's still plenty more growth ahead when you consider existing subscribers are only a fraction of all cars on the road. All of this points to the acceleration of more cash flow through the business for shareholders' benefit.
Vote here to determine the winner of this match, and sound off in the comments. Check back to Fool.com to see who advances in the tournament.
