Comprehensive Stock Comparison
Compare HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. (HTCR) vs Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) Stock
Analyze side-by-side fundamentals, valuation, growth, and profitability to decide which stock is the better buy.
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Quick Verdict
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | HTCR | 39.2% revenue growth vs PEGA's 16.6% |
| Quality / Margins | PEGA | 16.0% net margin vs HTCR's -73.2% |
| Stability / Safety | HTCR | Beta 1.30 vs PEGA's 1.43 |
| Dividends | HTCR | 14.8% yield, 1-year raise streak, vs PEGA's 0.2% |
| Momentum (1Y) | PEGA | +11.7% vs HTCR's -67.9% |
| Efficiency (ROA) | PEGA | 21.5% ROA vs HTCR's -81.0%, ROIC 27.5% vs 0.6% |
Who Each Stock Is For
Income & stability
Growth exposure
Long-term compounding (10Y)
Sleep-well-at-night portfolio
Defensive / Recession hedge
Business Model
What each company does and how it makes money
HeartCore Enterprises is a software company providing customer experience management and digital transformation solutions primarily to Japanese enterprises. It generates revenue through SaaS subscriptions for its CX platform — which includes marketing, sales, and service tools — along with data analytics services and digital transformation consulting. The company's competitive advantage lies in its integrated platform approach and deep understanding of the Japanese enterprise market's specific digital transformation needs.
Pegasystems is a software company that provides enterprise applications and platforms for customer engagement and business process automation. It generates revenue primarily through software licensing and cloud subscriptions — with its Pega Platform and Pega Infinity solutions — along with related consulting and support services. The company's key advantage is its unified low-code platform that combines customer relationship management, artificial intelligence, and process automation into a single system, creating switching costs for enterprise clients.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
How each company's revenue is distributed across its business units
Financial Metrics Comparison
Side-by-side fundamentals across 2 stocks. BestLagging
Financial Scorecard
PEGA leads in 3 of 6 categories (Financial Metrics, Profitability & Efficiency). HTCR leads in 2 (Valuation Metrics, Analyst Outlook). 1 tied.
Financial Metrics (TTM)
PEGA is the larger business by revenue, generating $1.7B annually — 117.3x HTCR's $15M. PEGA is the more profitable business, keeping 16.0% of every revenue dollar as net income compared to HTCR's -73.2%. On growth, PEGA holds the edge at +17.3% YoY revenue growth, suggesting stronger near-term business momentum.
| Metric | HTCRHeartCore Enterpr… | PEGAPegasystems Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueTrailing 12 months | $15M | $1.7B |
| EBITDAEarnings before interest/tax | -$11M | $342M |
| Net IncomeAfter-tax profit | -$11M | $278M |
| Free Cash FlowCash after capex | -$4M | $439M |
| Gross MarginGross profit ÷ Revenue | +36.3% | +75.7% |
| Operating MarginEBIT ÷ Revenue | -74.5% | +17.4% |
| Net MarginNet income ÷ Revenue | -73.2% | +16.0% |
| FCF MarginFCF ÷ Revenue | -28.8% | +25.4% |
| Rev. Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | -83.2% | +17.3% |
| EPS Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | -96.2% | +3.9% |
Valuation Metrics
On an enterprise value basis, HTCR's 9.7x EV/EBITDA is more attractive than PEGA's 27.8x.
| Metric | HTCRHeartCore Enterpr… | PEGAPegasystems Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Market CapShares × price | $6M | $7.5B |
| Enterprise ValueMkt cap + debt − cash | $8M | $7.3B |
| Trailing P/EPrice ÷ TTM EPS | -3.80x | 20.53x |
| Forward P/EPrice ÷ next-FY EPS est. | — | 16.16x |
| PEG RatioP/E ÷ EPS growth rate | — | — |
| EV / EBITDAEnterprise value multiple | 9.72x | 27.77x |
| Price / SalesMarket cap ÷ Revenue | 0.21x | 4.27x |
| Price / BookPrice ÷ Book value/share | 1.62x | 10.26x |
| Price / FCFMarket cap ÷ FCF | — | 14.76x |
Profitability & Efficiency
PEGA delivers a 46.6% return on equity — every $100 of shareholder capital generates $47 in annual profit, vs $-3 for HTCR. PEGA carries lower financial leverage with a 0.08x debt-to-equity ratio, signaling a more conservative balance sheet compared to HTCR's 1.09x. On the Piotroski fundamental quality scale (0–9), PEGA scores 8/9 vs HTCR's 4/9, reflecting strong financial health.
| Metric | HTCRHeartCore Enterpr… | PEGAPegasystems Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| ROE (TTM)Return on equity | -2.8% | +46.6% |
| ROA (TTM)Return on assets | -81.0% | +21.5% |
| ROICReturn on invested capital | +0.6% | +27.5% |
| ROCEReturn on capital employed | +0.7% | +33.4% |
| Piotroski ScoreFundamental quality 0–9 | 4 | 8 |
| Debt / EquityFinancial leverage | 1.09x | 0.08x |
| Net DebtTotal debt minus cash | $2M | -$152M |
| Cash & Equiv.Liquid assets | $2M | $212M |
| Total DebtShort + long-term debt | $4M | $61M |
| Interest CoverageEBIT ÷ Interest expense | -119.73x | 112.43x |
Total Returns (with DRIP)
A $10,000 investment in PEGA five years ago would be worth $6,478 today (with dividends reinvested), compared to $886 for HTCR. Over the past 12 months, PEGA leads with a +11.7% total return vs HTCR's -67.9%. The 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) favors PEGA at 23.8% vs HTCR's -25.7% — a key indicator of consistent wealth creation.
| Metric | HTCRHeartCore Enterpr… | PEGAPegasystems Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| YTD ReturnYear-to-date | -14.7% | -21.9% |
| 1-Year ReturnPast 12 months | -67.9% | +11.7% |
| 3-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -59.0% | +89.5% |
| 5-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -91.1% | -35.2% |
| 10-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -91.1% | +265.1% |
| CAGR (3Y)Annualised 3-year return | -25.7% | +23.8% |
Risk & Volatility
HTCR is the less volatile stock with a 1.30 beta — it tends to amplify market swings less than PEGA's 1.43 beta. A beta below 1.0 means the stock typically moves less than the S&P 500. PEGA currently trades 64.2% from its 52-week high vs HTCR's 16.1% drawdown — a narrower gap to the peak suggests stronger recent price momentum.
| Metric | HTCRHeartCore Enterpr… | PEGAPegasystems Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Beta (5Y)Sensitivity to S&P 500 | 1.30x | 1.43x |
| 52-Week HighHighest price in past year | $1.67 | $68.10 |
| 52-Week LowLowest price in past year | $0.22 | $29.84 |
| % of 52W HighCurrent price vs 52-week peak | +16.1% | +64.2% |
| RSI (14)Momentum oscillator 0–100 | 46.5 | 49.5 |
| Avg Volume (50D)Average daily shares traded | 115K | 1.7M |
Analyst Outlook
For income investors, HTCR offers the higher dividend yield at 14.84% vs PEGA's 0.19%.
| Metric | HTCRHeartCore Enterpr… | PEGAPegasystems Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst RatingConsensus buy/hold/sell | — | Buy |
| Price TargetConsensus 12-month target | — | $58.25 |
| # AnalystsCovering analysts | — | 23 |
| Dividend YieldAnnual dividend ÷ price | +14.8% | +0.2% |
| Dividend StreakConsecutive years of raises | 1 | 1 |
| Dividend / ShareAnnual DPS | $0.04 | $0.08 |
| Buyback YieldShare repurchases ÷ mkt cap | 0.0% | +0.2% |
Historical Charts
Charts are rendered on first load. Hover for details.
Chart 1Total Return — 5 Years (Rebased to 100)
| Stock | Feb 22 | Feb 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| HeartCore Enterpris… (HTCR) | 100 | 5.15 | -94.8% |
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 100 | 102.04 | +2.0% |
Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) returned -35% over 5 years vs HeartCore Enterpris… (HTCR)'s -91%.
Chart 2Revenue Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| HeartCore Enterpris… (HTCR) | $7M | $30M | +321.8% |
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | $750M | $1.7B | +132.7% |
Pegasystems Inc.'s revenue grew from $750M (2016) to $1.7B (2025) — a 9.8% CAGR.
Chart 3Net Margin Trend — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| HeartCore Enterpris… (HTCR) | -17.0% | -4.9% | +71.3% |
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 3.6% | 22.5% | +526.5% |
Pegasystems Inc.'s net margin went from 4% (2016) to 23% (2025).
Chart 4P/E Ratio History — 5 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 39.6 | 28 | -29.3% |
Pegasystems Inc. has traded in a 28x–374x P/E range over 5 years; current trailing P/E is ~21x.
Chart 5EPS Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| HeartCore Enterpris… (HTCR) | -0.07 | -0.07 | -8.6% |
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 0.17 | 2.13 | +1152.9% |
Pegasystems Inc.'s EPS grew from $0.17 (2016) to $2.13 (2025) — a 32% CAGR.
Chart 6Free Cash Flow — 5 Years
HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. generated $-5M FCF in 2024 (-755% vs 2021). Pegasystems Inc. generated $505M FCF in 2025 (+1663% vs 2021).
HTCR vs PEGA: Frequently Asked Questions
7 questions · data-driven answers · updated daily
01Is HTCR or PEGA a better buy right now?
Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) offers the better valuation at 20.5x trailing P/E (16.2x forward), making it the more compelling value choice. Analysts rate Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) a "Buy" — based on 23 analyst ratings — the highest consensus in this comparison. The "better buy" depends entirely on your goals: growth investors should weight revenue trajectory, value investors should weight P/E and PEG, and income investors should weight dividend yield and streak.
02Which is the better long-term investment — HTCR or PEGA?
Over the past 5 years, Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) delivered a total return of -35.2%, compared to -91.1% for HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. (HTCR). A $10,000 investment in PEGA five years ago would be worth approximately $6K today (assuming dividends reinvested). Over 10 years, the gap is even starker: PEGA returned +265.1% versus HTCR's -91.1%. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the stock with the higher historical return may already have its best growth priced in.
03Which is safer — HTCR or PEGA?
By beta (market sensitivity over 5 years), HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. (HTCR) is the lower-risk stock at 1.30β versus Pegasystems Inc.'s 1.43β — meaning PEGA is approximately 10% more volatile than HTCR relative to the S&P 500. On balance sheet safety, Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) carries a lower debt/equity ratio of 8% versus 109% for HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. — giving it more financial flexibility in a downturn.
04Which has better profit margins — HTCR or PEGA?
Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) is the more profitable company, earning 22.5% net margin versus -4.9% for HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. — meaning it keeps 22.5% of every revenue dollar as bottom-line profit. Operating margin tells a similar story: PEGA leads at 15.1% versus 0.2% for HTCR. At the gross margin level — before operating expenses — PEGA leads at 75.9%, reflecting greater pricing power or product mix advantage. Stronger margins indicate durable pricing power, lower cost of revenue, or higher mix of software/services. They are one of the clearest signs of business quality.
05Which pays a better dividend — HTCR or PEGA?
All stocks in this comparison pay dividends. HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. (HTCR) offers the highest yield at 14.8%, versus 0.2% for Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA).
06Is HTCR or PEGA better for a retirement portfolio?
For long-horizon retirement investors, HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. (HTCR) is the stronger choice — it scores higher on the combination of lower volatility, dividend reliability, and long-term compounding (low volatility (β 1.30), 14.8% yield). Both have compounded well over 10 years (HTCR: -91.1%, PEGA: +265.1%), confirming both are viable long-term holds — but the lower-volatility option typically results in less emotional selling during corrections. Retirement portfolios generally favour predictability over maximum returns. Consult a financial advisor before making allocation decisions.
07What are the main differences between HTCR and PEGA?
Both stocks operate in the Technology sector, making this a peer-level intra-sector comparison — the same macro tailwinds and headwinds will affect both. In terms of investment character: HTCR is a small-cap income-oriented stock; PEGA is a small-cap quality compounder stock. HTCR pays a dividend while PEGA does not, making them suitable for different income and tax situations. These fundamental differences mean investors should not choose between them on a single metric — the "better stock" depends entirely on which of these characteristics aligns with your investment strategy.
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