Sifting through countless of stocks in the Software industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc.

Sprout Social, Inc. designs, develops, and operates a web-based social media management platform in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides cloud software for social messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence, and action. It offers AI-powered solutions, such as publishing and scheduling, social customer care, reporting and analytics, social listening and business intelligence, reputation management, social commerce, influencer marketing, predictive media intelligence, employee advocacy, and automation and workflows. In addition, the company provides smart inbox, comprehensive case management, social customer relationship management, social monitoring and alerts, customer service tools, and automation; and centralized content planning, creation, and publishing, automated scheduling, content performance reporting, suggested content, message approval workflows, publishing permissions and governance, and content and asset libraries. Further, it offers social media; content performance, customer service and team, custom report builder, and reporting API; and market research, brand health, competitive insights, consumer trends, and product feedback; and reputation and review management, mobile applications, and chat bot creation and management. Additionally, the company offers professional services consisting of consulting and training services. It serves social and community management; public relations; marketing; influencer marketing; customer service and care; commerce, sales and customer acquisition; recruiting and hiring, product development, and business strategy; and small-and-medium-sized businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises, marketing agencies, government, non-profit, and educational institutions. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Clear Secure, Inc. operates a secure identity platform under the CLEAR brand name primarily in the United States. It provides secure identity platform, a multi-layered infrastructure consisting of front-end, including enrollment, verification, and linking, as well as back-end. The company also offers CLEAR Plus, a consumer aviation subscription service, which enables access to predictable entry lanes in airport security checkpoints, as well as access to broader network; and CLEAR mobile app, which is used to enroll new members and improve the experience for existing members. In addition, it provides RESERVE powered by CLEAR to reservation spot for airport locations; Home to Gate, a feature to help travelers plan and time their trip to the airport; CLEAR1, a B2B offering that extends secure identity platform to partners to create friction-free experiences for their customers; CLEAR ID, a free and mobile digital ID that allow any traveler to verify their identity; CLEAR Concierge which enhances the CLEAR value proposition for high-frequency and premium travelers, as well as travelers requiring additional assistance, such as families and senior citizens; CLEAR Perks, a suite of added benefits that help CLEAR members get an even more seamless experience; TSA PreCheck Enrollment Provided by CLEAR, as well as online renewal services; Sora ID, a one-click know your customer that enables adding know your customer services to platform offerings; and a virtual queuing technology. The company has a strategic collaboration with Samsung Electronics America, Inc. for the development of Samsung ID with CLEAR, a digital ID solution that allows users to add a US passport to Samsung Wallet and verify their identity. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Clear Secure, Inc. is a subsidiary of Alclear Investments, Llc.

Latest Software and Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure, Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, Sprout Social, Inc. had a $688.3 million market capitalization, compared to the Software median of $1.1 million. Sprout Social, Inc.’s stock is down 6.4% in 2026, down 7.3% in the previous five trading days and down 23.55% in the past year.

Currently, Sprout Social, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Sprout Social, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $481.8 million with a -6.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.128 per share for the current fiscal year. Sprout Social, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 4, 2026, Clear Secure, Inc. had a $4.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 66th percentile of all stocks. Clear Secure, Inc.’s stock is up 23.9% in 2026, down 1.5% in the previous five trading days and up 24.8% in the past year.

Currently, Clear Secure, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 30.2. Clear Secure, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.0 billion with a 14.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 26.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.085 per share for the current fiscal year. Clear Secure, Inc. currently has a 1.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Sprout Social, Inc.	SPT	C
Clear Secure, Inc.	YOU	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Sprout Social, Inc. has a Value Score of 44, which is Average. Clear Secure, Inc. has a Value Score of 29, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Sprout Social, Inc.	SPT	B
Clear Secure, Inc.	YOU	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Sprout Social, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong. Clear Secure, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Sprout Social, Inc.	SPT	B
Clear Secure, Inc.	YOU	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Sprout Social, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 73, which is Positive. Clear Secure, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 64, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure or Inc. is a better fit.

Other Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Sprout Social, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 44, Growth Score of 69 and Estimate Revisions Score of 73.

Clear Secure, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 29, Growth Score of 69 and Estimate Revisions Score of 64.

Comparing Sprout Social, Inc., Clear Secure and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.