GMG vs SCG – Which is the better investment?

Here in Australia, investors looking for equity exposure to the property market have a number of outstanding choices in the S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate (XRE) index.

At the top of the list stands the Goodman Group, followed by the Scentre Group, with Goodman’s market capitalization of $67.2 billion dollars more than three times the size of Scentre Group, with a market capitalization of $21.3 billion dollars, as of 29 September of 2025.

Both are top-rated ASX blue chip stocks, but which is the better investment?

Who Are Goodman Group (GMG) and Scentre Group (SCG)?

The two companies are hardly direct competitors, as they operate in different subsectors of the ASX property market, with Goodman’s assets centered on logistics and industrial properties and data centres in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, while Scentre Group focuses on retail assets under the branded Westfield Shopping Malls in Australia and New Zealand.

Goodman Group is rapidly expanding from a property owner dominated by logistical holdings like wharehouses and distribution centres to a company driven by data centres for the digital economy. Taken together, Goodman Group operates 439 properties spread across 15 countries around the world, as of June of 2025.

Scentre Group owns and operates 37 shopping centres in Australia and five in New Zealand, all located in urban areas, with more than 20 million people within easy reach. Operating under the Westfield brand, each centre combines retail, services, lifestyle, and entertainment offerings.

What Are Goodman Group and Scentre Group Shares Worth?

Determining the “worth” of a stock has been characterised as part “art” and part “science.”

The science comes from two separate and distinct methods for assessing the worth of the stock, with worth defined as sufficient to justify an investment decision to Buy, Hold, or Sell the stock.

Fundamental analysis assesses a company’s key financial and operating history through a quantitative analysis of the numbers and a qualitative analysis of intangibles – the “art.” Most retail investors rely on valuation ratios for quantitative analysis, especially those comparing share price to earnings, cash flow, and book value.

SCG has a current P/E (Price to Earnings) of 14.95 compared to the index value of 20.48. The Price to Cash Flow (PCF) is 20.72 compared to the index value of 10.99. For investors looking for bargain stocks, the Price to Book (P/B) of 1.16 against an index value of 2.41 stands out. The five year average P/B of 0.84 tells investors the price of the stock is lower than the value of this stock’s assets

While SCG can be considered a “value” stock, GMG’s ratios place the company in the category of growth stocks. The P/E is 38.70; the P/CF is 68.03; and the P/B is 2.89.

Technical analysis is another assessment method that relies not on the stock’s financial and operational history, but on its price history and movement.

Support and resistance levels for a stock provide investors using technical analysis a  method for using price movements to determine whether a stock is “worth” buying, holding, or selling.

The support level acts as a floor for the stock – a price below which the stock does not fall over a time period. Resistance is the ceiling – a price above which the stock will not rise. Calculating support and resistance can be a complicated process beyond the reach of many retail investors.

An internet search reveals for GMG, support levels as of late September of 2025 range between AUD$30.50 and AUD$31.80. Resistance levels range between AUD$34.20 and $AUD$35.80 GMG closed on 27 September at $33.80.

For SCG, support levels as of late September of 2025 range between AUD$3.50 and AUD$3.65. Resistance levels range between AUD$3.91 and $AUD$4.20. SCG closed on 27 September at $4.10. Breakouts suggesting investment decisions happen when the stock price “breaks” support or resistance.

In reality, most investors used both methods, with the most common use of technical analysis being checking the price movement of the stock over time using readily available charts on the ASX and other financial websites.

Over one year, SCG is outpacing GMG, up 11.72% compared to a drop of 8.02% from GMG.

Over five years both stocks are up around 85%, but over ten years, GMG is far ahead, up 444.4% compared to a fall of 0.97% from SCG.

Finally, some investors turn to the opinions of professional stock analysts on the worth of a stock with analyst BUY, HOLD, or SELL recommendations.

The Wall Street Journal has a consensus OVERWEIGHT rating on GMG shares, with 8 of the 13 analysts reporting with a BUY recommendation, 1 at OVERWEIGHT, 3 with a HOLD recommendation, and 1 at UNDERWEIGHT. For SCG shares, the Journal shows 11 analysts reporting, with 4 recommending investors BUY the stock, 3 with an UNDERWEIGHT rating, and 4 with a HOLD recommendation.

Do GMG and SCG Pay Dividends?

Investors seeking interest income from their investments look to a company’s dividend history as an indication of its “worth” to them.

While Goodman’s current dividend payment of $0.30 per share beats Scentre Group’s payment of $0.17 per share, Scentre Group has a much higher dividend yield than Goodman  with a five year average yield of 4.70% and a current yield of 4.25% compared to Goodman’s current yield of 0.91% and a five year average yield of 1.21%.

GMG vs SCG: Which is the Better Investment

For most investors, the decision as to which of these stocks is the better investment will come down to the individual investors goals and investment philosophy.

For investors with a high risk tolerance interested in aggressive growth, Goodman Group’s data centres make the company an obvious choice, given the reported increase in the demand for data centres to handle the explosion in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, AI applications contain a bearish caution with valuations of AI stocks stretched to the point some are comparing the price growth to the dot.com bubble which peaked in 2000.

Investors looking for stable stocks with solid dividend payments would prefer Scentre Group. The company’s massive retail foothold withstood the COVID 19 Pandemic and its multitude of offerings in its shopping centres suggests it can survive softer economic conditions going forward.

Although both pay dividends, Scentre Group’s significantly higher dividend yield might make that stock the favored choice. In addition, Goodman’s excessive valuation is of concern to value-conscious investors.

Aggressive growth investors with high risk tolerance lean towards Goodman, especially with the expected demand for a surge in data centres needed to fuel the AI revolution.

Cautious investors looking for investment income from dividend payments lean towards the stability of Scentre Group.

Goodman Group and Scentre Group are the top two blue chip real estate companies on the ASX. Although both are considered property stocks, there is no similarity in the subsectors in which they operate.

Goodman provides a variety of infrastructure facilities, from wharehouses to distribution centres and logistics parks. The company is rapidly growing its presence in data centres for the digital revolution.

Scentre Group owns and operates retail shopping centres in urban areas offering a range of goods and services.