AXP vs COF vs BAC Stock Comparison

American Express, Capital One Financial and Bank Of America Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AXP American Express Co
$313.06 +3.6% 1M -11.8% 1Y
Market cap
$212.01B
P/E
17.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
2 wins
COF Capital One Financial Corp
$201.33 +2.6% 1M -8.5% 1Y
Market cap
$125.54B
P/E
12.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$62.02B
Div. yield
0.02%
Money Center Banks Financial Services
3 wins
BAC Bank Of America Corp /De/
$50.57 -9.7% 1M -2.3% 1Y
Market cap
$361.10B
P/E
11.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$121.10B
Div. yield
0.03%
Money Center Banks Financial Services
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Bank Of America leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Bank Of America 7, Capital One Financial 3, American Express 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAXPCOFBACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $212.01B $125.54B $361.10B BAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.3x 12.3x 11.2x BAC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.3x 10.3x 11.1x COF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.2% +45.3% +9.7% COF
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.8% 16.4% 26.5% BAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.6% 14.4% 13.1% AXP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.2x -1.6x BAC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.03% BAC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.8% -8.5% -2.3% BAC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.9%/yr +3.7%/yr +1.2%/yr AXP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.1% 31.6% 21.9% BAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 41/100 82/100 69/100 COF

Percentile Scorecard

AXPCOFBAC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAXPCOFBAC
Valuation 19 #293 of 361 86 #52 of 361 96 #16 of 361
Growth 36 #222 of 344 95 #17 of 344 80 #69 of 344
Profitability 61 #137 of 348 70 #106 of 348 71 #102 of 348
Financial Health 35 #222 of 340 66 #116 of 340 20 #271 of 340
Shareholder Returns 55 #159 of 352 95 #17 of 352 77 #82 of 352
Overall 41 82 69
  • AXP ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • COF ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • BAC ranked among 370 companies in Banking

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAXPCOFBACSPY
1 month +3.6%+2.6%-9.7% -1.0%
3 months -4.1%-0.7%-18.5% +2.9%
6 months -0.3%+5.2%-2.8% +6.4%
Year to date -15.4%-16.9%-8.1% +11.4%
1 year -11.8%-8.5%-2.3% +13.1%
3 years +116.8%+125.7%+98.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +29.4%+31.2%+25.7% +21.5%
5 years +67.3%+20.0%+6.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.9%+3.7%+1.2% +10.9%
10 years +364.8%+168.8%+203.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +16.6%+10.4%+11.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAXPCOFBACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.1%31.6%21.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.0%35.6%25.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.931.300.73 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.45-0.27-0.10 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.0%-49.2%-49.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.7%-21.9%-22.0% -2.5%
52-week high $384.89$257.94$64.82 $779.14
52-week low $292.27$176.10$46.72 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAXPCOFBAC
P/E now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 12.5x 12.3xmedian 12.5x 11.3xmedian 12.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 3.5x 2.0xmedian 3.5x 2.9xmedian 3.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 4.8x 4.6xmedian 4.8x 1.4xmedian 4.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 11.4x 4.2xmedian 11.4x 3.7xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 1.2x 1.1xmedian 1.2x 1.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.93median 1.48 1.58median 1.48 1.40median 1.48

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAXPCOFBAC
Revenue $77.59B $62.02B $121.10B
Net income $12.26B $10.52B $33.66B
Free cash flow $13.91B $29.70B $94.74B
EPS (diluted) $18.18 $16.37 $4.41
Cash & equivalents $43.20B – $229.75B
Total debt $59.95B $44.68B $399.84B
Shares (diluted) 674.00M 621.10M 7.29B
Enterprise value $11.49B $125.54B -$2.01T

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAXPCOFBAC
P/E 17.2x 12.3x 11.3x
P/FCF 15.1x 4.2x 3.7x
P/Operating cash flow 11.9x 3.9x 3.7x
P/S 2.7x 2.0x 2.9x
P/B 5.9x 1.1x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 5.9x 1.3x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 8.8x 4.6x 1.4x
EV/EBIT 9.5x 5.7x 1.4x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 2.7x 1.4x
EV/FCF 15.9x 5.7x 1.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.6x 5.3x 1.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.93 1.58 1.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAXPCOFBAC
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.2% 45.3% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 20.1% 6.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 16.3% – 20.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 25.5% 4.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.5% 2,849% 27.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 7.8% 8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.6% 60.2% 517.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% 22.1% 28.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.6% 63.0% 517.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.2% 22.1% 28.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAXPCOFBAC
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 32.6% 58.4% 99.4%
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin 19.9% 21.0% 36.2%
Net margin 15.8% 16.4% 26.5%
FCF margin 17.9% 47.9% 78.2%
Operating cash flow margin 22.7% 50.7% 78.2%
Return on equity 35.0% 9.3% 11.2%
Return on assets 4.0% 1.6% 1.0%
Return on invested capital 19.6% 14.4% 13.1%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.1x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 3.0x 2.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.2% 3.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAXPCOFBAC
Debt / assets 19.3% 6.6% 11.4%
Debt / equity 1.7x 0.4x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.2x -1.6x
Debt / FCF 4.3x 1.5x 4.2x
Liabilities / assets 88.5% 83.1% 91.4%
Equity / assets 11.5% 16.9% 8.6%
Interest coverage 3.0x 1.8x 1.6x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAXPCOFBAC
Dividend yield 1.2% 1.6% 2.3%
Net buyback yield 3.2% 7.0% 6.6%
Shareholder yield 4.4% 8.6% 8.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 18.0% 29.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 6.4% 10.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 74.4% 2.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 26.8% 3.5%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAXPCOFBAC
Forward P/E 18.3xFY2026 10.3xFY2026 11.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.14FY2026 $19.55FY2026 $4.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +11.4%FY2026 -0.3%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.9% +17.7% +19.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $82.06BFY2026 $66.18BFY2026 $127.89BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +23.9%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.3% +0.0% -2.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAXPCOFBAC
Held by institutions 84.9% 86.5% 75.0%
Institutions holding 3,008 2,110 3,612
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +1.7% +0.7%
Institutions buying 1,473 1,048 1,825
Institutions selling 1,050 758 1,342
Buyers to sellers 1.40 1.38 1.36

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AXPCOFBAC
AXP 1.00 0.77 0.58
COF 0.77 1.00 0.60
BAC 0.58 0.60 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AXP, COF and BAC?

Bank Of America (BAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Express (AXP) $212.01B, Capital One Financial (COF) $125.54B, Bank Of America (BAC) $361.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, AXP, COF and BAC?

Bank Of America (BAC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Express (AXP) 17.3x, Capital One Financial (COF) 12.3x, Bank Of America (BAC) 11.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Capital One Financial (COF) is cheapest (American Express (AXP) 18.3x, Capital One Financial (COF) 10.3x, Bank Of America (BAC) 11.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Capital One Financial (COF) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Express (AXP) +10.2%, Capital One Financial (COF) +45.3%, Bank Of America (BAC) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Bank Of America (BAC) has the highest net margin (American Express (AXP) 15.8%, Capital One Financial (COF) 16.4%, Bank Of America (BAC) 26.5%). On return on invested capital, American Express (AXP) leads (American Express (AXP) 19.6%, Capital One Financial (COF) 14.4%, Bank Of America (BAC) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Bank Of America (BAC) returned the most: American Express (AXP) -11.8%, Capital One Financial (COF) -8.5%, Bank Of America (BAC) -2.3%. Over five years, American Express (AXP) compounded fastest (American Express (AXP) +10.9%/yr, Capital One Financial (COF) +3.7%/yr, Bank Of America (BAC) +1.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Bank Of America (BAC) has the highest dividend yield: American Express (AXP) 0.00%, Capital One Financial (COF) 0.02%, Bank Of America (BAC) 0.03%. American Express (AXP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Bank Of America (BAC) has been the steadiest (American Express (AXP) 26.1%, Capital One Financial (COF) 31.6%, Bank Of America (BAC) 21.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AXP, COF and BAC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Bank Of America (BAC) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.