AXP vs WFC vs MS Stock Comparison

American Express, Wells Fargo & Company and Morgan Stanley Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AXP American Express Co
$324.75 +6.6% 1M -11.2% 1Y
Market cap
$217.91B
P/E
17.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
1.13%
Money Center Banks Financial Services
3 wins
WFC Wells Fargo & Company/Mn
$84.78 +4.0% 1M -2.5% 1Y
Market cap
$254.50B
P/E
11.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$87.23B
Div. yield
2.18%
Money Center Banks Financial Services
5 wins
MS Morgan Stanley
$182.47 -4.5% 1M +10.5% 1Y
Market cap
$285.60B
P/E
14.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$80.16B
Div. yield
2.36%
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Wells Fargo & Company leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Wells Fargo & Company 5, Morgan Stanley 4, American Express 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAXPWFCMSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $217.91B $254.50B $285.60B MS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.8x 11.6x 14.2x WFC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.3x 10.8x 13.3x WFC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.2% +5.4% +16.2% MS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.8% 25.2% 24.8% WFC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.6% 15.1% 11.8% AXP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.8x 3.1x AXP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.13% 2.18% 2.36% MS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.2% -2.5% +10.5% MS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.0%/yr +11.0%/yr +12.8%/yr AXP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.6% 26.1% 29.6% WFC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 39/100 45/100 28/100 WFC

Percentile Scorecard

AXPWFCMS

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

AxisAXPWFCMS
Valuation 16 #304 of 360 38 #224 of 360 5 #343 of 360
Growth 32 #233 of 344 50 #172 of 344 41 #204 of 344
Profitability 59 #142 of 345 52 #166 of 345 21 #273 of 345
Financial Health 36 #216 of 339 6 #318 of 339 2 #331 of 339
Shareholder Returns 50 #175 of 352 78 #77 of 352 73 #97 of 352
Overall 39 45 28
  • AXP ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • WFC ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • MS ranked among 368 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAXPWFCMSSPY
1 month +6.6%+4.0%-4.5% -5.9%
3 months -5.3%-3.2%-14.6% -4.6%
6 months +1.9%+7.1%-4.0% +0.2%
Year to date -12.2%-9.0%+2.8% +7.5%
1 year -11.2%-2.5%+10.5% +8.2%
3 years +112.3%+105.1%+140.3% +68.3%
3 years, per year +28.5%+27.1%+34.0% +19.0%
5 years +83.8%+68.1%+82.7% +56.5%
5 years, per year +13.0%+11.0%+12.8% +9.4%
10 years +395.7%+90.1%+456.7% +251.5%
10 years, per year +17.4%+6.6%+18.7% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureAXPWFCMSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.6%26.1%29.6% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.1%29.7%31.6% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.880.681.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.42-0.100.35 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.0%-38.7%-35.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.6%-12.0%-20.2% -5.9%
52-week high $384.89$96.39$228.55 $779.14
52-week low $292.27$73.42$154.37 $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.

MultipleAXPWFCMS
P/E now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 12.3x 11.6xmedian 12.3x 14.2xmedian 12.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 3.4x 2.9xmedian 3.4x 3.6xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 5.0x 6.1xmedian 5.0x 6.6xmedian 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 10.6x 8.8xmedian 10.6x -4.6xmedian 10.6x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 1.2x 1.4xmedian 1.2x 2.4xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.96median 1.29 0.81median 1.29 0.46median 1.29

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 monthsAXPWFCMS
Revenue $77.59B $87.23B $80.16B
Net income $12.26B $22.97B $20.68B
Free cash flow $13.91B $28.91B -$61.51B
EPS (diluted) $18.18 $7.20 $12.67
Cash & equivalents $43.20B – $138.67B
Total debt $59.95B $221.04B $388.59B
Shares (diluted) 674.00M 3.05B 1.57B
Enterprise value $17.39B $256.61B -$258.43B

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
MetricAXPWFCMS
P/E 17.8x 11.6x 14.2x
P/FCF 15.7x 8.8x -4.6x
P/Operating cash flow 12.4x 8.8x -4.9x
P/S 2.8x 2.9x 3.6x
P/B 6.1x 1.4x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 1.4x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 9.1x 6.1x 6.6x
EV/EBIT 9.8x 6.7x 6.9x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 5.5x 6.7x
EV/FCF 16.5x 16.5x -8.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.0x 16.5x -9.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.96 0.81 0.46

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAXPWFCMS
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.2% 5.4% 16.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 2.0% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 16.3% 9.1% 26.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 6.8% 27.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.5% 16.2% 29.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 14.4% 31.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.6% 303.3% -1,484%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% -0.6% -25.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.6% 303.3% -811.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.2% -0.6% -23.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAXPWFCMS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 32.6% 89.8% 101.7%
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin 19.9% 31.7% 33.2%
Net margin 15.8% 25.2% 24.8%
FCF margin 17.9% 33.1% -76.7%
Operating cash flow margin 22.7% 33.1% -72.7%
Return on equity 35.0% 12.9% 17.5%
Return on assets 4.0% 1.0% 1.2%
Return on invested capital 19.6% 15.1% 11.8%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.0x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.3x -2.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – 2.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAXPWFCMS
Debt / assets 19.3% 9.8% 23.0%
Debt / equity 1.7x 1.2x 3.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.8x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 4.3x 7.6x -6.3x
Liabilities / assets 88.5% 92.1% 93.0%
Equity / assets 11.5% 7.9% 7.0%
Interest coverage 3.0x 1.6x 1.5x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAXPWFCMS
Dividend yield 1.1% 2.2% 2.4%
Net buyback yield 3.1% 5.5% 2.7%
Shareholder yield 4.2% 7.7% 5.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 24.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 19.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.7% –

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.

ConsensusAXPWFCMS
Forward P/E 18.3xFY2026 10.8xFY2026 13.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.72FY2026 $7.82FY2026 $13.69FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.2%FY2026 +24.9%FY2026 +34.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.3% +7.3% -4.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $82.03BFY2026 $94.29BFY2026 $80.16BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +13.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.2% +4.3% +13.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAXPWFCMS
Held by institutions 84.9% 76.8% 85.7%
Institutions holding 3,015 2,882 2,746
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +1.1% +1.5%
Institutions buying 1,476 1,293 1,471
Institutions selling 1,053 1,137 940
Buyers to sellers 1.40 1.14 1.56

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.

AXPWFCMS
AXP 1.00 0.55 0.56
WFC 0.55 1.00 0.55
MS 0.56 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AXP, WFC and MS?

Morgan Stanley (MS) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Express (AXP) $217.91B, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) $254.50B, Morgan Stanley (MS) $285.60B.

Which stock is cheaper, AXP, WFC and MS?

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Express (AXP) 17.8x, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 11.6x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 14.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) is cheapest (American Express (AXP) 18.3x, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 10.8x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 13.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Morgan Stanley (MS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Express (AXP) +10.2%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) +5.4%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +16.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) has the highest net margin (American Express (AXP) 15.8%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 25.2%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 24.8%). On return on invested capital, American Express (AXP) leads (American Express (AXP) 19.6%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 15.1%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 11.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Morgan Stanley (MS) returned the most: American Express (AXP) -11.2%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) -2.5%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +10.5%. Over five years, American Express (AXP) compounded fastest (American Express (AXP) +13.0%/yr, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) +11.0%/yr, Morgan Stanley (MS) +12.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Morgan Stanley (MS) has the highest dividend yield: American Express (AXP) 1.13%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 2.18%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 2.36%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) has been the steadiest (American Express (AXP) 26.6%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 26.1%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 29.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AXP, WFC and MS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) leads on 5. 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.