BCS vs SYF vs MS Stock Comparison

Barclays, Synchrony Financial and Morgan Stanley Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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BCS Barclays Plc
$22.45 -9.5% 1M +5.5% 1Y
Market cap
$80.81B
P/E
7.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$41.50B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
2 wins
SYF Synchrony Financial
$74.99 +2.8% 1M +0.0% 1Y
Market cap
$24.15B
P/E
7.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.31B
Div. yield
0.02%
Consumer Lending Financial Services
3 wins
MS Morgan Stanley
$186.98 -4.7% 1M +12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$295.97B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$80.16B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Morgan Stanley leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Morgan Stanley 4, Synchrony Financial 3, Barclays 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBCSSYFMSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $80.81B $24.15B $295.97B MS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.5x 7.5x 14.9x SYF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.7x 7.6x 13.7x SYF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +2.6% +16.2% MS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 26.0% 16.8% — BCS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 25.7% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.5% +0.0% +12.6% MS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.9%/yr +9.9%/yr +12.8%/yr BCS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.0% 31.6% 28.4% MS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 80/100 53/100 SYF

Percentile Scorecard

BCSSYFMS

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

AxisBCSSYFMS
Valuation 99 #6 of 360 95 #10 of 169 31 #248 of 360
Growth 71 #56 of 191 50 #80 of 160 94 #13 of 191
Profitability 19 #136 of 168 90 #16 of 149 –
Financial Health 2 #172 of 175 78 #36 of 158 –
Shareholder Returns 62 #132 of 341 86 #20 of 136 34 #225 of 341
Overall 50 80 53
  • BCS ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • SYF ranked among 174 companies in Lending and Credit
  • MS ranked among 368 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBCSSYFMSSPY
1 month -9.5%+2.8%-4.7% -0.2%
3 months -16.8%-2.8%-11.6% +3.9%
6 months -2.4%-1.7%-1.8% +8.2%
Year to date -11.8%-10.1%+5.3% +12.9%
1 year +5.5%+0.0%+12.6% +12.3%
3 years +259.8%+167.0%+165.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +53.3%+38.8%+38.5% +23.3%
5 years +100.4%+60.0%+82.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +14.9%+9.9%+12.8% +10.9%
10 years +142.2%+159.1%+452.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.2%+10.0%+18.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBCSSYFMSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.0%31.6%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.8%36.1%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.601.181.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.180.000.44 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.0%-46.7%-35.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.4%-15.2%-18.2% -1.2%
52-week high $28.56$88.47$228.55 $779.14
52-week low $20.07$63.78$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.

MultipleBCSSYFMS
P/E now vs peer median 7.4xmedian 12.1x 7.4xmedian 11.1x 14.6xmedian 12.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 3.4x 1.2xmedian 2.6x 3.7xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 5.0x 1.8xmedian 13.5x —median 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 10.9x 2.4xmedian 7.0x -16.3xmedian 10.9x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.2x 1.4xmedian 0.7x —median 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.41median 1.34 0.34median 0.32 0.47median 1.34

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 monthsBCSSYFMS
Revenue $41.50B $19.31B $80.16B
Net income $10.83B $3.33B –
Free cash flow – $9.56B –
EPS (diluted) $2.95 $10.06 $12.65
Cash & equivalents $335.17B $15.90B –
Total debt $302.10B $8.11B –
Shares (diluted) 3.65B 322.40M 1.57B
Enterprise value -$1.63T -$43.47B $295.97B

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
MetricBCSSYFMS
P/E 7.4x 7.4x 14.6x
P/FCF – 2.4x -16.3x
P/Operating cash flow – 2.4x –
P/S 1.9x 1.2x 3.7x
P/B 0.8x 1.4x –
P/Tangible book 0.8x 1.4x –
EV/EBITDA – 1.8x –
EV/EBIT 16.9x 1.9x –
EV/Revenue -1.5x 0.8x 3.7x
EV/FCF – 1.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow – 1.6x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.41 0.34 0.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBCSSYFMS
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 2.6% 16.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.8% 4.6% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 19.1% -6.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 12.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 29.0% 6.5% 29.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.8% 21.7% 30.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -2.0% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 5.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -2.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 5.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBCSSYFMS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 45.8% –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin 33.1% 22.6% –
Net margin 26.0% 16.8% –
FCF margin – 49.5% –
Operating cash flow margin – 49.5% –
Return on equity 10.4% 19.9% –
Return on assets 0.5% 2.7% 1.2%
Return on invested capital – 25.7% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.2x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.9x –
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBCSSYFMS
Debt / assets 13.1% 6.6% –
Debt / equity 2.9x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.9x –
Debt / FCF – 0.8x –
Liabilities / assets 95.5% 86.5% –
Equity / assets 4.5% 13.5% –
Interest coverage – 2.1x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBCSSYFMS
Dividend yield 2.8% 1.7% 2.2%
Net buyback yield – 16.5% –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 18.1% 2.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 12.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 4.4% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 0.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.1% –

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.

ConsensusBCSSYFMS
Forward P/E 7.7xFY2026 7.6xFY2026 13.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.91FY2026 $9.82FY2026 $13.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +26.0%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.7% +10.3% -4.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $42.91BFY2026 $15.69BFY2026 $80.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.7%FY2026 +4.7%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.3% +7.5% +13.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBCSSYFMS
Held by institutions 8.5% 100.0% 85.7%
Institutions holding 556 1,002 2,742
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.9% -0.8% +1.5%
Institutions buying 306 526 1,468
Institutions selling 161 345 939
Buyers to sellers 1.90 1.52 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.

BCSSYFMS
BCS 1.00 0.50 0.66
SYF 0.50 1.00 0.54
MS 0.66 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BCS, SYF and MS?

Morgan Stanley (MS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Barclays (BCS) $80.81B, Synchrony Financial (SYF) $24.15B, Morgan Stanley (MS) $295.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, BCS, SYF and MS?

Synchrony Financial (SYF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Barclays (BCS) 7.5x, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.5x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 14.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Synchrony Financial (SYF) is cheapest (Barclays (BCS) 7.7x, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.6x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 13.7x). 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: Barclays (BCS) +9.5%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +2.6%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +16.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Barclays (BCS) has the highest net margin (Barclays (BCS) 26.0%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 16.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Morgan Stanley (MS) returned the most: Barclays (BCS) +5.5%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +0.0%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +12.6%. Over five years, Barclays (BCS) compounded fastest (Barclays (BCS) +14.9%/yr, Synchrony Financial (SYF) +9.9%/yr, Morgan Stanley (MS) +12.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Barclays (BCS) 0.00%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 0.02%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 0.00%. Barclays (BCS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Morgan Stanley (MS) has been the steadiest (Barclays (BCS) 31.0%, Synchrony Financial (SYF) 31.6%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BCS, SYF 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, Morgan Stanley (MS) leads on 4. 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.