COF vs MA vs MCO Stock Comparison

Capital One Financial, Mastercard and Moodys Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
COF Capital One Financial Corp
$202.37 +1.1% 1M -10.1% 1Y
Market cap
$126.36B
P/E
12.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
2 wins
MA Mastercard Inc
$613.59 +8.1% 1M +7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$538.39B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
8 wins
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$484.68 +3.4% 1M -1.3% 1Y
Market cap
$81.78B
P/E
28.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 8, Capital One Financial 2, Moodys 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCOFMAMCOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $126.36B $538.39B $81.78B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.0x 33.1x 28.4x COF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.9x 29.2x 27.0x COF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +16.0% +9.0% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 46.3% 35.3% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 59.0% 27.9% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.6x 1.3x MA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.1% +7.0% -1.3% MA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.8%/yr +12.8%/yr +4.3%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.6% 22.7% 28.4% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 52/100 60/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

COFMAMCO

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

AxisCOFMAMCO
Valuation 80 #75 of 362 14 #815 of 947 19 #768 of 947
Growth – 66 #238 of 691 73 #189 of 691
Profitability – 99 #8 of 673 96 #27 of 673
Financial Health – 50 #379 of 754 53 #352 of 754
Shareholder Returns 17 #284 of 342 34 #474 of 713 60 #288 of 713
Overall – 52 60
  • COF ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • MA ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services
  • MCO ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCOFMAMCOSPY
1 month +1.1%+8.1%+3.4% -0.8%
3 months -2.2%+11.2%-0.3% +3.5%
6 months +4.3%+21.2%+5.2% +7.0%
Year to date -16.5%+7.5%-5.1% +12.2%
1 year -10.1%+7.0%-1.3% +13.0%
3 years +107.0%+68.5%+60.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +27.5%+19.0%+17.1% +23.1%
5 years +32.7%+82.8%+23.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.8%+12.8%+4.3% +11.0%
10 years +168.3%+494.4%+374.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +10.4%+19.5%+16.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCOFMAMCOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.6%22.7%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.8%22.6%30.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.310.260.49 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.320.31-0.04 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.9%-28.6%-42.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.5%-3.0%-10.2% -1.8%
52-week high $257.94$632.81$539.61 $779.14
52-week low $176.10$471.55$412.23 $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.

MultipleCOFMAMCO
P/E now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 12.1x 33.3xmedian 13.1x 29.1xmedian 13.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 3.4x 15.2xmedian 3.2x 10.2xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 5.0x 22.7xmedian 6.9x 21.5xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 11.0x 32.0xmedian 10.9x 28.1xmedian 10.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.2x 95.2xmedian 1.2x 24.5xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.44median 1.36 1.70median 0.88 1.10median 0.88

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 monthsCOFMAMCO
Revenue – $35.08B $8.18B
Gross profit – – $6.10B
Operating income – $20.47B $3.64B
Net income – $16.26B $2.89B
Free cash flow – $16.70B $2.98B
EPS (diluted) $16.91 $18.41 $16.64
Cash & equivalents – $11.29B $1.51B
Total debt – $81.59B $6.91B
Shares (diluted) 621.10M 883.00M 173.30M
Enterprise value $126.36B $498.31B $74.70B

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
MetricCOFMAMCO
P/E 12.0x 33.3x 29.1x
P/FCF 4.1x 32.0x 28.1x
P/Operating cash flow – 30.6x 25.1x
P/S 1.9x 15.2x 10.2x
P/B 1.1x 95.2x 24.5x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 3,685x 48.6x
EV/EBITDA – 22.7x 21.5x
EV/EBIT – 26.8x 24.4x
EV/Revenue – 15.6x 10.9x
EV/FCF – 32.8x 29.8x
EV/Operating cash flow – 31.4x 26.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.44 1.70 1.10

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCOFMAMCO
Revenue growth (1Y) – 16.0% 9.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 14.1% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 10.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 14.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 21.3% 16.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 16.1% 23.3%
Net income growth (1Y) – 19.7% 28.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 16.7% 24.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 889.3% 23.2% 33.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 19.5% 26.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 2.9% 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 14.6% 17.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 0.9% 24.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 14.4% 18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCOFMAMCO
Gross margin – – 74.6%
EBITDA margin – 68.6% 50.6%
Operating margin – 58.3% 44.6%
Pretax margin – 57.5% 45.2%
Net margin – 46.3% 35.3%
FCF margin – 47.6% 36.4%
Operating cash flow margin – 49.7% 40.7%
Return on equity – 263.6% 87.8%
Return on assets – 29.5% 19.6%
Return on invested capital – 59.0% 27.9%
Return on capital employed – 68.1% 31.8%
Asset turnover – 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.1x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.8% 2.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCOFMAMCO
Debt / assets – 42.7% 46.6%
Debt / equity – 4.4x 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.6x 1.3x
Debt / FCF – 1.5x 2.3x
Liabilities / assets 83.7% 90.3% 77.0%
Equity / assets 16.3% 9.7% 23.0%
Interest coverage – 27.4x –
Current ratio – 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio – 0.7x 1.3x
Cash ratio – 0.5x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 10.19 7.68

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCOFMAMCO
Dividend yield 1.6% 0.6% 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 2.9% 3.5%
Shareholder yield 1.6% 3.5% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 24.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 23.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 8.8%

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.

ConsensusCOFMAMCO
Forward P/E 9.9xFY2026 29.2xFY2026 27.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.41FY2026 $20.99FY2026 $17.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.1%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.8% +14.7% -1.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $66.23BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026 $8.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.0%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.3% +0.4% -2.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCOFMAMCO
Held by institutions 86.5% 88.6% 90.8%
Institutions holding 2,110 3,581 1,404
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% +0.6% -1.6%
Institutions buying 1,048 1,587 644
Institutions selling 758 1,526 522
Buyers to sellers 1.38 1.04 1.23

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.

COFMAMCO
COF 1.00 0.45 0.38
MA 0.45 1.00 0.45
MCO 0.38 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, COF, MA and MCO?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Capital One Financial (COF) $126.36B, Mastercard (MA) $538.39B, Moodys (MCO) $81.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, COF, MA and MCO?

Capital One Financial (COF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Capital One Financial (COF) 12.0x, Mastercard (MA) 33.1x, Moodys (MCO) 28.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Capital One Financial (COF) is cheapest (Capital One Financial (COF) 9.9x, Mastercard (MA) 29.2x, Moodys (MCO) 27.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mastercard (MA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mastercard (MA) +16.0%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Mastercard (MA) 46.3%, Moodys (MCO) 35.3%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Mastercard (MA) 59.0%, Moodys (MCO) 27.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mastercard (MA) returned the most: Capital One Financial (COF) -10.1%, Mastercard (MA) +7.0%, Moodys (MCO) -1.3%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Capital One Financial (COF) +5.8%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +12.8%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Capital One Financial (COF) 0.00%, Mastercard (MA) 0.00%, Moodys (MCO) 0.01%. Capital One Financial (COF) and Mastercard (MA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Capital One Financial (COF) 31.6%, Mastercard (MA) 22.7%, Moodys (MCO) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, COF, MA and MCO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mastercard (MA) leads on 8. 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.