GLD vs IAU Stock Comparison

Spdr Gold Trust and Ishares Gold Trust Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GLD Spdr Gold Trust
$367.82 -6.5% 1M -2.6% 1Y
Market cap
$129.47B
P/E
5.7x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Asset Management Financial Services
1 win
IAU Ishares Gold Trust
$75.42 -6.5% 1M -2.4% 1Y
Market cap
$25.18B
P/E
4.5x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Asset Management Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

5 decided of 12

Ishares Gold Trust leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Ishares Gold Trust 4, Spdr Gold Trust 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGLDIAULeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $129.47B $25.18B GLD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 5.7x 4.5x IAU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.6% -2.4% IAU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.0%/yr +17.1%/yr IAU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.7% 28.6% IAU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — — –

Percentile Scorecard

GLDIAU

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

AxisGLDIAU
Valuation 91 #13 of 139 –
Growth – –
Profitability – –
Financial Health – –
Shareholder Returns – –
Overall – –
  • GLD ranked among 166 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • IAU ranked among 166 companies in Asset and Wealth Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGLDIAUSPY
1 month -6.5%-6.5% -0.8%
3 months -1.8%-1.8% +3.5%
6 months -14.4%-14.4% +7.0%
Year to date -7.2%-7.1% +12.2%
1 year -2.6%-2.4% +13.0%
3 years +97.6%+98.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +25.5%+25.7% +23.1%
5 years +118.8%+120.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +17.0%+17.1% +11.0%
10 years +204.5%+208.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +11.8%+11.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGLDIAUSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.7%28.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.0%31.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.850.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.09-0.09 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.4%-26.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.8%-25.7% -1.8%
52-week high $495.90$101.57 $779.14
52-week low $362.32$74.21 $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.

MultipleGLDIAU
P/E now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 41.7x 4.5xmedian 41.7x
P/S now vs peer median —median 11.0x —median 11.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 12.4x —median 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 17.0x —median 17.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.7x —median 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.92 —median 0.92

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 monthsGLDIAU
Net income $23.17B $6.18B
Enterprise value -$428.53B $25.18B

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
MetricGLDIAU
P/E 5.7x 4.5x
P/FCF – –
P/Operating cash flow – –
P/S – –
P/B 1.0x –
P/Tangible book 1.0x –
EV/EBITDA – –
EV/EBIT – –
EV/Revenue – –
EV/FCF – –
EV/Operating cash flow – –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGLDIAU
Revenue growth (1Y) – –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – –
Net income growth (1Y) -13.8% -40.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 125.7% –
EPS growth (1Y) – –
EPS CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGLDIAU
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin – –
Operating margin – –
Pretax margin – –
Net margin – –
FCF margin – –
Operating cash flow margin – –
Return on equity 16.3% –
Return on assets 16.2% –
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover – –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – –
Stock comp / revenue – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGLDIAU
Debt / assets – –
Debt / equity – –
Net debt / EBITDA – –
Debt / FCF – –
Liabilities / assets 0.0% –
Equity / assets 100.0% –
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio – –
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGLDIAU
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield – –
Shareholder yield – –
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusGLDIAU

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGLDIAU
Held by institutions 36.6% 48.7%
Institutions holding 3,003 1,904
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.7% -2.8%
Institutions buying 1,152 837
Institutions selling 1,153 626
Buyers to sellers 1.00 1.34

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.

GLDIAU
GLD 1.00 1.00
IAU 1.00 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GLD and IAU?

Spdr Gold Trust (GLD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Spdr Gold Trust (GLD) $129.47B, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) $25.18B.

Which stock is cheaper, GLD and IAU?

Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Spdr Gold Trust (GLD) 5.7x, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) 4.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) returned the most: Spdr Gold Trust (GLD) -2.6%, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) -2.4%. Over five years, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) compounded fastest (Spdr Gold Trust (GLD) +17.0%/yr, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) +17.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) has been the steadiest (Spdr Gold Trust (GLD) 28.7%, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) 28.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do GLD and IAU move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 1.00, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, GLD and IAU?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ishares Gold Trust (IAU) 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.