HSBC vs RY vs AXP Stock Comparison

Hsbc Holdings, Royal Bank Of Canada and American Express Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HSBC Hsbc Holdings Plc
$90.65 -9.5% 1M +36.8% 1Y
Market cap
$317.90B
P/E
12.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$55.61B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
7 wins
RY Royal Bank Of Canada
$201.11 +0.8% 1M +36.4% 1Y
Market cap
$285.75B
P/E
17.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$51.37B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins
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

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Hsbc Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Hsbc Holdings 7, Royal Bank Of Canada 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHSBCRYAXPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $317.90B $285.75B $212.01B HSBC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.8x 17.4x 17.3x HSBC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.0x 16.6x 18.3x HSBC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2,725.8% +11.2% +10.2% HSBC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 44.6% 31.9% 15.8% HSBC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 49.3% 19.6% RY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -3.0x 0.5x RY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.8% +36.4% -11.8% HSBC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +24.8%/yr +13.3%/yr +10.9%/yr HSBC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.7% 16.5% 26.1% RY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 76/100 41/100 RY

Percentile Scorecard

HSBCRYAXP

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

AxisHSBCRYAXP
Valuation 39 #221 of 361 65 #128 of 361 19 #293 of 361
Growth 70 #105 of 344 64 #123 of 344 36 #222 of 344
Profitability 83 #59 of 348 93 #26 of 348 61 #137 of 348
Financial Health – 63 #127 of 340 35 #222 of 340
Shareholder Returns 90 #36 of 352 93 #24 of 352 55 #159 of 352
Overall 70 76 41
  • HSBC ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • RY ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • AXP ranked among 370 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHSBCRYAXPSPY
1 month -9.5%+0.8%+3.6% -1.0%
3 months -12.3%-3.9%-4.1% +2.9%
6 months +1.1%+14.7%-0.3% +6.4%
Year to date +15.2%+18.0%-15.4% +11.4%
1 year +36.8%+36.4%-11.8% +13.1%
3 years +140.6%+150.2%+116.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +34.0%+35.8%+29.4% +21.5%
5 years +202.0%+86.6%+67.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +24.8%+13.3%+10.9% +10.9%
10 years +137.1%+217.2%+364.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.0%+12.2%+16.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHSBCRYAXPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.7%16.5%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.8%15.8%30.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.270.690.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.332.21-0.45 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.6%-34.2%-32.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.9%-7.7%-18.7% -2.5%
52-week high $107.85$217.87$384.89 $779.14
52-week low $66.26$145.41$292.27 $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.

MultipleHSBCRYAXP
P/E now vs peer median 12.7xmedian 12.5x 17.3xmedian 12.5x 17.2xmedian 12.5x
P/S now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 3.5x 5.5xmedian 3.5x 2.7xmedian 3.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 4.8x 0.9xmedian 4.8x 8.8xmedian 4.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 11.4x 4.9xmedian 11.4x 15.1xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.2x 2.7xmedian 1.2x 5.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.94median 1.48 1.20median 1.48 0.93median 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 monthsHSBCRYAXP
Revenue $55.61B $51.37B $77.59B
Operating income $30.80B – –
Net income $26.01B $16.43B $12.26B
Free cash flow – $57.35B $13.91B
EPS (diluted) $7.07 $11.62 $18.18
Cash & equivalents $227.80B $45.78B $43.20B
Total debt – $9.69B $59.95B
Shares (diluted) 3.51B 1.41B 674.00M
Enterprise value -$1.51T -$544.29B $11.49B

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
MetricHSBCRYAXP
P/E 12.7x 17.3x 17.2x
P/FCF – 4.9x 15.1x
P/Operating cash flow – 4.9x 11.9x
P/S 5.6x 5.5x 2.7x
P/B 1.6x 2.7x 5.9x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 2.9x 5.9x
EV/EBITDA – 0.9x 8.8x
EV/EBIT 2.7x 0.9x 9.5x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 1.3x 2.9x
EV/FCF – 1.1x 15.9x
EV/Operating cash flow – 1.1x 12.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.94 1.20 0.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHSBCRYAXP
Revenue growth (1Y) 2,726% 11.2% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 10.3% 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 25.1% – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.4% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 31.5% 19.6% 16.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.8% 14.8% 15.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 46.4% 19.0% 19.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 14.4% 18.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -8.3% -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 28.0% -4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -8.3% -26.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 28.0% -9.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHSBCRYAXP
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 140.4% 32.6%
Operating margin 55.4% – –
Pretax margin 60.5% 40.9% 19.9%
Net margin 44.6% 31.9% 15.8%
FCF margin – 111.6% 17.9%
Operating cash flow margin – 111.6% 22.7%
Return on equity 13.2% 15.9% 35.0%
Return on assets 0.8% 0.9% 4.0%
Return on invested capital – 49.3% 19.6%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.0x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 3.5x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHSBCRYAXP
Debt / assets – 0.5% 19.3%
Debt / equity – 0.1x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – -3.0x 0.5x
Debt / FCF – 0.2x 4.3x
Liabilities / assets 94.3% 94.2% 88.5%
Equity / assets 5.7% 5.8% 11.5%
Interest coverage – 1.4x 3.0x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHSBCRYAXP
Dividend yield 4.1% 3.3% 1.2%
Net buyback yield – 3.1% 3.2%
Shareholder yield 4.1% 6.4% 4.4%
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.

ConsensusHSBCRYAXP
Forward P/E 10.0xFY2026 16.6xFY2026 18.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.03FY2026 $12.12FY2026 $17.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.6%FY2026 +17.8%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.2% +6.9% +23.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $69.99BFY2026 $52.39BFY2026 $82.06BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.4%FY2026 +10.2%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +0.5% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHSBCRYAXP
Held by institutions 2.5% 43.8% 84.9%
Institutions holding 707 984 3,008
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +1.9% -0.3%
Institutions buying 402 446 1,473
Institutions selling 180 325 1,050
Buyers to sellers 2.23 1.37 1.40

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.

HSBCRYAXP
HSBC 1.00 0.53 0.37
RY 0.53 1.00 0.43
AXP 0.37 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HSBC, RY and AXP?

Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) $317.90B, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) $285.75B, American Express (AXP) $212.01B.

Which stock is cheaper, HSBC, RY and AXP?

Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 12.8x, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 17.4x, American Express (AXP) 17.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) is cheapest (Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 10.0x, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 16.6x, American Express (AXP) 18.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) +2,725.8%, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) +11.2%, American Express (AXP) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) has the highest net margin (Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 44.6%, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 31.9%, American Express (AXP) 15.8%). On return on invested capital, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) leads (Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 49.3%, American Express (AXP) 19.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) returned the most: Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) +36.8%, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) +36.4%, American Express (AXP) -11.8%. Over five years, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) compounded fastest (Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) +24.8%/yr, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) +13.3%/yr, American Express (AXP) +10.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) has been the steadiest (Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 27.7%, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 16.5%, American Express (AXP) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HSBC, RY and AXP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 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.