MKL vs AFL Stock Comparison

Markel and Aflac Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MKL Markel Group Inc.
$1,875.12 +8.5% 1M -0.2% 1Y
Market cap
$23.35B
P/E
10.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.51B
Div. yield
–
Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Services
2 wins
AFL Aflac Inc
$120.93 +6.3% 1M +12.8% 1Y
Market cap
$61.58B
P/E
12.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.07B
Div. yield
–
Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Services
8 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionMKLAFLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $23.35B $61.58B AFL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 10.2x 12.7x MKL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.8x 16.6x AFL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.5% +10.9% AFL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.7% 26.9% AFL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.6% -2.7% MKL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.2% +12.8% AFL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.6%/yr +16.7%/yr AFL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.9% 17.6% AFL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 43/100 AFL

Percentile Scorecard

MKLAFL

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

AxisMKLAFL
Valuation 64 #43 of 119 14 #103 of 119
Growth 11 #103 of 115 39 #71 of 115
Profitability 55 #51 of 113 44 #64 of 113
Financial Health 63 #43 of 114 35 #74 of 114
Shareholder Returns 21 #85 of 107 86 #16 of 107
Overall 43 43
  • MKL ranked among 126 companies in Insurance
  • AFL ranked among 126 companies in Insurance

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMKLAFLSPY
1 month +8.5%+6.3% -0.8%
3 months -7.0%-4.5% +3.5%
6 months -1.1%+5.4% +7.0%
Year to date -12.8%+9.7% +12.2%
1 year -0.2%+12.8% +13.0%
3 years +30.9%+58.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +9.4%+16.5% +23.1%
5 years +44.0%+115.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +7.6%+16.7% +11.0%
10 years +110.8%+246.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +7.7%+13.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMKLAFLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.9%17.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.3%17.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.03-0.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.010.73 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.9%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.5%-6.6% -1.8%
52-week high $2,191.90$129.53 $779.14
52-week low $1,714.26$105.70 $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.

MultipleMKLAFL
P/E now vs peer median 10.3xmedian 10.6x 12.5xmedian 10.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.4x 3.4xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.6x —median 7.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.0xmedian 8.6x 22.9xmedian 8.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.5x 2.0xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.20median 0.52 1.93median 0.52

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 monthsMKLAFL
Revenue $15.51B $18.07B
Gross profit $10.63B $11.05B
Operating income $3.09B -$1.24B
Net income $2.32B $4.86B
Free cash flow $2.12B $2.65B
EPS (diluted) $181.44 $9.62
Cash & equivalents $3.42B $6.12B
Total debt $4.37B $8.73B
Shares (diluted) 12.59M 505.58M
Enterprise value -$43.32B $36.79B

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
MetricMKLAFL
P/E 10.3x 12.5x
P/FCF 11.0x 22.9x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 22.9x
P/S 1.5x 3.4x
P/B 1.2x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA – –
EV/EBIT 3.5x -51.3x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 3.5x
EV/FCF 5.1x 23.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.6x 23.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.20 1.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMKLAFL
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.5% 10.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.0% -1.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.4% 25.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 2.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -7.9% 68.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.8% 28.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.2% 99.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 0.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 5.5% 112.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 6.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.7% 2.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.0% -8.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 3.4% 2.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.3% -8.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMKLAFL
Gross margin 68.5% 61.1%
EBITDA margin – –
Operating margin 19.9% -6.8%
Pretax margin 19.1% 32.0%
Net margin 14.7% 26.9%
FCF margin 13.7% 14.6%
Operating cash flow margin 15.0% 14.6%
Return on equity 12.5% 16.1%
Return on assets 3.3% 4.2%
Return on invested capital 10.6% -2.7%
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMKLAFL
Debt / assets 6.1% 7.5%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – –
Debt / FCF 2.1x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 73.3% 73.9%
Equity / assets 26.7% 26.1%
Interest coverage 15.2x -5.1x
Current ratio – –
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMKLAFL
Dividend yield – 2.0%
Net buyback yield 2.3% 6.2%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 8.2%
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.

ConsensusMKLAFL
Forward P/E 18.8xFY2026 16.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $99.52FY2026 $7.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -13.0%FY2026 -2.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.3% +8.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.96BFY2026 $17.70BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.8%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% -0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMKLAFL
Held by institutions 76.8% 68.2%
Institutions holding 926 1,698
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% +0.6%
Institutions buying 424 740
Institutions selling 315 580
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.28

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.

MKLAFL
MKL 1.00 0.51
AFL 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MKL and AFL?

Aflac (AFL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Markel (MKL) $23.35B, Aflac (AFL) $61.58B.

Which stock is cheaper, MKL and AFL?

Markel (MKL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Markel (MKL) 10.2x, Aflac (AFL) 12.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aflac (AFL) is cheapest (Markel (MKL) 18.8x, Aflac (AFL) 16.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Aflac (AFL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Markel (MKL) +3.5%, Aflac (AFL) +10.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Aflac (AFL) has the highest net margin (Markel (MKL) 14.7%, Aflac (AFL) 26.9%). On return on invested capital, Markel (MKL) leads (Markel (MKL) 10.6%, Aflac (AFL) -2.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Aflac (AFL) returned the most: Markel (MKL) -0.2%, Aflac (AFL) +12.8%. Over five years, Aflac (AFL) compounded fastest (Markel (MKL) +7.6%/yr, Aflac (AFL) +16.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Aflac (AFL) has been the steadiest (Markel (MKL) 19.9%, Aflac (AFL) 17.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do MKL and AFL move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.51, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, MKL and AFL?

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