RY vs SLF vs HSBC Stock Comparison

Royal Bank Of Canada, Sun Life Financial and Hsbc Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RY Royal Bank Of Canada
$202.60 +0.3% 1M +37.1% 1Y
Market cap
$286.28B
P/E
17.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$51.37B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins
SLF Sun Life Financial Inc
$79.49 -0.5% 1M +29.5% 1Y
Market cap
$45.09B
P/E
18.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Life Insurance Financial Services
HSBC Hsbc Holdings Plc
$91.17 -9.7% 1M +36.1% 1Y
Market cap
$300.13B
P/E
12.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$55.61B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Hsbc Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Hsbc Holdings 6, Royal Bank Of Canada 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRYSLFHSBCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $286.28B $45.09B $300.13B HSBC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.4x 18.8x 12.1x HSBC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.5x 13.1x 10.1x HSBC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.2% — +2,725.8% HSBC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 31.9% — 44.6% HSBC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 49.3% 12.7% — RY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -3.0x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.1% +29.5% +36.1% RY
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.9%/yr +6.7%/yr +24.6%/yr HSBC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 16.5% 18.6% 27.7% RY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 33/100 69/100 RY

Percentile Scorecard

RYSLFHSBC

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

AxisRYSLFHSBC
Valuation 62 #137 of 362 22 #93 of 119 33 #242 of 362
Growth 68 #72 of 221 24 #88 of 115 73 #60 of 221
Profitability 96 #9 of 200 43 #65 of 113 81 #38 of 200
Financial Health 65 #72 of 203 33 #77 of 114 –
Shareholder Returns 94 #21 of 342 45 #59 of 107 89 #40 of 342
Overall 77 33 69
  • RY ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • SLF ranked among 126 companies in Insurance
  • HSBC ranked among 370 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodRYSLFHSBCSPY
1 month +0.3%-0.5%-9.7% -0.8%
3 months -3.3%-4.2%-12.3% +3.5%
6 months +14.7%+12.4%+1.3% +7.0%
Year to date +18.8%+27.4%+15.9% +12.2%
1 year +37.1%+29.5%+36.1% +13.0%
3 years +159.1%+77.7%+148.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +37.4%+21.1%+35.5% +23.1%
5 years +91.2%+38.4%+199.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +13.9%+6.7%+24.6% +11.0%
10 years +224.1%+137.6%+139.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.5%+9.0%+9.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureRYSLFHSBCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 16.5%18.6%27.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 15.8%20.0%26.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.700.371.28 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.241.591.30 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.2%-33.0%-34.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.0%-5.4%-15.5% -1.8%
52-week high $217.87$84.07$107.85 $779.14
52-week low $145.41$57.60$67.20 $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.

MultipleRYSLFHSBC
P/E now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 12.1x 18.7xmedian 10.6x 12.8xmedian 12.1x
P/S now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 3.4x —median 1.4x 5.6xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 5.0x —median 7.6x —median 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 11.0x 13.4xmedian 8.6x —median 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.2x 2.3xmedian 1.5x 1.6xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.21median 1.36 7.13median 0.52 1.95median 1.36

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 monthsRYSLFHSBC
Revenue $51.37B – $55.61B
Operating income – – $30.80B
Net income $16.43B $2.57B $26.01B
Free cash flow $57.35B $3.28B –
EPS (diluted) $11.62 $4.23 $7.07
Cash & equivalents $45.78B – $227.80B
Total debt $9.69B $6.42B –
Shares (diluted) 1.41B 566.00M 3.51B
Enterprise value -$543.76B $3.04B -$1.53T

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
MetricRYSLFHSBC
P/E 17.4x 18.7x 12.8x
P/FCF 4.9x 13.4x –
P/Operating cash flow 4.9x 13.0x –
P/S 5.5x – 5.6x
P/B 2.7x 2.3x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 2.9x 2.9x 1.6x
EV/EBITDA 0.9x – –
EV/EBIT 1.0x 9.8x 2.8x
EV/Revenue 1.3x – 1.5x
EV/FCF 1.2x 12.1x –
EV/Operating cash flow 1.2x 11.7x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.21 7.13 1.95

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRYSLFHSBC
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.2% – 2,726%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% – 4.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 25.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – 4.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 19.6% 4.7% 31.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.8% 6.5% 0.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.0% 4.1% 46.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 2.6% 6.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -8.3% 8.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 13.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -8.3% 8.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 9.5% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRYSLFHSBC
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 140.4% – –
Operating margin – – 55.4%
Pretax margin 40.9% – 60.5%
Net margin 31.9% – 44.6%
FCF margin 111.6% – –
Operating cash flow margin 111.6% – –
Return on equity 15.9% 13.9% 13.2%
Return on assets 0.9% 0.9% 0.8%
Return on invested capital 49.3% 12.7% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.0x – 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.5x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRYSLFHSBC
Debt / assets 0.5% 2.1% –
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA -3.0x – –
Debt / FCF 0.2x 2.0x –
Liabilities / assets 94.2% 93.7% 94.3%
Equity / assets 5.8% 6.3% 5.7%
Interest coverage 1.4x 5.6x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRYSLFHSBC
Dividend yield 4.1% 4.7% 4.1%
Net buyback yield 3.1% -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 7.2% 4.6% 4.1%
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.

ConsensusRYSLFHSBC
Forward P/E 16.5xFY2026 13.1xFY2026 10.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.27FY2026 $6.06FY2026 $9.02FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.2%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026 +19.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.9% -3.1% +9.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.04BFY2026 $6.17BFY2026 $70.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.6%FY2026 -4.1%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.5% +29.2% +18.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRYSLFHSBC
Held by institutions 43.8% 44.7% 2.5%
Institutions holding 984 490 707
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.9% +1.3% -0.3%
Institutions buying 446 256 402
Institutions selling 325 130 180
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.97 2.23

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.

RYSLFHSBC
RY 1.00 0.43 0.54
SLF 0.43 1.00 0.27
HSBC 0.54 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RY, SLF and HSBC?

Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) $286.28B, Sun Life Financial (SLF) $45.09B, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) $300.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, RY, SLF and HSBC?

Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 17.4x, Sun Life Financial (SLF) 18.8x, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 12.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) is cheapest (Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 16.5x, Sun Life Financial (SLF) 13.1x, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 10.1x). 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: Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) +11.2%, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) +2,725.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) has the highest net margin (Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 31.9%, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 44.6%). On return on invested capital, Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) leads (Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 49.3%, Sun Life Financial (SLF) 12.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) returned the most: Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) +37.1%, Sun Life Financial (SLF) +29.5%, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) +36.1%. Over five years, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) compounded fastest (Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) +13.9%/yr, Sun Life Financial (SLF) +6.7%/yr, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) +24.6%/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 (Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) 16.5%, Sun Life Financial (SLF) 18.6%, Hsbc Holdings (HSBC) 27.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 6. 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.