SAN vs MS vs GS Stock Comparison

Banco Santander, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SAN Banco Santander, S.A.
$11.36 -15.0% 1M +11.6% 1Y
Market cap
$179.13B
P/E
9.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.89B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins
MS Morgan Stanley
$186.09 -2.2% 1M +13.7% 1Y
Market cap
$300.45B
P/E
15.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$78.04B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
3 wins
GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc
$895.85 -0.8% 1M +14.0% 1Y
Market cap
$274.53B
P/E
12.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$69.70B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Banco Santander leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Banco Santander 4, Goldman Sachs 4, Morgan Stanley 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSANMSGSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $179.13B $300.45B $274.53B MS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.5x 15.4x 12.9x SAN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.4x 13.6x 11.9x SAN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.2% +18.0% +18.7% GS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 26.2% 25.0% 30.6% GS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 12.0% 13.9% GS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -37.5x 2.9x -5.6x SAN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.6% +13.7% +14.0% GS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.0%/yr +13.3%/yr +17.0%/yr SAN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.2% 28.6% 32.1% MS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 19/100 38/100 36/100 MS

Percentile Scorecard

SANMSGS

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

AxisSANMSGS
Valuation 12 #318 of 360 5 #343 of 360 15 #305 of 360
Growth 40 #206 of 344 87 #46 of 344 50 #172 of 344
Profitability 6 #324 of 345 23 #265 of 345 17 #288 of 345
Financial Health 0 #339 of 339 2 #331 of 339 12 #298 of 339
Shareholder Returns 35 #228 of 352 72 #98 of 352 87 #47 of 352
Overall 19 38 36
  • SAN ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • MS ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • GS ranked among 368 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSANMSGSSPY
1 month -15.0%-2.2%-0.8% -2.0%
3 months -21.5%-14.3%-15.0% -2.2%
6 months -4.4%-1.7%-2.5% +4.2%
Year to date -3.2%+4.8%+1.9% +10.6%
1 year +11.6%+13.7%+14.0% +10.4%
3 years +198.2%+144.0%+173.4% +73.6%
3 years, per year +44.0%+34.7%+39.9% +20.2%
5 years +204.6%+86.5%+119.5% +61.6%
5 years, per year +25.0%+13.3%+17.0% +10.1%
10 years +147.5%+467.2%+408.4% +261.3%
10 years, per year +9.5%+19.0%+17.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSANMSGSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.2%28.6%32.1% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.9%30.3%32.8% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.711.441.66 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.330.480.44 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.0%-35.3%-31.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.4%-18.6%-22.2% -3.2%
52-week high $15.03$228.55$1,152.07 $779.14
52-week low $10.01$154.37$773.70 $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.

MultipleSANMSGS
P/E now vs peer median 9.0xmedian 12.4x 14.8xmedian 12.4x 12.4xmedian 12.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 3.5x 3.7xmedian 3.5x 3.7xmedian 3.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -41.0xmedian 4.9x 6.5xmedian 4.9x -3.0xmedian 4.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.4xmedian 11.0x -15.7xmedian 11.0x -6.5xmedian 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 1.2x 2.5xmedian 1.2x 2.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.38median 1.33 0.50median 1.33 0.25median 1.33

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 monthsSANMSGS
Revenue $71.89B $78.04B $69.70B
Gross profit -$3.71B – –
Operating income -$51.48B – –
Net income $20.00B $20.37B $22.17B
Free cash flow $6.31B -$18.58B -$39.98B
EPS (diluted) $1.26 $12.46 $70.77
Cash & equivalents – $160.14B $176.77B
Total debt $1.88T $392.56B $444.82B
Shares (diluted) 14.98B 1.57B 301.10M
Enterprise value -$506.27B -$208.64B -$3.47T

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
MetricSANMSGS
P/E 9.0x 14.8x 12.4x
P/FCF 26.4x -15.7x -6.5x
P/Operating cash flow 26.4x -18.8x -6.8x
P/S 2.3x 3.7x 3.7x
P/B 11.9x 2.5x 2.1x
P/Tangible book -10.7x 2.6x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA -41.0x 6.5x -3.0x
EV/EBIT -38.0x 6.8x -3.1x
EV/Revenue 27.2x 6.7x -4.4x
EV/FCF 309.8x -28.3x 7.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 309.8x -33.7x 8.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.38 0.50 0.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSANMSGS
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.2% 18.0% 18.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 13.3% 15.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -100.7% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 21.2% 36.7% 33.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 26.0% 41.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -91.6% 40.3% 40.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 23.8% 29.4% 49.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -62.3% 11.8% -311.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.5% 27.6% -29.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -62.3% 11.3% -353.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.5% 25.1% -26.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSANMSGS
Gross margin -5.2% – –
EBITDA margin -66.4% 104.2% 144.7%
Operating margin -71.6% – –
Pretax margin 31.9% 33.5% 40.0%
Net margin 26.2% 25.0% 30.6%
FCF margin 8.8% -23.8% -57.4%
Operating cash flow margin 8.8% -20.0% -54.3%
Return on equity 117.4% 17.5% 17.9%
Return on assets 0.6% 1.3% 1.0%
Return on invested capital – 12.0% 13.9%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.3x -0.8x -1.7x
Stock comp / revenue – 2.6% 5.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSANMSGS
Debt / assets 78.8% 23.4% 20.4%
Debt / equity 133.6x 3.3x 3.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -37.5x 2.9x -5.6x
Debt / FCF 297.7x -21.1x -11.1x
Liabilities / assets 99.4% 93.0% 94.3%
Equity / assets 0.6% 7.0% 5.7%
Interest coverage – 1.5x 1.4x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSANMSGS
Dividend yield 2.6% 2.3% 2.0%
Net buyback yield – 2.5% 5.9%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 4.8% 8.0%
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.

ConsensusSANMSGS
Forward P/E 10.4xFY2026 13.6xFY2026 11.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.09FY2026 $13.66FY2026 $75.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.8%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026 +46.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.9% -4.2% -6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $76.20BFY2026 $80.05BFY2026 $68.80BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.5%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.8% +13.3% +4.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSANMSGS
Held by institutions 3.4% 85.7% 72.1%
Institutions holding 662 2,745 3,153
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +1.5% +1.1%
Institutions buying 405 1,470 1,555
Institutions selling 149 940 1,125
Buyers to sellers 2.72 1.56 1.38

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.

SANMSGS
SAN 1.00 0.50 0.53
MS 0.50 1.00 0.86
GS 0.53 0.86 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SAN, MS and GS?

Morgan Stanley (MS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Banco Santander (SAN) $179.13B, Morgan Stanley (MS) $300.45B, Goldman Sachs (GS) $274.53B.

Which stock is cheaper, SAN, MS and GS?

Banco Santander (SAN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Banco Santander (SAN) 9.5x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 15.4x, Goldman Sachs (GS) 12.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Banco Santander (SAN) is cheapest (Banco Santander (SAN) 10.4x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 13.6x, Goldman Sachs (GS) 11.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Goldman Sachs (GS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Banco Santander (SAN) +11.2%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +18.0%, Goldman Sachs (GS) +18.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Goldman Sachs (GS) has the highest net margin (Banco Santander (SAN) 26.2%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 25.0%, Goldman Sachs (GS) 30.6%). On return on invested capital, Goldman Sachs (GS) leads (Morgan Stanley (MS) 12.0%, Goldman Sachs (GS) 13.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Goldman Sachs (GS) returned the most: Banco Santander (SAN) +11.6%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +13.7%, Goldman Sachs (GS) +14.0%. Over five years, Banco Santander (SAN) compounded fastest (Banco Santander (SAN) +25.0%/yr, Morgan Stanley (MS) +13.3%/yr, Goldman Sachs (GS) +17.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Morgan Stanley (MS) has been the steadiest (Banco Santander (SAN) 35.2%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 28.6%, Goldman Sachs (GS) 32.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SAN, MS and GS?

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