SYF vs BCS Stock Comparison

Synchrony Financial and Barclays Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SYF Synchrony Financial
$74.86 +2.7% 1M +0.0% 1Y
Market cap
$23.94B
P/E
7.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.31B
Div. yield
0.02%
Consumer Lending Financial Services
2 wins
BCS Barclays Plc
$22.26 -10.3% 1M +7.6% 1Y
Market cap
$79.20B
P/E
7.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$41.50B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Barclays leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Barclays 7, Synchrony Financial 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSYFBCSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $23.94B $79.20B BCS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.4x 7.4x BCS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.6x 7.6x SYF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.6% +9.5% BCS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.8% 26.0% BCS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 25.7% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +0.0% +7.6% BCS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.9%/yr +15.0%/yr BCS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.7% 31.0% BCS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 80/100 51/100 SYF

Percentile Scorecard

SYFBCS

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

AxisSYFBCS
Valuation 94 #12 of 170 99 #5 of 362
Growth 51 #79 of 160 70 #67 of 221
Profitability 91 #15 of 149 20 #161 of 200
Financial Health 78 #35 of 158 1 #201 of 203
Shareholder Returns 84 #22 of 135 63 #127 of 342
Overall 80 51
  • SYF ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • BCS ranked among 370 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSYFBCSSPY
1 month +2.7%-10.3% -0.8%
3 months -0.6%-22.1% +3.5%
6 months -2.5%-3.6% +7.0%
Year to date -10.3%-12.5% +12.2%
1 year +0.0%+7.6% +13.0%
3 years +166.5%+256.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +38.7%+52.8% +23.1%
5 years +60.4%+100.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +9.9%+15.0% +11.0%
10 years +160.8%+151.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +10.1%+9.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSYFBCSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.7%31.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.1%31.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.181.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.000.25 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.7%-50.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.4%-22.1% -1.8%
52-week high $88.47$28.56 $779.14
52-week low $63.78$20.07 $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.

MultipleSYFBCS
P/E now vs peer median 7.4xmedian 11.0x 7.3xmedian 12.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.6x 1.9xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 13.1x —median 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 6.9x —median 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 0.7x 0.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.34median 0.32 0.41median 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 monthsSYFBCS
Revenue $19.31B $41.50B
Net income $3.33B $10.83B
Free cash flow $9.56B –
EPS (diluted) $10.06 $2.95
Cash & equivalents $15.90B $335.17B
Total debt $8.11B $302.10B
Shares (diluted) 322.40M 3.65B
Enterprise value -$43.68B -$1.63T

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
MetricSYFBCS
P/E 7.4x 7.3x
P/FCF 2.4x –
P/Operating cash flow 2.4x –
P/S 1.2x 1.9x
P/B 1.4x 0.8x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 0.8x
EV/EBITDA 1.8x –
EV/EBIT 1.9x 17.0x
EV/Revenue 0.8x -1.6x
EV/FCF 1.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 1.6x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.34 0.41

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSYFBCS
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.6% 9.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – –
Net income growth (1Y) -6.8% 19.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 10.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.5% 29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 21.7% 17.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -2.0% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -2.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSYFBCS
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin 45.8% –
Operating margin – –
Pretax margin 22.6% 33.1%
Net margin 16.8% 26.0%
FCF margin 49.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 49.5% –
Return on equity 19.9% 10.4%
Return on assets 2.7% 0.5%
Return on invested capital 25.7% –
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.9x –
Stock comp / revenue – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSYFBCS
Debt / assets 6.6% 13.1%
Debt / equity 0.5x 2.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.9x –
Debt / FCF 0.8x –
Liabilities / assets 86.5% 95.5%
Equity / assets 13.5% 4.5%
Interest coverage 2.1x –
Current ratio – –
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSYFBCS
Dividend yield 1.7% 2.8%
Net buyback yield 16.5% –
Shareholder yield 18.2% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 12.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 4.4% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.1% –

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.

ConsensusSYFBCS
Forward P/E 7.6xFY2026 7.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.82FY2026 $2.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.8%FY2026 +26.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.3% +12.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.69BFY2026 $42.91BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.7%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.5% -4.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSYFBCS
Held by institutions 100.0% 8.5%
Institutions holding 1,002 556
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.8% +2.9%
Institutions buying 526 306
Institutions selling 345 161
Buyers to sellers 1.52 1.90

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.

SYFBCS
SYF 1.00 0.50
BCS 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SYF and BCS?

Barclays (BCS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Synchrony Financial (SYF) $23.94B, Barclays (BCS) $79.20B.

Which stock is cheaper, SYF and BCS?

Barclays (BCS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.4x, Barclays (BCS) 7.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Synchrony Financial (SYF) is cheapest (Synchrony Financial (SYF) 7.6x, Barclays (BCS) 7.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Barclays (BCS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Synchrony Financial (SYF) +2.6%, Barclays (BCS) +9.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Barclays (BCS) has the highest net margin (Synchrony Financial (SYF) 16.8%, Barclays (BCS) 26.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Barclays (BCS) returned the most: Synchrony Financial (SYF) +0.0%, Barclays (BCS) +7.6%. Over five years, Barclays (BCS) compounded fastest (Synchrony Financial (SYF) +9.9%/yr, Barclays (BCS) +15.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Synchrony Financial (SYF) 0.02%, Barclays (BCS) 0.00%. Barclays (BCS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Barclays (BCS) has been the steadiest (Synchrony Financial (SYF) 31.7%, Barclays (BCS) 31.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do SYF and BCS move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.50, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, SYF and BCS?

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