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COF vs. SCHW: Capital One Financial vs. Charles Schwab Stock Comparison

How do Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but COF is classified in Consumer Finance while SCHW is classified in Capital Markets.

Company profile comparison for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Profile ItemCOFSCHW
NameCapital One Financial Corp.The Charles Schwab Corporation
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryConsumer FinanceCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryConsumer FinanceInvestment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization121.43 billion USD158.22 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateNovember 16, 1994September 22, 1987
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

COF
SCHW
GSPC
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
Total Return (1Y)-5.89%-0.80%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)26.49%21.35%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)7.24%4.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

COF
SCHW
GSPC
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)31.21%26.01%
Beta (5Y)1.090.74
Max Drawdown (5Y)-45.56%-49.70%
Avg. Volume (3M)3.66M8.22M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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COF and SCHW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.33-0.20
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.43-0.26

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Capital One Financial (COF) at 9.39% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.12% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

COF

Financial Services industry group

9.39%

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
COF
9.39%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

21.12%

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
SCHW
21.12%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 39.33% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Capital One Financial (COF) at 22.23%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

COF

Financial Services industry group

22.23%

Max
62.84%
Q3
28.05%
COF
22.23%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

39.33%

Max
62.84%
SCHW
39.33%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Capital One Financial (COF) at 37.83% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 52.67% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

COF

Financial Services industry group

37.83%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
COF
37.83%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

52.67%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
SCHW
52.67%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
ROE (TTM)9.39%21.12%
ROA (TTM)1.57%2.16%
Net Margin (TTM)22.23%39.33%
Operating Margin (TTM)37.83%52.67%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Capital One Financial (COF) at 36.62% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 22.01% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for COF.

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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 55.52% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Capital One Financial (COF) at -65.23% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
Revenue Growth (YoY)36.62%22.01%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)15.98%4.83%
EPS Growth (YoY)-65.23%55.52%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)-39.18%9.93%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Capital One Financial (COF) in Financial Services and Charles Schwab (SCHW) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Capital One Financial (COF) in Financial Services and Charles Schwab (SCHW) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Capital One Financial (COF) at 1.57% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 1.33% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

COF

Financial Services industry group

1.57%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
COF
1.57%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

1.33%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
SCHW
1.33%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Capital One Financial (COF) at 19.61% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.03% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

COF

Financial Services industry group

19.61%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
COF
19.61%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

21.03%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
SCHW
21.03%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
Dividend Yield (TTM)1.57%1.33%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)19.61%21.03%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Capital One Financial (COF) at 12.37 and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 15.64 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

COF

Financial Services industry group

12.37

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
COF
12.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

15.64

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
SCHW
15.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Capital One Financial (COF) at 2.48 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 5.85 sits in the pricier quartile — SCHW costs more per dollar of sales.

COF

Financial Services industry group

2.48

Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
COF
2.48
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

5.85

Max
9.23
SCHW
5.85
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Capital One Financial (COF) at 1.15 and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 3.08 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

COF

Financial Services industry group

1.15

Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
COF
1.15
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

3.08

Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
SCHW
3.08
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
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Capital One Financial (COF) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Capital One Financial (COF) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricCOFSCHW
P/E Ratio (TTM)12.3715.64
P/S Ratio (TTM)2.485.85
P/B Ratio (MRQ)1.153.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----