MCO vs. NTRS: Moody's vs. Northern Trust Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS) 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

Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though MCO is classified under Financial Exchanges & Data while NTRS falls under Asset Management & Custody Banks.

Company profile comparison for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Profile Item	MCO	NTRS
Name	Moody's Corporation	Northern Trust Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Financial Exchanges & Data	Asset Management & Custody Banks
Market Capitalization	87.19 billion USD	31.29 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	October 31, 1994	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

MCO

NTRS

GSPC

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS), 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 Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
Total Return (1Y)	5.02%	39.45%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	15.27%	40.68%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	6.21%	11.05%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

MCO

NTRS

GSPC

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS), 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 Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	28.61%	24.90%
Beta (5Y)	1.28	1.18
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-40.93%	-50.03%
Avg. Volume (3M)	817.57K	1.11M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

MCO and NTRS 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 Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.03	1.41
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.04	2.17

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 76.74% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Northern Trust (NTRS) at 18.44%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

76.74%

MCO: 76.74%
Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

18.44%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
NTRS: 18.44%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 35.26% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Northern Trust (NTRS) at 26.00%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

35.26%

Max: 62.84%
MCO: 35.26%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

26.00%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
NTRS: 26.00%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Moody's (MCO) at 46.27% and Northern Trust (NTRS) at 34.80% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

46.27%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
MCO: 46.27%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

34.80%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
NTRS: 34.80%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
ROE (TTM)	76.74%	18.44%
ROA (TTM)	15.56%	1.44%
Net Margin (TTM)	35.26%	26.00%
Operating Margin (TTM)	46.27%	34.80%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Moody's (MCO) at 8.89% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Northern Trust (NTRS) at -2.46% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Moody's (MCO) at 21.40% and Northern Trust (NTRS) at -10.54% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.89%	-2.46%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	12.17%	6.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)	21.40%	-10.54%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	22.48%	12.49%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Moody's (MCO) in Financial Services and Northern Trust (NTRS) 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: Moody's (MCO) in Financial Services and Northern Trust (NTRS) 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 Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Moody's (MCO) at 0.78% and Northern Trust (NTRS) at 1.91% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

0.78%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
MCO: 0.78%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

1.91%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
NTRS: 1.91%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Moody's (MCO) at 24.59% and Northern Trust (NTRS) at 25.73% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

24.59%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
MCO: 24.59%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

25.73%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
NTRS: 25.73%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.78%	1.91%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	24.59%	25.73%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northern Trust (NTRS) at 13.55 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 30.85 sits in the richer quartile — MCO needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

30.85

Max: 45.85
MCO: 30.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

13.55

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
NTRS: 13.55
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Northern Trust (NTRS) at 3.35 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 10.66 clears its benchmark range — MCO looks notably rich on sales.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

10.66

MCO: 10.66
Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

3.35

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
NTRS: 3.35
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Northern Trust (NTRS) at 2.51 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 26.68 prices above its benchmark range — MCO looks rich relative to book.

MCO

Financial Services industry group

26.68

MCO: 26.68
Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

NTRS

Financial Services industry group

2.51

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
NTRS: 2.51
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

Moody's (MCO) vs. Northern Trust (NTRS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Northern Trust (NTRS)
Metric	MCO	NTRS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	30.85	13.55
P/S Ratio (TTM)	10.66	3.35
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	26.68	2.51
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--