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MCO vs. SCHW: Moody's vs. Charles Schwab Stock Comparison

How do Moody's (MCO) 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

Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though MCO is classified under Financial Exchanges & Data while SCHW falls under Investment Banking & Brokerage.

Company profile comparison for Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Profile ItemMCOSCHW
NameMoody's CorporationThe Charles Schwab Corporation
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryCapital MarketsCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryFinancial Exchanges & DataInvestment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization87.19 billion USD158.22 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateOctober 31, 1994September 22, 1987
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

MCO
SCHW
GSPC
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Moody's (MCO) 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 Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
Total Return (1Y)5.02%-0.80%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)15.27%21.35%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)6.21%4.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

MCO
SCHW
GSPC
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Moody's (MCO) 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 Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)28.61%26.01%
Beta (5Y)1.280.74
Max Drawdown (5Y)-40.93%-49.70%
Avg. Volume (3M)817.57K8.22M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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MCO 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 Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.03-0.20
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.04-0.26

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 76.74% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.12%, 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%

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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Moody's (MCO) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Moody's (MCO) at 35.26% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 39.33% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

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%

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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Moody's (MCO) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Moody's (MCO) at 46.27% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 52.67% 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%

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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Moody's (MCO) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
ROE (TTM)76.74%21.12%
ROA (TTM)15.56%2.16%
Net Margin (TTM)35.26%39.33%
Operating Margin (TTM)46.27%52.67%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Moody's (MCO) at 8.89% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 22.01% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Moody's (MCO) 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 Moody's (MCO) at 21.40% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for SCHW.

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Moody's (MCO) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
Revenue Growth (YoY)8.89%22.01%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)12.17%4.83%
EPS Growth (YoY)21.40%55.52%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)22.48%9.93%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Moody's (MCO) 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: Moody's (MCO) 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 Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Moody's (MCO) at 0.78% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 1.33% 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%

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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Moody's (MCO) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): 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 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.

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%

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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Moody's (MCO) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.78%1.33%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)24.59%21.03%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 15.64 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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 5.85 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Moody's (MCO) at 10.66 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 3.08 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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Moody's (MCO) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricMCOSCHW
P/E Ratio (TTM)30.8515.64
P/S Ratio (TTM)10.665.85
P/B Ratio (MRQ)26.683.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----