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SYF vs. VIRT: Synchrony Financial vs. Virtu Financial Stock Comparison

How do Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT) 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

Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but SYF is classified in Consumer Finance while VIRT is classified in Capital Markets.

Company profile comparison for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Profile ItemSYFVIRT
NameSynchrony FinancialVirtu Financial Inc. Class A Common Stock
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryConsumer FinanceCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryConsumer FinanceInvestment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization23.99 billion USD11.67 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateJuly 31, 2014April 16, 2015
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

SYF
VIRT
GSPC
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT), 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
Total Return (1Y)2.84%57.98%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)39.02%51.24%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)10.89%19.25%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

SYF
VIRT
GSPC
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT), 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Synchrony Financial (SYF) has an aggressive beta of 1.40, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Virtu Financial (VIRT) is defensive at 0.69 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)31.32%37.43%
Beta (5Y)1.400.69
Max Drawdown (5Y)-44.60%-54.52%
Avg. Volume (3M)3.37M1.26M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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SYF and VIRT 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.051.43
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.062.27

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 57.03% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 19.83%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

19.83%

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
SYF
19.83%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

57.03%

VIRT
57.03%
Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 34.07% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 17.96%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

34.07%

Max
62.84%
SYF
34.07%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

17.96%

Max
62.84%
Q3
28.05%
VIRT
17.96%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 49.84% and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 36.32% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

49.84%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
SYF
49.84%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

36.32%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
VIRT
36.32%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
ROE (TTM)19.83%57.03%
ROA (TTM)2.78%5.01%
Net Margin (TTM)34.07%17.96%
Operating Margin (TTM)49.84%36.32%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 26.25% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Synchrony Financial (SYF) at -0.50% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 72.73% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 8.54% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for VIRT.

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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
Revenue Growth (YoY)-0.50%26.25%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)8.67%15.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)8.54%72.73%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)14.70%28.11%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Synchrony Financial (SYF) in Financial Services and Virtu Financial (VIRT) 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: Synchrony Financial (SYF) in Financial Services and Virtu Financial (VIRT) 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 1.67% and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 1.78% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

1.67%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
SYF
1.67%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

1.78%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
VIRT
1.78%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 12.94% and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 15.95% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

12.94%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
SYF
12.94%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

15.95%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
VIRT
15.95%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
Dividend Yield (TTM)1.67%1.78%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)12.94%15.95%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 7.70 and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 7.92 sit in the cheaper earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, with the market paying less for a dollar of trailing earnings than it pays for typical peers.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

7.70

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
SYF
7.70
Min
0.16

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

7.92

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
VIRT
7.92
Min
0.16
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 2.45 and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 3.35 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

2.45

Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
SYF
2.45
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

3.35

Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
VIRT
3.35
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 1.55 and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 1.92 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

SYF

Financial Services industry group

1.55

Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
SYF
1.55
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

1.92

Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
VIRT
1.92
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
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Synchrony Financial (SYF) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
MetricSYFVIRT
P/E Ratio (TTM)7.707.92
P/S Ratio (TTM)2.453.35
P/B Ratio (MRQ)1.551.92
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----