Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Wells Fargo & Company or HSBC Holdings plc because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. The Consumer Banking and Lending segment offers diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses. Its financial products and services include checking and savings accounts, and credit and debit cards, as well as home, auto, personal, and small business lending services. The Commercial Banking segment provides financial solutions to private, family owned, and certain public companies. Its products and services include banking and credit products across various industry sectors and municipalities, secured lending and lease products, and treasury management services. The Corporate and Investment Banking segment offers a suite of capital markets, banking, and financial products and services, such as corporate banking, investment banking, treasury management, commercial real estate lending and servicing, equity, and fixed income solutions, as well as sales, trading, and research capabilities services to corporate, commercial real estate, government, and institutional clients. The Wealth and Investment Management segment provides personalized wealth management, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, and trust and fiduciary products and services to affluent, high-net worth, and ultra-high-net worth clients. It also operates through financial advisors in brokerage and wealth offices, consumer bank branches, independent offices, and digitally through WellsTrade and Intuitive Investor. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

HSBC Holdings plc engages in the provision of banking and financial products and services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking and wealth products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services; and wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, global asset management services, and investment management and private wealth solutions. This segment serves personal banking and high net worth individuals. The Commercial Banking segment provides credit and lending, treasury management, payment, cash management, commercial insurance, and investment services; commercial cards; international trade and receivables finance services; foreign exchange products; capital raising services on debt and equity markets; and advisory services. It serves small and medium sized enterprises, mid-market enterprises, and corporates. The Global Banking and Markets segment offers financing, advisory, and transaction services; and credit, rates, foreign exchange, equities, money markets, and securities services; and investment services. It serves government, corporate and institutional clients, and private investors. The company was founded in 1865 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Latest Banks and Wells Fargo & Company, HSBC Holdings plc Stock News

As of December 12, 2025, Wells Fargo & Company had a $291.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $517.5 million. Wells Fargo & Company’s stock is up 32.1% in 2025, up 3.3% in the previous five trading days and up 28.74% in the past year.

Currently, Wells Fargo & Company’s price-earnings ratio is 15.3. Wells Fargo & Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $79.1 billion with a 26.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.228 per share for the current fiscal year. Wells Fargo & Company currently has a 1.9% dividend yield.

As of December 12, 2025, HSBC Holdings plc had a $255.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 99th percentile of all stocks. HSBC Holdings plc’s stock is up 51.6% in 2025, up 5.6% in the previous five trading days and up 56.16% in the past year.

Currently, HSBC Holdings plc’s price-earnings ratio is 80.7. HSBC Holdings plc’s trailing 12-month revenue is $58.0 billion with a 30.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.8%. There are no analysts providing consensus earnings estimates for the current fiscal year. HSBC Holdings plc currently has a 2.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Wells Fargo & Company	WFC	F
HSBC Holdings plc	HSBC	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Wells Fargo & Company has a Quality Score of 20, which is Very Weak. HSBC Holdings plc has a Quality Score of 25, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Wells Fargo & Company or HSBC Holdings plc has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Wells Fargo & Company or HSBC Holdings plc is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Wells Fargo & Company	WFC	B
HSBC Holdings plc	HSBC	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Wells Fargo & Company has a Momentum Score of 72, which is Strong. HSBC Holdings plc has a Momentum Score of 79, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc have a grade of B. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Wells Fargo & Company	WFC	B
HSBC Holdings plc	HSBC	na

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Wells Fargo & Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 67, which is Positive. HSBC Holdings plc does not have a meaningful Earnings Estimate Score.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: Undetermined

If you are strictly an investor who focuses on earnings estimate revisions, you may want to add Wells Fargo & Company to your watch list. However, because only one of the companies in our comparison has a valid Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade, we cannot call it a clear winner. Evaluation of the other grades for both companies is necessary in order to understand which stock is the better investment based on AAII’s proprietary scores and analysis.

Other Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc Grades

In addition to Momentum, Quality and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Wells Fargo & Company or HSBC Holdings plc Stock?

Overall, Wells Fargo & Company stock has a Momentum Score of 72, Estimate Revisions Score of 67 and Quality Score of 20.

HSBC Holdings plc stock has a Momentum Score of 79, Estimate Revisions Score of and Quality Score of 25.

Comparing Wells Fargo & Company and HSBC Holdings plc’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.