Sifting through countless of stocks in the Capital Markets 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group or Inc. 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States and internationally. The company offers financial planning and advice services to individual and institutional clients. It operates through Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, Corporate & Other segments. The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides financial planning and advice; brokerage products and services for retail and institutional clients; discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts; mutual funds; insurance and annuities products; cash management and banking products; and face-amount certificates. The Asset Management segment offers investment management, advice, and products to retail, high net worth, and institutional clients through third-party financial institutions, advisor network, direct retail, and its institutional sales force under the Columbia Threadneedle Investments brand name. Its products include U.S. mutual funds and their non-U.S. equivalents, exchange-traded funds, variable product funds underlying insurance, and annuity separate accounts; and institutional asset management products, such as traditional asset classes, separately managed accounts, individually managed accounts, collateralized loan obligations, hedge funds, collective funds, and property and infrastructure funds. The Retirement & Protection Solutions segment provides variable annuity products, as well as life and disability income insurance products to retail clients. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. was formerly known as American Express Financial Corporation and changed its name to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. in September 2005. The company was founded in 1894 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services. This segment offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, registered index-linked annuities, and bank products, as well as trust and custody services. The Principal Asset Management segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as fund offerings. This segment also offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans. The Benefits and Protection segment provides specialty benefits, such as specialty benefits group dental and vision insurance, group life and other insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products. This segment serves insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as employees. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Latest Capital Markets and Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group, Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. had a $49.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Capital Markets median of $3.3 million. Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s stock is up 14.3% in 2026, up 0.2% in the previous five trading days and up 9.51% in the past year.

Currently, Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 13.5. Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $19.8 billion with a 19.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 11.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $46.527 per share for the current fiscal year. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. currently has a 1.2% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, Principal Financial Group, Inc. had a $25.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 88th percentile of all stocks. Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s stock is up 32.3% in 2026, up 4.7% in the previous five trading days and up 43.52% in the past year.

Currently, Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.6. Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $15.7 billion with a 9.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.522 per share for the current fiscal year. Principal Financial Group, Inc. currently has a 2.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc. 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	AMP	A
Principal Financial Group, Inc.	PFG	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a Growth Score of 43, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Principal Financial Group, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	AMP	C
Principal Financial Group, Inc.	PFG	C

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.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Quality Score of 52, which is Average. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a Quality Score of 45, which is Average.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group or Inc. 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	AMP	B
Principal Financial Group, Inc.	PFG	C

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.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 67, which is Positive. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 51, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Principal Financial Group, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc. Grades

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

Momentum grades help 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.

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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 100, Estimate Revisions Score of 67 and Quality Score of 52.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 43, Estimate Revisions Score of 51 and Quality Score of 45.

Comparing Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Principal Financial Group and Inc.’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.