Which Is a Better Investment, Commerce Bancshares, Inc. or East West Bancorp Inc Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
September 05, 2026
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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 Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp 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 Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial, and Wealth. The Retail Banking segment offers various banking products and services, including consumer deposits; consumer loans, such as automobile, motorcycle, marine, tractor/trailer, recreational vehicle, fixed rate and revolving home equity, and other consumer loans; patient health care financing; real estate loans; indirect and other consumer financing; retail branch network; personal mortgage banking; consumer installment lending; and consumer debit and credit bank cards. The Commercial segment provides corporate lending, leasing, international, merchant and commercial bank card, and securities safekeeping and bond accounting services; and business products, government deposits, and related commercial cash management services, as well as sells fixed income securities to correspondent banks, corporations, public institutions, municipalities, and individuals. The Wealth segment provides traditional trust and estate planning, advisory and discretionary investment portfolio management, and brokerage services, as well as private banking accounts. The company offers private equity investment, securities brokerage, insurance agency, specialty lending, and leasing services, as well as online and mobile banking services. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

East West Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. It accepts various deposit products, such as personal and business checking and savings accounts, money market, and time deposits. The company provides various loan products, such as mortgage and home equity, commercial and residential real estate, construction finance, commercial business lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, letters of credit, affordable housing lending, asset-based lending, asset-backed finance, project finance, equipment financing, loan syndication, and equipment loans, as well as financing services for clients to facilitate their business transactions between the United States and Asia. It also provides foreign exchange, treasury management, wealth management, and interest rate and commodity risk hedging services; and mobile, and online banking services. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.

Latest Banks and Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp, Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, Commerce Bancshares, Inc. had a $8.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $767.9 million. Commerce Bancshares, Inc.’s stock is up 11.5% in 2026, up 0.6% in the previous five trading days and down 0.6% in the past year.

Currently, Commerce Bancshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.3. Commerce Bancshares, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.8 billion with a 31.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 14.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.304 per share for the current fiscal year. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. currently has a 1.9% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, East West Bancorp, Inc. had a $17.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 85th percentile of all stocks. East West Bancorp, Inc.’s stock is up 16.4% in 2026, up 1% in the previous five trading days and up 20.43% in the past year.

Currently, East West Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.6. East West Bancorp, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.9 billion with a 50.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 16.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.640 per share for the current fiscal year. East West Bancorp, Inc. currently has a 2.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp 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 Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc. Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Commerce Bancshares, Inc. CBSH A
East West Bancorp, Inc. EWBC A

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.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Commerce Bancshares, Inc. CBSH F
East West Bancorp, Inc. EWBC 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.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a Quality Score of 11, which is Very Weak. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a Quality Score of 24, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp 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 Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Commerce Bancshares, Inc. CBSH C
East West Bancorp, Inc. EWBC C

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%.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 45, which is Average. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 54, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors 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 Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

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Other Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc. Grades

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

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

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 Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Commerce Bancshares, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 95, Momentum Score of 45 and Quality Score of 11.

East West Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 89, Momentum Score of 54 and Quality Score of 24.

Comparing Commerce Bancshares, Inc., East West Bancorp 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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



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