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 The Bank of Nova Scotia or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. 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 The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and retail automotive financing solutions. It also provides business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small, medium, and large businesses. In addition, it provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternatives, and institutional funds. The company was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. provides various financial products and services to personal and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail Business, Wholesale Business and Activities with the Market + Corporation. The company offers current accounts; funds management; payments and collections; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending and financing services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services. The company also provides non-life insurance products covering loss, damage, or liability for objects or people, as well as life insurance products covering death and personal accidents. It serves retail customers, account and non-account holders, individuals and legal entities, high income clients, microenterprises, and small companies, as well as middle-market companies and high net worth institutional clients. The company was formerly known as Itaú Unibanco Banco Múltiplo S.A. and changed its name to Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. in April 2009. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. is a subsidiary of IUPAR - Itaú Unibanco Participações S.A.

Latest Banks and The Bank of Nova Scotia, Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Stock News

As of September 11, 2026, The Bank of Nova Scotia had a $113.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $756.4 million. The Bank of Nova Scotia’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 46.29% in the past year.

Currently, The Bank of Nova Scotia’s price-earnings ratio is 17.1. The Bank of Nova Scotia’s trailing 12-month revenue is $25.1 billion with a 28.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.149 per share for the current fiscal year. The Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a 4.9% dividend yield.

Currently, Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.3. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $27.7 billion with a 32.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 23.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.892 per share for the current fiscal year. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. 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 The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
The Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	B
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.	ITUB	B

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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Value Score of 63, which is Value. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a Value Score of 74, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Value Grade breakdown above, both The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. have a Value Grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, you will need to conduct further research into both of these companies’ other metrics to see if they could be good additions to your portfolio. It’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
The Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	F
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.	ITUB	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.

The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Growth Score of 20, which is Very Weak. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a Growth Score of 43, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither The Bank of Nova Scotia or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a high enough Growth 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 The Bank of Nova Scotia or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
The Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	B
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.	ITUB	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%.

The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Momentum Score of 76, which is Strong. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. has a Momentum Score of 61, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. 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.

Other The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Grades

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

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).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite 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 F-Score.

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 The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, The Bank of Nova Scotia or Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Stock?

Overall, The Bank of Nova Scotia stock has a Value Score of 63, Growth Score of 20 and Momentum Score of 76.

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. stock has a Value Score of 74, Growth Score of 43 and Momentum Score of 61.

Comparing The Bank of Nova Scotia and Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.’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.