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 Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal 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 Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal

Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. Its Personal Banking segment offers home equity financing, personal lending, chequing and savings accounts, private banking, auto financing, mutual funds, GICs, credit cards, and payment products and solutions. The company’s Commercial Banking segments provides lending, deposit and transaction banking products and services. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of wealth, investment, trust, banking, credit, and other solutions to clients; asset management products to institutional and individual clients; and asset and investor services to financial institutions, asset managers, and asset owners. The company’s Insurance segment offers life, health, travel, wealth, annuities, property and casualty, and reinsurance advice and solutions; digital platforms; and independent brokers and partners, as well as client-led advice and solutions. The company’s Capital Markets segment offers advisory and origination, sales and trading, lending and financing, and transaction banking services to corporations, institutional clients, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments. The company was founded in 1864 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Bank of Montreal engages in the provision of diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. It’s personal banking products and services include deposits, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. It also offers investing, banking, and wealth management advisory; digital investing services; financial solutions for individuals, families, and businesses; offers investment management services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors; and diversified insurance, and wealth and pension de-risking solutions. In addition, the company provides individual life, critical illness and annuity products, as well as segregated funds, and group creditor and travel insurance to customers; debt and equity capital-raising, loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, treasury management, mergers and acquisitions advice, restructurings and recapitalizations, trade finance, and risk mitigation services, as well as a range of banking and other operating services. Further, the company offers research and access to financial markets for institutional, corporate and retail clients through an integrated suite of sales and trading solutions related to debt, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, equities, securitization, and commodities; provides new product development and origination services, as well as risk management and advisory services for hedging strategies, including in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodities prices; and funding and liquidity management services. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Latest Banks and Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal Stock News

As of April 27, 2026, Royal Bank of Canada had a $246.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $723.9 million. Royal Bank of Canada’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 50.14% in the past year.

Currently, Royal Bank of Canada’s price-earnings ratio is 16.5. Royal Bank of Canada’s trailing 12-month revenue is $46.8 billion with a 33.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 14.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.664 per share for the current fiscal year. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a 3.7% dividend yield.

Currently, Bank of Montreal’s price-earnings ratio is 17.2. Bank of Montreal’s trailing 12-month revenue is $24.7 billion with a 27.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 17.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.442 per share for the current fiscal year. Bank of Montreal currently has a 4.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal 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 Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Royal Bank of Canada	RY	D
Bank of Montreal	BMO	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.

Royal Bank of Canada has a Growth Score of 34, which is Weak. Bank of Montreal has a Growth Score of 47, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal 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 Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Royal Bank of Canada	RY	F
Bank of Montreal	BMO	F

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.

Royal Bank of Canada has a Quality Score of 2, which is Very Weak. Bank of Montreal has a Quality Score of 11, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal 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 Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Royal Bank of Canada	RY	B
Bank of Montreal	BMO	B

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.

Royal Bank of Canada has a Earnings Estimate Score of 68, which is Positive. Bank of Montreal has a Earnings Estimate Score of 62, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal is a better fit.

Other Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Growth, 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 Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal Stock?

Overall, Royal Bank of Canada stock has a Growth Score of 34, Estimate Revisions Score of 68 and Quality Score of 2.

Bank of Montreal stock has a Growth Score of 47, Estimate Revisions Score of 62 and Quality Score of 11.

Comparing Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal’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.