Which Is a Better Investment, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. or LPL Financial Holdings Inc. Stock?

By Tudor Pop
May 18, 2026
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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 LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial 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 LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial and Inc.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at institutions in the United States. The company’s brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance; and client cash programs consist of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured bank sweep vehicles, and a client cash and money market account. It also provides fee-based platforms that provide access to mutual funds, exchange traded funds, stocks, bonds, certain options strategies, unit investment trusts, institutional money managers, and no-load multi-manager variable annuities. In addition, the company offers retirement solutions for commission and fee-based services that allow advisors to provide brokerage services, consultation, and advice to retirement plan sponsors. Further, it provides other services comprising tools and services that enable advisors to maintain and grow their practices; trust, investment management oversight, and custodial services for estates and families; an advisor-facing trading and portfolio rebalancing platform; insurance brokerage general agency services; and technology products, including proposal generation, investment analytics, and portfolio modeling. The company was formerly known as LPL Investment Holdings Inc. and changed its name to LPL Financial Holdings Inc. in June 2012. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989 and is based in San Diego, California.

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.

Latest Capital Markets and LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial, Inc. Stock News

As of May 18, 2026, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. had a $24.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Capital Markets median of $3.8 million. LPL Financial Holdings Inc.’s stock is down 17.2% in 2026, up 2.3% in the previous five trading days and down 22.5% in the past year.

Currently, LPL Financial Holdings Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 26.4. LPL Financial Holdings Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $17.8 billion with a 5.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 35.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $23.198 per share for the current fiscal year. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. currently has a 0.4% dividend yield.

As of May 18, 2026, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. had a $42.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 92nd percentile of all stocks. Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s stock is down 3.9% in 2026, up 1.6% in the previous five trading days and down 9.31% in the past year.

Currently, Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.7. Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $19.3 billion with a 20.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $44.166 per share for the current fiscal year. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. currently has a 1.4% dividend yield.

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

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LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial and Inc. Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. LPLA D
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. AMP 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.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a Growth Score of 40, which is Weak. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong.

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 LPL Financial Holdings 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.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. LPLA D
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. AMP D

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%.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a Momentum Score of 22, which is Weak. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 35, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial 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 LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. LPLA C
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. AMP 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.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 54, which is Neutral. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 72, which is Positive.

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 LPL Financial Holdings 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.

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Other LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial and Inc. Grades

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

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

So, Which Is the Better Investment, LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial or Inc. Stock?

Overall, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 40, Momentum Score of 22 and Estimate Revisions Score of 54.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 100, Momentum Score of 35 and Estimate Revisions Score of 72.

Comparing LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Ameriprise Financial 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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