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 KeyCorp or SouthState Bank Corporation 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 KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation

KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits and investment products; personal finance and financial wellness, lending, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, credit card, treasury, and business advisory; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and wealth management and investment services for institutional, non-profit, and high-net-worth clients. It also provides lending, cash management, equipment financing, and commercial mortgage loans; and capital market products and services, such as syndicated finance, debt and equity underwriting, fixed income and equity sales and trading, derivatives, foreign exchange, mergers and acquisition, other advisory services, and public finance to large corporate and institutional clients. In addition, the company offers personal and institutional trust custody services, personal financial and planning services, access to mutual funds, treasury services, and international banking services. Further, it provides community development financing, securities underwriting, brokerage, and investment banking services, as well as merchant services. The company was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

SouthState Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for SouthState Bank, National Association that provides a range of banking services and products to individuals and companies in the United States. The company offers checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposit accounts; interest-bearing deposits, certificates of deposits, and other time deposits; and interest-bearing transaction accounts. It provides bond accounting services for correspondents, asset/liability consulting related activities, international wires, and other clearing and corporate checking account services. In addition, the company offers commercial real estate, residential real estate, and commercial and industrial loans, as well as consumer loans, including auto, boat, and personal installment, as well as business, agriculture, real estate-secured (mortgage), home improvement, and manufactured housing loans. Further, it provides debit and credit card, mobile services, funds transfer products and services, and treasury management services comprising merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, remote deposit capture, and other treasury services, as well as asset and wealth management, and other fiduciary and private banking services. Additionally, the company offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, wire transfer and ACH services, brokerage services, and alternative investment products, such as annuities and mutual funds, trust and asset management services; letters of credit and home equity lines of credit; and online, mobile, and telephone banking platforms. The company was formerly known as SouthState Corporation and changed its name to SouthState Bank Corporation in September 2025. SouthState Bank Corporation was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida.

Latest Banks and KeyCorp, SouthState Bank Corporation Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, KeyCorp had a $22.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $730.8 million. KeyCorp’s stock is up 5.4% in 2026, down 1.5% in the previous five trading days and up 9.56% in the past year.

Currently, KeyCorp’s price-earnings ratio is 12.4. KeyCorp’s trailing 12-month revenue is $7.4 billion with a 27.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.829 per share for the current fiscal year. KeyCorp currently has a 3.9% dividend yield.

As of September 1, 2026, SouthState Bank Corporation had a $10.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 78th percentile of all stocks. SouthState Bank Corporation’s stock is up 13.1% in 2026, up 0.1% in the previous five trading days and up 1.89% in the past year.

Currently, SouthState Bank Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 10.9. SouthState Bank Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.7 billion with a 35.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -0.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.477 per share for the current fiscal year. SouthState Bank Corporation currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation 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 KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
KeyCorp	KEY	C
SouthState Bank Corporation	SSB	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.

KeyCorp has a Value Score of 52, which is Average. SouthState Bank Corporation has a Value Score of 77, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: SouthState Bank Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, SouthState Bank Corporation is considered to have better value than KeyCorp. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, SouthState Bank Corporation 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.

KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
KeyCorp	KEY	D
SouthState Bank Corporation	SSB	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.

KeyCorp has a Quality Score of 21, which is Weak. SouthState Bank Corporation has a Quality Score of 25, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither KeyCorp or SouthState Bank Corporation 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 KeyCorp or SouthState Bank Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.

KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
KeyCorp	KEY	C
SouthState Bank Corporation	SSB	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.

KeyCorp has a Earnings Estimate Score of 53, which is Neutral. SouthState Bank Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 47, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither KeyCorp or SouthState Bank Corporation has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could 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 KeyCorp or SouthState Bank Corporation is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation Grades

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

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

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 KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, KeyCorp or SouthState Bank Corporation Stock?

Overall, KeyCorp stock has a Value Score of 52, Estimate Revisions Score of 53 and Quality Score of 21.

SouthState Bank Corporation stock has a Value Score of 77, Estimate Revisions Score of 47 and Quality Score of 25.

Comparing KeyCorp and SouthState Bank Corporation’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.