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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

DICK'S Sporting Goods vs LPL Financial Holdings: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The structural profiles are close, with LPL Financial carrying a narrow edge on profitability. DICK'S Sporting Goods still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup is currently leaning toward DICK'S Sporting Goods, which does not confirm the structural lead. That leaves a split case: the structural lead stays with LPL Financial, but the market is not currently confirming it.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-07-05

The clearest separation starts in profitability, but stability adds another real layer to the result.

Trajectory Similarity
0.68
Moderately similar
Peer-set rank: #35
within DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

A moderate similarity means the pair is structurally comparable, but not a near-twin trajectory match.

The clearest structural overlap shows up in margin trend and capital structure.

Similarity drivers
margin trendcapital structure
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
DKS
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
60
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
LPLA
LPL Financial Holdings Inc.
64
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: DKS vs LPLA Profitability 43 63 Stability 57 71 Valuation 81 71 Growth 56 48 DKS LPLA
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +20
#2 Stability +14
#3 Valuation +10
#4 Growth +8
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for DKS and LPLA Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer DKSLPLA Relative valuation Structural strength

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. occupies the cheaper side of the setup map, although DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. still holds the stronger structural profile.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where DKS and LPLA each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY DKS Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 28 pct gap LPLA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 70th
Today LPLA sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (70th percentile), while DKS sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, LPLA is at a historically more favourable entry position than DKS. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Both look solid on profitability, though LPL Financial Holdings Inc. still holds the stronger peer position.
Stability
On stability, the edge still sits with LPL Financial Holdings Inc., even though both profiles look solid.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
DKS
43
LPLA
63
Gap+20in favour of LPLA

The profitability gap is clear, with the stronger side earning materially better operating marks.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for DICK'S Sporting Goods, with a trailing P/E that is 3.6 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both profitability and stability — though valuation still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the DKS vs LPLA comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar profitability-and-stability comparisons

Explore how DKS and LPLA each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.