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LPL Financial Holdings vs The Charles Schwab: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The Charles Schwab holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. LPL Financial still has the edge on stability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

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 2026-05-17

The lead is spread across growth and profitability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The Charles Schwab Corporation leads by 16 points on the overall comparison score.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Capital Markets

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. LPLA and SCHW share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how LPL Financial and The Charles Schwab each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
LPLA
LPL Financial Holdings Inc.
59
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
SCHW
The Charles Schwab Corporation
75
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

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

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: LPLA vs SCHW Profitability 59 89 Stability 60 50 Valuation 66 68 Growth 48 88 LPLA SCHW
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +40
#2 Profitability +30
#3 Stability +10
#4 Valuation +2
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for LPLA and SCHW Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer LPLASCHW Relative valuation Structural strength

The Charles Schwab Corporation looks stronger both structurally and on relative valuation.

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY LPLA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 13 pct gap SCHW Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 72nd 85th
LPLA (72nd percentile) and SCHW (85th percentile) sit at comparable positions within their own 5-year histories. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Both profiles are strong on growth, but The Charles Schwab Corporation leads clearly.
Profitability
On profitability, the same pattern holds: both are strong, but The Charles Schwab Corporation still leads clearly.
Growth — Dominant Gap
LPLA
48
SCHW
88
Gap+40in favour of SCHW

Earnings growth is one contributing factor within the growth lead.

What else supports the lead

Profitability gives the lead a second hard layer of support, with a 38-point operating margin advantage.

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-profitability comparisons

Explore how LPLA and SCHW 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.