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LPL Financial Holdings vs Virtu Financial: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Virtu Financial holds the cleaner structural position, with growth as the main driver and valuation adding further support. LPL Financial still leads on profitability and stability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. On the market side, Virtu Financial is in better shape — its trend is intact while LPL Financial's trend has broken down. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Virtu Financial's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

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

Growth remains the main source of distance in the comparison.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Capital Markets

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

For a similarity-based comparison, see how LPL Financial and Virtu Financial 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
VIRT
Virtu Financial, Inc.
66
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: LPLA vs VIRT Profitability 59 40 Stability 60 43 Valuation 66 87 Growth 48 97 LPLA VIRT
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +49
#2 Valuation +21
#3 Profitability +19
#4 Stability +17
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for LPLA and VIRT Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer LPLAVIRT Relative valuation Structural strength

Virtu Financial, Inc. and LPL Financial Holdings Inc. look relatively close on structure, but the price setup still leans toward Virtu Financial, Inc..

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY LPLA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 27 pct gap VIRT Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 72nd 99th
Today LPLA sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (72nd percentile), while VIRT 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 VIRT. 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
Growth
Both profiles are strong on growth, but Virtu Financial, Inc. leads clearly.
Valuation
On valuation, the edge still sits with Virtu Financial, Inc., even though both profiles look solid.
Growth — Dominant Gap
LPLA
48
VIRT
97
Gap+49in favour of VIRT

Earnings growth is one contributing factor within the growth lead.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Stability is the one area where LPL Financial Holdings Inc. still pushes back materially — it is the steadier name on this dimension, which keeps the result from reading as one-way.

What this means for the comparison

Growth is the clearest driver of the lead, with valuation adding further support — though profitability still provides a real counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-driven comparisons

Explore how LPLA and VIRT 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.