JPMorgan vs Bank of America, side by side
They are the heavyweights of American banking, and both combine everyday banking with Wall Street. JPMorgan is widely seen as the best-run of the giants, with a particularly strong investment bank and trading arm on top of its retail business. Bank of America has a vast US consumer bank and wealth-management arm, making it a little more geared to ordinary American borrowing, saving and interest rates.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and momentum, and weakest on quality.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and growth, and weakest on quality.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure |  JPMorgan |  Bank of America |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $351.79 | $61.95 |
| Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'. | $935.13B | $434.76B |
| P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 15.0 | 14.3 |
| Div yield: Dividend yield: the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn just from dividends. | 1.7% | 2.1% |
| Revenue growth | 30.4% | 21.4% |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | +20% | +32% |
More measures
| Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 14.2 | 11.7 |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 34.9% | 29.5% |
| ROE | 17.8% | 11.2% |
| Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. | 0.98 | 1.18 |
The bolder figure is simply the larger of the two - higher is not automatically good (a higher P/E means more expectation in the price; a higher beta means bigger swings).
How they differ
JPMorgan is roughly 2.2x the size of Bank of America by market value. On our factor screen Bank of America currently screens higher on value. Over the past year the share prices moved +20% (JPMorgan) vs +32% (Bank of America).
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
JPMorgan, in one line
JPMorgan Chase is a massive American banking giant that helps individuals, businesses, and governments manage their money, investments, and loans.
Read the full JPMorgan explainer →Bank of America, in one line
Bank of America is a massive American financial institution that provides banking, investing, and asset management services to millions of people and businesses.
Read the full Bank of America explainer →Common questions
What drives profits at both banks?
Chiefly the gap between the interest they earn on loans and pay on deposits, which widens and narrows with central-bank rates, plus fees from cards, advice and trading. Bad-loan losses in a downturn are the main thing that can dent them.
Why is JPMorgan usually valued more highly?
A long record of steadier returns and fewer stumbles has earned it a premium reputation. That is the market's judgement of past execution, not a guarantee - both remain cyclical banks exposed to the economy.