Why is Return on Equity considered central to evaluating banks?

Banks operate under regulatory capital requirements that explicitly size shareholder equity relative to risk-weighted assets. Every incremental dollar of equity carries a cost, and the threshold question for bank management is whether the firm earns a return above that cost through a complete credit cycle. Return on Equity, averaged across cycles, is the most direct expression of whether a bank is creating or destroying value for shareholders, which makes it a widely used benchmark.

How does the credit cycle distort bank Return on Equity?

Bank earnings are sensitive to loan loss provisions, which run below normalized levels during benign credit environments and spike sharply during downturns. A bank reporting a high Return on Equity at the peak of a credit cycle may simply be reflecting low loss reserves that will need to be rebuilt later. Evaluating Return on Equity over a full cycle, typically seven to ten years, gives a more honest read of sustainable profitability than any single year.

Why are insurance Return on Equity figures tricky to interpret?

Insurance earnings combine underwriting results with investment income on float, and both components can swing with interest rates and catastrophe experience. A year with benign catastrophe losses and rising bond yields can produce a flattering Return on Equity that is not representative. Evaluating insurance firms requires splitting underwriting profit from investment returns and averaging across multiple years to separate structural franchise value from favorable cyclical conditions.

Top Financial Services Stocks by Return on Equity

Top financial services companies ranked by return on equity, latest annual filings.

What Return on Equity Means for Financial Services Companies

Return on Equity divides net income by shareholder equity. In financial services, the ratio is arguably more central than in any other sector because regulatory capital sets the denominator. Banks and insurers are measured against explicit cost-of-equity benchmarks, and management teams are frequently evaluated on whether their firm earns above or below that threshold through a full credit and underwriting cycle.

Why It Matters in Financial Services

Financial firms operate with leverage baked into the business model, so Return on Equity here reflects a different balance of margin, turnover, and capital than in industrial firms. The ratio can be flattered in benign credit environments when loan losses sit below through-cycle norms, and a bank posting high Return on Equity at a credit-cycle peak may be under-reserving for losses that materialize later. Multi-year averages are essential.

What to Read Alongside

Pair Return on Equity with [Net Income](/financials/top-net-income-stocks/financial-services/) to see absolute earnings across the cycle, [Net Margin](/financials/top-net-margin-stocks/financial-services/) to decompose profitability within the DuPont framework, and [Gross Margin](/financials/top-gross-margin-stocks/financial-services/) for broader earnings quality context.

Data as of FY 2025 100 companies Rhea AI

#	Symbol	Company	Sector
1	AIIA	AI Infrastructure Acquisition Corp.	Financial Services	98.31%	$0.19B
2	AAMI	Acadian Asset Management Inc.	Financial Services	95.24%	$2.37B
3	IPST	IP Strategy Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	89.73%	$0.00B
4	IBKR	Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.	Financial Services	81.24%	$35.37B
5	SEZL	Sezzle Inc.	Financial Services	78.40%	$2.51B
6	GRAN	Grande Group Limited	Financial Services	76.85%	$0.03B
7	HGTY	Hagerty, Inc.	Financial Services	67.43%	$1.06B
8	APAM	Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc.	Financial Services	66.16%	$2.61B
9	MCO	Moody's Corporation	Financial Services	60.66%	$79.82B
10	PJT	PJT Partners Inc.	Financial Services	58.43%	$3.93B
11	APAC	StoneBridge Acquisition II Corporation	Financial Services	55.47%	$0.08B
12	AMP	Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	Financial Services	54.41%	$41.62B
13	NWAX	New America Acquisition I Corp.	Financial Services	53.61%	$0.50B
14	V	Visa Inc.	Financial Services	52.91%	$606.01B
15	TREE	LendingTree, Inc.	Financial Services	52.76%	$0.65B
16	WU	The Western Union Company	Financial Services	52.16%	$2.91B
17	TWFG	TWFG, Inc.	Financial Services	49.37%	$0.27B
18	MC	Moelis & Company	Financial Services	45.67%	$4.92B
19	OPFI	OppFi Inc.	Financial Services	45.02%	$0.23B
20	SLDE	Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	39.88%	$2.36B
21	AON	Aon plc	Financial Services	39.51%	$71.85B
22	JCAP	Jefferson Capital, Inc.	Financial Services	39.48%	$1.14B
23	HRTG	Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	38.71%	$0.84B
24	PGR	The Progressive Corporation	Financial Services	37.29%	$118.91B
25	KG	Kestrel Group Ltd	Financial Services	36.42%	$0.08B
26	BX	Blackstone Inc.	Financial Services	34.84%	$99.52B
27	FHI	Federated Hermes, Inc.	Financial Services	33.69%	$4.32B
28	ACIC	American Coastal Insurance Corporation	Financial Services	33.64%	$0.57B
29	ALL	The Allstate Corporation	Financial Services	33.59%	$55.23B
30	KINS	Kingstone Companies, Inc.	Financial Services	33.22%	$0.27B
31	FUFU	BitFuFu Inc.	Financial Services	33.22%	$0.42B
32	UVE	Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	33.20%	$0.98B
33	TBBK	The Bancorp, Inc.	Financial Services	33.08%	$2.53B
34	XZO	Exzeo Group, Inc.	Financial Services	32.56%	$1.49B
35	AXP	American Express Company	Financial Services	32.36%	$223.40B
36	PRI	Primerica, Inc.	Financial Services	30.71%	$8.57B
37	MORN	Morningstar, Inc.	Financial Services	30.62%	$6.95B
38	SLMBP	SLM Corporation	Financial Services	30.39%	$4.85B
39	HLNE	Hamilton Lane Incorporated	Financial Services	30.31%	$4.58B
40	ONIT	Onity Group Inc.	Financial Services	30.18%	$0.37B
41	HG	Hamilton Insurance Group, Ltd.	Financial Services	29.77%	$3.14B
42	VIRT	Virtu Financial, Inc.	Financial Services	29.60%	$4.38B
43	AII	American Integrity Insurance Group, Inc.	Financial Services	29.56%	$0.37B
44	CRVL	CorVel Corporation	Financial Services	29.56%	$2.88B
45	SEIC	SEI Investments Company	Financial Services	29.22%	$9.55B
46	EVR	Evercore Inc.	Financial Services	29.14%	$14.16B
47	HCI	HCI Group, Inc.	Financial Services	28.72%	$2.03B
48	FUTU	Futu Holdings Limited	Financial Services	28.34%	$23.14B
49	COHN	Cohen & Company Inc.	Financial Services	28.25%	$0.06B
50	CACC	Credit Acceptance Corporation	Financial Services	27.82%	$5.32B
51	DHIL	Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc.	Financial Services	27.64%	$0.47B
52	FDS	FactSet Research Systems Inc.	Financial Services	27.31%	$8.45B
53	CNS	Cohen & Steers, Inc.	Financial Services	27.27%	$3.32B
54	MMC	Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.	Financial Services	27.16%	$89.51B
55	LAZ	Lazard, Inc.	Financial Services	27.11%	$4.54B
56	BAM	Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.	Financial Services	26.91%	$79.48B
57	WT	WisdomTree, Inc.	Financial Services	26.38%	$2.33B
58	ECPG	Encore Capital Group, Inc.	Financial Services	26.29%	$1.68B
59	BMHL	Bluemount Holdings Limited	Financial Services	26.20%	$0.09B
60	PYPL	PayPal Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	25.83%	$44.81B
61	QFIN	Qfin Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	25.83%	$1.69B
62	BSAA	BEST SPAC I Acquisition Corp.	Financial Services	25.75%	$0.08B
63	KNSL	Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.	Financial Services	25.70%	$8.28B
64	NU	Nu Holdings Ltd.	Financial Services	25.36%	$75.00B
65	ERIE	Erie Indemnity Company	Financial Services	24.50%	$12.62B
66	AB	AllianceBernstein Holding L.P.	Financial Services	24.21%	$3.57B
67	SSSS	SuRo Capital Corp.	Financial Services	23.77%	$0.33B
68	RNR	RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.	Financial Services	23.11%	$13.58B
69	ENVA	Enova International, Inc.	Financial Services	23.07%	$3.89B
70	OMF	OneMain Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	23.02%	$6.75B
71	RLI	RLI Corp.	Financial Services	22.68%	$5.42B
72	MCY	Mercury General Corporation	Financial Services	22.38%	$5.23B
73	XYF	X Financial	Financial Services	22.15%	$0.18B
74	AMG	Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.	Financial Services	22.13%	$7.99B
75	CASH	Pathward Financial, Inc.	Financial Services	21.66%	$2.11B
76	MKTX	MarketAxess Holdings Inc.	Financial Services	21.53%	$6.17B
77	SYF	Synchrony Financial	Financial Services	21.19%	$26.13B
78	PLMR	Palomar Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	20.91%	$3.48B
79	IGIC	International General Insurance Holdings Ltd.	Financial Services	20.64%	$1.13B
80	HOOD	Robinhood Markets, Inc.	Financial Services	20.58%	$78.19B
81	PIPR	Piper Sandler Companies	Financial Services	20.52%	$6.33B
82	WRLD	World Acceptance Corporation	Financial Services	20.42%	$0.65B
83	WTM	White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.	Financial Services	20.39%	$5.68B
84	NTB	The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited	Financial Services	20.31%	$2.24B
85	HIG	The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc.	Financial Services	20.21%	$38.03B
86	WTW	Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company	Financial Services	20.12%	$27.87B
87	VALU	Value Line, Inc.	Financial Services	20.08%	$0.34B
88	ATLC	Atlanticus Holdings Corporation	Financial Services	20.08%	$1.00B
89	NRIM	Northrim BanCorp, Inc.	Financial Services	19.79%	$0.54B
90	GL	Globe Life Inc.	Financial Services	19.44%	$11.74B
91	TROW	T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.	Financial Services	19.22%	$20.84B
92	TRV	The Travelers Companies, Inc.	Financial Services	19.12%	$63.55B
93	AMSF	AMERISAFE, Inc.	Financial Services	18.74%	$0.63B
94	SPNT	SiriusPoint Ltd.	Financial Services	18.61%	$2.65B
95	WTG	Wintergreen Acquisition Corp.	Financial Services	18.60%	$0.08B
96	THG	The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.	Financial Services	18.55%	$6.28B
97	HLI	Houlihan Lokey, Inc.	Financial Services	18.38%	$11.08B
98	SII	Sprott Inc.	Financial Services	18.34%	$3.75B
99	WRB	W. R. Berkley Corporation	Financial Services	18.34%	$24.82B
100	GEG	Great Elm Group, Inc.	Financial Services	18.33%	$0.07B

How this ranking is built

Companies are ranked by return on equity as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.

Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).

Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.