BAC vs WFC: Bank of America vs Wells Fargo Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Bank of America and Wells Fargo are both large US retail banks, but in very different positions. BAC is a diversified operation with a strong wealth management franchise but high rate sensitivity; WFC is a turnaround story anchored by the potential asset cap removal that could unlock significant earnings power and allow it to compete on equal footing with peers.
Use this BAC vs WFC comparison to choose between a high-quality bank with wealth management diversification and a turnaround bank with a specific catalyst. BAC rewards patient investors with NII recovery and Merrill Lynch compounding; WFC's upside is more asymmetric if the Fed removes the asset cap and management executes on fee revenue growth.
BAC holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. BAC has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+28.28% vs +4.62%), though WFC has the better forward P/E setup (11.12x vs 11.67x for BAC). BAC leads on both revenue growth (21.40%) and operating margin (38.30%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for WFC (+13.85%) than for BAC (+10.48%).
- →Want a large US bank with a strong wealth management franchise via Merrill Lynch
- →Value BAC's rate sensitivity as an earnings catalyst in a stable or rising interest rate environment
- →Prefer digital banking scale and efficiency as a long-term structural cost advantage
- →Are comfortable with the held-to-maturity bond portfolio overhang as a manageable, temporary headwind
- →Want US bank exposure with a specific catalyst — asset cap removal unlocking below-potential balance sheet growth
- →Value investment banking fee revenue expansion as a new earnings layer Wells Fargo is building
- →Prefer a turnaround story trading at a relative valuation discount to peers with more upside optionality
- →Believe Wells Fargo's regulatory remediation is progressing and the asset cap removal is a matter of when, not if
| Metric | BAC | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 54.4 | 42.2 |
| AI rank | #297 | #932 |
| Latest close | $61.28 | $86.19 |
| 1M return | +5.82% | +2.45% |
| 6M return | +17.69% | +0.08% |
| 1Y return | +28.28% | +4.62% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | BAC | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.73K (+27.3%) started 2025-07-23 | $10.3K (+3.0%) started 2025-07-23 |
| 5Y ago | $19.52K (+95.2%) started 2021-07-26 | $23.45K (+134.5%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $64.27K (+542.7%) started 2016-07-25 | $30.91K (+209.1%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | BAC | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $434.81B | $267.8B |
| Trailing P/E | 14.15 | 12.72 |
| Forward P/E | 11.67 | 11.12 |
| Price/Sales | 3.48 | 3.22 |
| EV/Revenue | 1.53 | 1.08 |
| Analyst target | $67.69 | $99.63 |
| Target upside | +10.48% | +13.85% |
| Metric | BAC | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 21.40% | 9.50% |
| Earnings growth | 36.00% | 25.00% |
| EPS growth | +36.00% | +25.00% |
| FCF margin | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margin | 38.30% | 37.07% |
| Profit margin | 29.52% | 27.23% |
| ROIC proxy | 11.20% | 12.57% |
| Return on equity | 11.20% | 12.57% |
| Dividend yield | 1.83% | 2.06% |
| Beta | 1.18 | 0.92 |
| Debt/equity | N/A | N/A |
| Current ratio | N/A | N/A |
| Quick ratio | N/A | N/A |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | BAC | WFC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +27.30% | +2.97% |
| CAGR | +27.34% | +2.98% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.02 | 0.07 | |
| Max drawdown | 18.39% | 23.83% | |
| Max daily drop | 4.72% | 5.70% | |
| Max wkly drop | 7.04% | 8.74% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +76.73% | +111.36% |
| CAGR | +12.08% | +16.17% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.39 | 0.50 | |
| Max drawdown | 46.64% | 37.10% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.06% | 9.12% | |
| Max wkly drop | 16.63% | 17.68% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +418.45% | +131.34% |
| CAGR | +17.90% | +8.75% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.55 | 0.28 | |
| Max drawdown | 48.95% | 64.46% | |
| Max daily drop | 15.40% | 15.87% | |
| Max wkly drop | 24.86% | 30.08% |
| Category | BAC | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Bank of America Corporation | Wells Fargo & Company |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Banks - Diversified | Banks - Diversified |
| Core business | Second-largest US bank by assets. Operates Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (Merrill Lynch), Global Banking, and Global Markets. Highly rate-sensitive balance sheet with one of the largest retail deposit bases in the US. | Fourth-largest US bank. Operates Consumer Banking & Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Subject to a Federal Reserve asset cap since 2018 following the fake accounts scandal. |
| Investor focus | NII recovery as deposit repricing normalises, Merrill Lynch wealth management growth, digital banking scale, credit quality, and operating leverage. | Asset cap removal timeline and fee revenue expansion once freed, operating efficiency improvement, investment banking growth, and capital return via buybacks. |
- →Merrill Lynch provides a large, recurring wealth management revenue stream with strong client retention
- →Erica digital assistant and mobile banking adoption reduce cost-to-serve while deepening customer relationships
- →Rate sensitivity means NII is a powerful earnings lever — BAC benefits significantly when rates stabilise at elevated levels
- →Potential asset cap removal is a significant re-rating catalyst — lifting the cap would allow Wells Fargo to grow its balance sheet and compete more fully
- →Investment banking franchise has been rebuilt and is gaining market share from a below-potential base
- →Strong capital ratio allows for meaningful buyback execution that reduces share count and supports EPS
- →Held-to-maturity bond portfolio duration risk — unrealised losses remain an overhang as rates stay higher
- →NII sensitivity to rate cuts is high — Fed easing erodes BAC's NII more than most peers
- →Consumer credit normalisation — credit card and auto loss rates are rising from pandemic lows
- →Asset cap remains in place — the removal timeline is uncertain and subject to Fed approval of remediation progress
- →Regulatory relationship is more complex than peers — the reputational and oversight legacy of the fake accounts scandal lingers
- →Mortgage business has been restructured but housing market sensitivity limits near-term upside
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