LIVE
LPLA
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. · Financials
$321.32
+8.68% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
RJF
Raymond James Financial, Inc. · Financials
$166.98
+8.15% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
LPLA
3
RJF
1
Comparison scoreboard
LPLA LEADS 3/5AI Score
LPLA ✓63.0
RJF 52.8
1Y Return
LPLA -12.95%
RJF ✓+5.42%
Fwd P/E
LPLA ✓10.97
RJF 11.91
Target Up.
LPLA ✓+28.76%
RJF +8.65%
Op. Margin
LPLA N/A
RJF 19.32%
Metrics last refreshed: 7/14/2026
Quick take
LPLA vs RJF: LPL Financial vs Raymond James Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
LPL Financial is a pure independent advisor platform, while Raymond James is a hybrid wealth management company with both employee and independent advisors, an investment banking business, and a banking subsidiary. LPL is the cleaner independent advisor bet; Raymond James is more diversified with investment banking and banking income.
LPLA vs RJF is the pure independent advisor platform versus hybrid wealth manager with investment banking — LPL wins if wirehouse-to-independent transitions sustain advisor recruitment; Raymond James wins if investment banking revenue recovers alongside advisor asset growth and bank NII.
Live analysis · updated 7/14/2026
LPLA holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. RJF has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+5.42% vs -12.95%), though LPLA has the better forward P/E setup (10.97x vs 11.91x for RJF). Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for LPLA (+28.76%) than for RJF (+8.65%).
Normalized 1Y performance
LPLA
RJF
Recent returns
LPLA
RJF
Analyst price targets & sentiment
LPLA · 14 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.7/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$300.00
analyst high$542.00
analyst mean$413.71
current price$321.32
+28.8% upside to analyst mean
RJF
Price target range
analyst mean$182.67
current price$166.98
+8.7% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
LPLA may suit investors who:
- →want the purest play on the secular wirehouse-to-independent advisor transition
- →value LPL's technology platform scale as the dominant independent broker-dealer
- →prefer advisory fee revenue compounding with advisor AUA over investment banking cyclicality
- →are comfortable with sweep cash rate sensitivity in exchange for advisor platform growth
RJF may suit investors who:
- →prefer a hybrid wealth manager with both employee and independent advisors providing flexibility
- →value Raymond James Bank as a NII-generating subsidiary that diversifies revenue from pure brokerage
- →want investment banking upside alongside wealth management in a single financial services company
- →prefer a more diversified financial services model over LPL's pure independent advisor platform focus
Performance & AI score
| Metric | LPLA | RJF |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 63.0 | 52.8 |
| AI rank | #89 | #355 |
| Latest close | $321.32 | $166.98 |
| 1M return | +8.68% | +8.15% |
| 6M return | -11.88% | -0.44% |
| 1Y return | -12.95% | +5.42% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | LPLA | RJF |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.74K (-12.6%) started 2025-07-14 | $10.48K (+4.8%) started 2025-07-14 |
| 5Y ago | $24.97K (+149.7%) started 2021-07-14 | $21.34K (+113.4%) started 2021-07-14 |
| 10Y ago | $167.73K (+1577.3%) started 2016-07-14 | $62.74K (+527.4%) started 2016-07-14 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | LPLA | RJF |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $25.7B | $32.76B |
| Trailing P/E | 28.92 | 15.88 |
| Forward P/E | 10.97 | 11.91 |
| Price/Sales | 1.44 | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 1.71 | 1.49 |
| Analyst target | $413.71 | $182.67 |
| Target upside | +28.76% | +8.65% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | LPLA | RJF |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 35.00% | 13.10% |
| Earnings growth | 4.50% | 15.30% |
| EPS growth | +4.50% | +15.30% |
| FCF margin | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margin | N/A | 19.32% |
| Profit margin | 5.05% | 14.58% |
| ROIC proxy | 20.45% | 17.29% |
| Return on equity | 20.45% | 17.29% |
| Dividend yield | 0.38% | 1.28% |
| Beta | 0.51 | 0.94 |
| Debt/equity | 132.28 | 48.48 |
| Current ratio | 2.45 | 2.29 |
| Quick ratio | 2.38 | 2.28 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
LPLA max drawdown33.12%
RJF max drawdown20.14%
LPLA max wkly drop18.07%
RJF max wkly drop9.01%
5Y risk snapshot
LPLA max drawdown33.18%
RJF max drawdown32.11%
LPLA max wkly drop22.67%
RJF max wkly drop18.18%
10Y risk snapshot
LPLA max drawdown60.34%
RJF max drawdown45.59%
LPLA max wkly drop32.37%
RJF max wkly drop25.33%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | LPLA | RJF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -12.95% | +4.81% |
| CAGR | -12.96% | +4.84% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.31 | 0.14 | |
| Max drawdown | 33.12% | 20.14% | |
| Max daily drop | 8.31% | 8.75% | |
| Max wkly drop | 18.07% | 9.01% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +143.73% | +101.70% |
| CAGR | +19.51% | +15.07% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.55 | 0.48 | |
| Max drawdown | 33.18% | 32.11% | |
| Max daily drop | 12.35% | 8.75% | |
| Max wkly drop | 22.67% | 18.18% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +1397.23% | +446.51% |
| CAGR | +31.08% | +18.52% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.79 | 0.56 | |
| Max drawdown | 60.34% | 45.59% | |
| Max daily drop | 21.73% | 11.59% | |
| Max wkly drop | 32.37% | 25.33% |
Business comparison
| Category | LPLA | RJF |
|---|---|---|
| Company | LPL Financial Holdings Inc. | Raymond James Financial, Inc. |
| Sector | Financials | Financial Services |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Largest independent broker-dealer providing technology and compliance services to 23,000+ independent advisors. LPL does not employ advisors directly — advisors run independent practices on LPL's platform. | Full-service wealth management company with an employee advisor channel (Raymond James & Associates), independent advisor channel (Raymond James Financial Services), and investment banking (Capital Markets). Raymond James employs about half its advisors directly. |
| Investor focus | Net new advisor assets, recruitment pipeline, ARPU per advisor, and capital return. | Advisor-driven client asset growth, NII from banking subsidiary, capital markets revenue, and advisor retention through economic cycles. |
LPLA strengths
- →Dominant independent advisor platform with the largest independent advisor count in the US
- →Structural tailwind from wirehouse-to-independent transition as advisors value practice ownership
- →Advisory fee revenue compounds as advisors grow their AUA within LPL's platform
RJF strengths
- →Hybrid model of employee and independent advisors provides flexibility to attract different advisor types
- →Raymond James Bank subsidiary generates NII on client deposits and loans — a significant earnings diversifier vs pure broker-dealers
- →Investment banking and capital markets provide cyclical upside in strong M&A and equity issuance environments
Risks to watch — LPLA
- →LPL does not control advisor quality — advisor misconduct can create reputational and regulatory risk
- →Advisor portability means top LPL advisors can switch to competitor platforms (Fidelity, Ameritas)
- →NII from client cash sweep is rate-sensitive — lower rates reduce LPL's spread on advisor client cash
Risks to watch — RJF
- →Investment banking revenue is cyclical and compresses earnings in slow deal market environments
- →Raymond James Bank NII is sensitive to interest rates and credit quality in its loan portfolio
- →Advisor retention requires competitive payout rates that limit profitability improvement per advisor
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