LPLA
LPL Financial Holdings Inc.
LPLA has a slight edge over SOFI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
SOFI
SoFi Technologies, Inc.
SOFI offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
LPLA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
LPLA's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like LPLA.
SOFI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
SOFI's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like SOFI.
LPLA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 10x | $292 | — |
| Cheap | 15x | $264 | -9.6% |
| Current | 17x | $292 | — |
| Fair | 24x | $417 | +43% |
| Expensive | 30x | $516 | +77% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LPLA's PE is in its cheap range at 17x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 10x next year's earnings.
SOFI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $15.63 | — |
| Current | 28x | $15.63 | — |
| Cheap | 33x | $18.24 | +17% |
| Fair | 43x | $23.82 | +52% |
| Expensive | 53x | $29.74 | +90% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SOFI has the edge over LPLA in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
LPLA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LPLA, with profitability improving.
SOFI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for SOFI, with profitability improving.
LPLA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $27.87 | +61% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.34 | +60% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.45 | -15% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.11 | -23% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.92 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.85 | -19% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.61 | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $14.44 | +8.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.03 | +2.5% |
LPLA earned $17.34 per share over the past year, up 60% from the year before.
SOFI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.82 | +47% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.56 | 0% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.49 | -2% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.45 | +4.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.39 | 0% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.56 | +367% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.50 | +$0.72 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.43 | +$0.72 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.39 | +$0.75 |
SOFI has the edge over LPLA on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
LPLA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.3B | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.2B | +35% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.9B | +35% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.9B | +40% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.6B | +46% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.8B | +31% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.7B | +30% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.5B | +33% |
LPLA's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $5.3B last quarter, up 17% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.1% | +9.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 9.9% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 9.8% | -1.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.1% | -1.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | -0.8% | -12 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.6% | -1.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.7% | -1.4 points |
LPLA's operating margin was 9.1% last quarter, up 9.8 points from the same quarter a year ago.
SOFI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +44% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +43% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +43% |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | +40% |
| Q3 2025 | $961.6M | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $854.9M | +43% |
| Q1 2025 | $771.8M | +20% |
| Q4 2024 | $734.1M | +19% |
SOFI has the edge over LPLA on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +7.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 17% | +3.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | +7.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +9.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +6.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 13% | +11 points |
| Q1 2025 | 10% | -4.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.2% | -0.2 points |
SOFI has the edge over LPLA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LPLA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $67.5M | +$1.9B |
| Q2 2026 | $202.5M | +260% |
| Q1 2026 | $124.6M | -43% |
| Q4 2025 | $613.3M | +$957.6M |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.9B | -3106% |
| Q2 2025 | $56.3M | +$364.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $220.3M | -28% |
| Q4 2024 | -$344.3M | -1038% |
LPLA has the edge over SOFI on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
SOFI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.1B | -$1.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$4B | -$2.5B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.4B | -$2.4B |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.1B | -$815.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.4B | -$149M |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.5B | -$1B |
| Q1 2025 | -$31.1M | -104% |
| Q4 2024 | -$242.4M | +$39.9M |
SOFI's free cash flow was −$10.5B over the past year, against −$3.2B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like SOFI.
LPLA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.3% | -1.1M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -1.4M shares |
| 3 years | +2.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 5 years | -3.5% | -2.9M shares |
| Available history | -6.7% | -5.7M shares |
LPLA has the edge over SOFI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $300.6M |
| Q2 2026 | $309.5M |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $240,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $100.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $100.1M |
LPLA spent $610M buying back its own shares over the past year, about three times what it spent the year before.
SOFI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +5.8M shares |
| 1 year | +5.2% | +66.8M shares |
| 3 years | +43% | +407M shares |
| 5 years | +272% | +993M shares |
SOFI has 1.4B diluted shares, up 5.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
LPLA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 4.0x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.7x | Moderate |
LPLA's net debt is about 2.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.2 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like LPLA.
SOFI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -3.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -3.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -6.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -5.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -4.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -4.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -5.8x | Net Cash |
SOFI has the edge over LPLA on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LPLA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 20.0 | Neutral |
LPLA's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (neutral).
SOFI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 41.5 | Neutral |
SOFI's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (neutral).
LPLA PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | LPLA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 13x | 29% above |
| PE % | 27 | 63 | 36 pts below |
LPLA has the edge over SOFI on valuation relative to its sector.
SOFI PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | SOFI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 13x | 114% above |
| PE % | 2 | 61 | 59 pts below |
SOFI is trading at 28x earnings, a 114% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
LPLA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $308.7 | 5.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $329.8 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $326.3 | 10% below |
| 100 week MA | $339.2 | 14% below |
| 200 week MA | $289.8 | 0.9% above |
LPLA has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 0.9% above its 200-week average.
SOFI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $15.7 | 0.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $17.0 | 7.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $18.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $18.9 | 17% below |
| 200 week MA | $13.5 | 16% above |
SOFI has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 16% above its 200-week average.
LPLA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $92.6 | $103.8 | +12% |
| 2021 | $103.8 | $162.6 | +57% |
| 2022 | $162.6 | $215.8 | +33% |
| 2023 | $215.8 | $227.6 | +5.5% |
| 2024 | $227.6 | $331.9 | +46% |
| 2025 | $331.9 | $372.2 | +12% |
| 2026 YTD | $372.2 | $292.3 | -21% |
LPLA has the edge over SOFI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
SOFI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.4 | $12.4 | +19% |
| 2021 | $12.4 | $15.1 | +22% |
| 2022 | $15.1 | $4.61 | -69% |
| 2023 | $4.61 | $9.95 | +116% |
| 2024 | $9.95 | $16.0 | +61% |
| 2025 | $16.0 | $27.1 | +69% |
| 2026 YTD | $27.1 | $15.6 | -42% |
SOFI's yearly returns have swung widely, from +116% in 2023 to −69% in 2022. It's down 42% so far in 2026.