Bank stocks are publicly traded securities that represent equity interest in a financial institution. In other words, bank stocks allow you to own a piece of your favorite banks.
Banks can seem like complicated businesses, and they are complicated in many ways. However, the basic ideas behind the banking industry and how these businesses make their money are easy to understand. With that in mind, here's an overview of the different types of banks, some important metrics investors should know, and three great beginner-friendly bank stocks to keep on your radar.
The three categories of banking businesses
- Commercial banks: These are banks that provide services to consumers and businesses, including checking and savings accounts, auto loans, mortgages, and certificates of deposit. Commercial banks primarily make money by borrowing it at a relatively low interest rate and lending it to customers at a higher rate. Although commercial banks make the bulk of their money from interest income, many also collect substantial revenue from loan origination fees, ATM surcharges, and account maintenance fees. It's important for investors to note that commercial banking is a cyclical business. When recessions hit, unemployment rises, and consumers and businesses often have trouble paying their bills.
- Investment banks: These banks provide investment services for institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. Investment banks earn fees by issuing debt securities, offering advice on mergers and acquisitions, and helping other companies go public through initial public offerings (IPOs). Investment banks also make money from trading in equities, fixed-income securities, currencies, and commodities. They typically have wealth management businesses and often have substantial investment portfolios of their own. Unlike commercial banking, investment banking tends to hold up quite well during recessions. When markets get volatile, investment banking often does better.
- Universal banks: A universal bank is one that has both commercial and investment banking operations. Most large U.S. banks are universal banks.
These are obviously simplified definitions. Banks have many other ways to generate revenue. For example, many banks offer safe deposit boxes for lease to their customers, and some make money through partnerships with third-party companies. However, at their core, these are the main ways that banks make their money.
Top 5 bank stocks to put on your radar in 2025
Hundreds of banks trade on the major U.S. exchanges, and they come in various sizes, geographic locations, and focuses. Although there are some excellent choices for investors, here are three beginner-friendly bank stocks that could deliver excellent returns for years to come:
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Dividend yield | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) | $385.5 billion | 2.04% | Banks |
| JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) | $831.4 billion | 1.84% | Banks |
| U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) | $73.3 billion | 4.29% | Banks |
| Citigroup (NYSE:C) | $182.8 billion | 2.30% | Banks |
| SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) | $34.0 billion | 0.00% | Consumer Finance |
1. Bank of America
NYSE: BAC
Key Data Points
Bank of America has been one of the most impressive turnaround stories in the post-financial crisis era. In recent years, the bank increased its loan portfolio at rates well ahead of its peers, and the company has made major improvements in efficiency while building out its online and mobile technology.
Bank of America's asset quality also is excellent, and although the bank's deposit cost is relatively low, margins have been pressured lately due to elevated interest rates. However, Bank of America is an incredibly profitable bank, and could see nice tailwinds in its business as rates normalize and consumer confidence increases.
Bank of America isn't completely immune to economic headwinds. However, it is in a strong position to weather most storms with a combination of an excellent retail banking operation and an investment bank that can benefit from market volatility.
2. JPMorgan Chase
NYSE: JPM
Key Data Points
JPMorgan Chase is hands-down the most profitable of the big U.S. banks, and it's also the largest bank by market capitalization and total assets in the U.S. The bank has operations in just about every area of both commercial and investment banking, and it has done a particularly good job of expanding its credit card and auto loan businesses in recent years. JPMorgan Chase has also done an excellent job of embracing new technologies, and it has made some key investments in financial technology (fintech) companies.
Although the company's Chase consumer banking operation is one of the largest in the U.S., it is worth noting that JPMorgan Chase has one of the largest investment banks in the United States as well.
3. U.S. Bancorp
NYSE: USB
Key Data Points
U.S. Bancorp is primarily a commercial bank, with income from loans and other consumer banking products making up virtually all of its revenue. Not only is U.S. Bancorp (known to most Americans as U.S. Bank) focused on consumer banking, but it consistently produces some of the most impressive profitability and efficiency metrics in the sector and has been an excellent dividend stock for investors.
Because it doesn't depend on investment banking, which is generally the more volatile side of the banking business, U.S. Bancorp's profitability and revenue tend to be more predictable and consistent than the other two banks on this list.
U.S. Bancorp is largely dependent on interest income, and margins have have been under pressure due to elevated interest rates. It's important to mention that it was one of the only major banks in the country to remain profitable throughout the 2008-09 financial crisis and has an excellent history of smart risk management.
Important metrics for bank stock investors
If you're looking to invest in individual bank stocks, here are a few metrics that you might want to add to your tool kit:
- Price-to-book (P/B) value: An excellent valuation metric to use with bank stocks, the price-to-book (P/B) ratio shows how much a bank is trading for relative to the net value of its assets. It can be used in combination with profitability metrics (discussed next) to provide a picture of how cheap or expensive a bank stock is.
- Return on equity (ROE): The first of two common profitability metrics used with bank stocks, return on equity is a bank's profits expressed as a percentage of its shareholders' equity. Higher is better; 10% or above is generally considered strong.
- Return on assets (ROA): This is a bank's profit as a percentage of the assets on its balance sheet. For example, if a bank made a $1 billion profit for a given year and had $100 billion in assets, its return on assets would be 1%. Investors in bank stocks generally want to see an ROA of 1% or higher.
- Efficiency ratio: A bank's efficiency ratio is a percentage that tells investors how much the bank spent to generate its revenue. For example, a 60% efficiency ratio means that a bank spent $60 for every $100 in revenue it generated. You get the efficiency ratio by dividing noninterest expenses (operating costs) by net revenue; lower is better.
- Net charge-off ratio: This is a metric that shows how much of the bank's loan portfolio is written off as uncollectible, expressed on an annualized basis. Essentially, a 1% charge-off ratio implies that $1 million annually of every $100 million in loans is bad debt. This is an important metric in tough economies, and it can let investors know how a bank's loan portfolio is performing relative to peers.
It's also worth noting that net income, or earnings per share, isn't necessarily the best metric to use when evaluating bank earnings. There are certain items included in this (such as money added to loan loss reserves) that aren't actually expenses, as well as one-time items like special assessments by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that can distort the traditional EPS metric and make the price-to-earnings ratio less useful than with most other sectors.
Pros and cons of investing in bank stocks
Like any investment, there are pros and cons to investing in bank stocks.
On one hand, buying bank stocks lets you share in the profits of your favorite financial institutions and can be excellent wealth building investments over time.
Arguably, the biggest drawback of investing in bank stocks is that they can be highly cyclical. Banks tend to do worse than most sectors of the stock market during recessions, and the industry itself is vulnerable to panics and crises, as we saw as recently as 2023, when several high-profile regional banks failed.
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The bottom line on bank stocks
Although it's not necessarily a smart idea to buy any particular stock just because a billionaire owns it (even Warren Buffett), there does appear to be some value in the banking industry if you're a patient, long-term investor who can tolerate some short-term volatility. So if you don't have much exposure in your portfolio, one or more of the rock-solid banks discussed here could be a good fit for you.
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