Sector Report4 min read
Financials: 22 A-Grades With Five Banks Broken
The sector median is 19.5%, but the money center banks are all failing. The gap between payments and traditional banking keeps widening.
May 4, 2026
CMEVMACOF+16
Banks, investment firms, insurance, payments, and financial services
Sector classifications follow the GICS industry standard.
Companies ranked by free cash flow margin
Health grades across the sector
| # | Symbol | Grade | FCF Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CME | A | 62.9% |
| 2 | V | A | 51.7% |
| 3 | MA | A | 48.3% |
| 4 | COF | A | 47.5% |
| 5 | SCHW | A | 35.3% |
| 6 | SPGI | A | 34.0% |
| 7 | ICE | A | 28.7% |
| 8 | TFC | A | 28.2% |
| 9 | USB | A | 27.9% |
| 10 | MET | A | 22.6% |
| 11 | COIN | A | 22.1% |
| 12 | TRV | A | 21.7% |
| 13 | CB | A | 21.4% |
| 14 | AXP | A | 21.4% |
| 15 | PGR | A | 19.5% |
| 16 | PNC | A | 19.0% |
| 17 | MMC | A | 18.5% |
| 18 | AON | A | 16.2% |
| 19 | ALL | A | 14.7% |
| 20 | PYPL | A | 13.8% |
| 21 | AIG | A | 12.4% |
| 22 | PRU | A | 10.3% |
| 23 | BLK | C | 9.3% |
| 24 | BAC | F | 7.6% |
| 25 | WFC | F | -22.7% |
| 26 | MS | F | -34.4% |
| 27 | JPM | F | -81.3% |
| 28 | GS | F | -86.9% |
| 29 | C | F | -87.0% |
Run the analyzer on these tickers to see their grades
The sector median is 19.5%, but the money center banks are all failing. The gap between payments and traditional banking keeps widening.
Payments and exchanges print cash. Big banks bleed it. The split is getting worse.
CME prints $3.6B in free cash flow on $6.1B revenue. The exchange business model works exactly like it should.