Royal Bank (RY.TO)

A done deal. Stocks tend to split above $100, though a stock is meaningless. It's rate to see a bank rise 6% in one day after reporting monstrous earnings growth. RY has been dominant a long time. The PE remains attractived.

The question asked the guest to compare the two with a view to buying one of them. She prefers Royal Bank right now. It just delivered record results and is growing at 10% year over year. TD has gone through a rough patch and is re-structuring which is eating into profits. She doesn't think Royal Bank will split.

Banks in general have performed quite well this year in spite of the pressure of 5 year mortgages coming due at higher interest rates. Banks are good for long term holds of 5 to 10 years or longer with increasing dividends and capital appreciation. Royal Bank is the biggest.

Like GS-N, it's the dominant bank in its country, and trades at a premium to peers, but deserves the premium because they've expanded into the lucrative wealth management area. They don't suffer problems in US retail banking like some peers; RY exited that decades ago. The forward PE of 13-14x is slightly higher than historic and this sector, but is justified through earnings growth.

No red flags here. Always screens #1 or #2 in his work on NA banks. So consistent and efficient. Keeps doing the right things over and over. Cashflow to support semi-annual dividend increases has actually been declining the last 4 quarters. Payout ratio (his firm calculates it a bit differently) is 41%, very reasonable.

Long-term buy and hold. Get it in your portfolio and forget about it.

Extremely well-run and conservative. It has outperformed the S&P for decades. Is very bullish RY and Canadian banks. There's ongoing dividend and earnings growth. Is overcapitalized with lots of runway to deliver 8-10% earnings growth over time and therefore 10% annualized return for the next 5 years.

Main reason to invest today is its purchase of HSBC Canada a year or so ago. Analysts haven't yet fully priced in the synergies from that acquisition. It now has more of a global platform. More global capabilities means you attract more global investors and more recurring revenues. 

Interprovincial barriers coming down in Canada and a higher infrastructure spend will promote growth in Canada, and the banks will benefit. Yield is 3.50%.

Best Canadian bank. Going higher. Dominant personal and commercial franchise in Canada. US business not as good as the Canadian one, but has turned a corner. Biggest wealth management franchise in Canada. Global top 10 in capital markets, which should grow nicely.

Not quite as much a premium to the group as it was. Delivering best on some of its earnings. 

Ranks 8/10 on fundamentals and value. Remains an anchor in the Canadian banking system. Diversified business model. Believes it's still on track for record earnings for 2025. Commercial metrics show signs of slipping, but good capital position and clean balance sheet.

Valuation not cheap, don't buy now. Decent yield of ~3.4%.

Yield of 3.5% is not as high as it once was, given the move in the stock price. About 15-16% ROE, and it retains half of that. If that can continue, should be able to grow the bottom line in mid-high single digits. Valuation is above historic averages. Better opportunities in the sector, such as TD.

It did miss its last quarter's earnings but the core business is still doing well. There is maybe short term volatility but have patience. Banks are held for the long term and Royal Bank is good for the long term.

Costs and loan loss provisions were both a bit higher than expected last quarter. Usually get 7-10% compound return over time. Over 10 years, return was 13% annualized. Over 15-20 years, 12%. Likes RY for capital markets and wealth management. HSBC acquisition has turned out well. Dividends are growing for all the banks, but not hugely. Owns this one, doesn't touch the rest.

Best name in the group in terms of quality, but that's reflected in the stock price. Has scale, a diversified revenue mix, synergy upside, long-term track record, most-trusted bank. Nice Bank of Hong Kong accretion upside. Over the next 10 years, especially if Canada's going to be in a more pro-growth phase and with the growth that the US is trying to engineer, it should be really good for RY.

Stumbled a bit on earnings yesterday, and that was probably a buying opportunity. Not his favourite bank right now (that's BMO), but can't go wrong with this one.

RY's EPS of $3.12 did miss estimates of $3.18. Revenue matched estimates ($15.67B). Provisions for credit losses were higher than expected and this was the main reason for the miss. RY has calibrated its models to higher risks, which preemptively increased provisions for performing loans, even as impaired loans moved gradually. The bank sees low-single-digit mortgage growth in the near term, potentially slower card spending and commercial loans growth in mid- to high-single digits in 2H. Combining a cautious growth view with less interest margin expansion potential could still support RY's high-single-digit to low-double-digit growth in non-trading net interest income. Holding expense growth at the upper end of mid-single digits in 2H can hold 2025 operating leverage. Markets revenue remains a quarterly variable. RBC sees the full-year impaired provision ratio potentially moving to the higher end mid-30s bps guidance, and provisions may peak in 2026. RY tends to be conservative, and we would not be too concerned here overall.
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