Which is better, RY or XLV?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Royal Bank of Canada (RY) currently grades higher than XLV — 64/100 (D grade) vs 50/100 (C). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — RY wins on Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch, Charlie Munger, and Terry Smith; XLV wins on Philip Fisher and Joel Greenblatt. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy RY or XLV?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both RY and XLV are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is RY better than XLV for value investing?

On the Buffett-style value-investing framework, RY currently grades higher — 64/100 vs 50/100, a 14-point gap. The gap is driven by which pillars each stock passes; the table on this page shows moat, durability, management, financial health, and valuation side-by-side.

What's the difference between RY and XLV on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). RY currently scores 64/100 (D grade); XLV scores 50/100 (C grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, RY or XLV?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. RY and XLV are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, RY or XLV?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are RY and XLV both Financial Services stocks?

Yes — both Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) operate in the Financial Services sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this RY vs XLV comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

Royal Bank of Canada

Market cap

$269.66B

Sector

Financials

Overall winner

Royal Bank of Canada

RY 5–2 XLV

State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF

XLV

Market cap

Sector

Financials

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

Fit scores by strategy

RYvsXLV

Warren Buffett

64D

50C

Benjamin Graham

74C

50C

Philip Fisher

49D

50C

Peter Lynch

70C

50C

Joel Greenblatt

44D

50C

Charlie Munger

52D

50C

Terry Smith

52D

50C

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	RY	XLV
Market cap	$269.66B	-
P/E (TTM)	16.6x	-
EV/EBIT	27.3x	-
ROIC (TTM)	0.97%	-
Gross margin	54.55%	-
Net margin	18.4%	-
Revenue CAGR 5y	24.22%	-
EPS CAGR 5y	6.25%	-
Debt / Equity	2.8x	-
Dividend yield	2.41%	-

More like RY

RY vs FBK.MI RY vs AZA.ST RY vs IBKD.SI RY vs BGN.MI RY vs RILBA.CO RY vs CPI.JO

More like XLV

XLV vs FBK.MI XLV vs AZA.ST XLV vs IBKD.SI XLV vs BGN.MI XLV vs RILBA.CO XLV vs CPI.JO

Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for RY Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for XLV

Related on invest-like

Strongest Moat Highest ROIC Warren Buffett strategy Economic Moat

Key terms in this analysis

ROIC Free Cash Flow (FCF)Economic Moat P/E Ratio Margin of Safety Quality Score

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.

Stock comparison

Royal Bank of Canada

Market cap

$269.66B

Sector

Financials

Overall winner

Royal Bank of Canada

RY 5–2 XLV

State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF

XLV

Market cap

Sector

Financials

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

Fit scores by strategy

RYvsXLV

Warren Buffett

64D

50C

Benjamin Graham

74C

50C

Philip Fisher

49D

50C

Peter Lynch

70C

50C

Joel Greenblatt

44D

50C

Charlie Munger

52D

50C

Terry Smith

52D

50C

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	RY	XLV
Market cap	$269.66B	-
P/E (TTM)	16.6x	-
EV/EBIT	27.3x	-
ROIC (TTM)	0.97%	-
Gross margin	54.55%	-
Net margin	18.4%	-
Revenue CAGR 5y	24.22%	-
EPS CAGR 5y	6.25%	-
Debt / Equity	2.8x	-
Dividend yield	2.41%	-

More like RY

RY vs FBK.MI RY vs AZA.ST RY vs IBKD.SI RY vs BGN.MI RY vs RILBA.CO RY vs CPI.JO

More like XLV

XLV vs FBK.MI XLV vs AZA.ST XLV vs IBKD.SI XLV vs BGN.MI XLV vs RILBA.CO XLV vs CPI.JO

Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for RY Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for XLV

Related on invest-like

Strongest Moat Highest ROIC Warren Buffett strategy Economic Moat

Key terms in this analysis

ROIC Free Cash Flow (FCF)Economic Moat P/E Ratio Margin of Safety Quality Score

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.