HSBC vs NatWest, side by side
The listing says London; the businesses say otherwise. HSBC is a global bank whose centre of gravity is Asia - its results move with trade flows and Asian economies as much as anything British. NatWest is the opposite: a mostly-UK retail and business bank whose fortunes track the domestic economy, house prices and Bank of England rates.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and income, and weakest on growth.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and momentum, and weakest on quality.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure |  HSBC |  NatWest |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £15.76 | £7.06 |
| Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'. | £270.26B | £56.20B |
| P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 17.5 | 10.1 |
| Div yield: Dividend yield: the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn just from dividends. | 3.5% | 5.0% |
| Revenue growth | 3.3% | 14.5% |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | +71% | +38% |
More measures
| Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 11.3 | 8.4 |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 35.0% | 37.7% |
| ROE | 11.6% | 14.8% |
| Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. | 0.56 | — |
The bolder figure is simply the larger of the two - higher is not automatically good (a higher P/E means more expectation in the price; a higher beta means bigger swings).
How they differ
HSBC is roughly 5x the size of NatWest by market value. On our factor screen HSBC currently screens higher on momentum, while NatWest screens higher on growth and income. HSBC trades on the higher P/E (17.5 vs 10.1), so more expectation is already built into its price; and NatWest currently yields more (5.0% vs 3.5%). Over the past year the share prices moved +71% (HSBC) vs +38% (NatWest).
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
HSBC, in one line
HSBC is a global banking giant that connects businesses and individuals across the world, acting as a massive bridge for international trade and finance.
Read the full HSBC explainer →NatWest, in one line
NatWest is a major British banking group that provides everyday accounts, mortgages, and business loans to millions of customers across the UK.
Read the full NatWest explainer →What to weigh
If dividend income matters to you, the yields differ (3.5% HSBC vs 5.0% NatWest). These are facts to understand, not a verdict - read each full explainer before deciding anything.
Common questions
If both are UK-listed, why do they behave so differently?
Because the revenue lives in different places. HSBC's profit is driven largely by Asia, so Chinese growth and global trade matter more to it than UK mortgage demand; NatWest is close to a pure play on the UK.
What is the geopolitical angle with HSBC?
Operating across both Western and Chinese spheres exposes it to tensions between them - sanctions, regulation and political pressure from both directions is a risk unique to its footprint.