BMO vs TD: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. BMO and TD share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined BMO and TD exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Bank of Montreal is Canada's oldest bank, founded in 1817, with its head office in Montreal and executive offices in Toronto. Management describes it as the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with roughly $1.5 trillion CAD of total assets as of April 30, 2026, and about 53,200 employees. The business runs in five reporting segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Banking, Wealth Management, Capital Markets and Corporate Services. The US franchise is unusually large for a Canadian bank, built on the old Harris Bank in Chicago and expanded materially by the 2023 purchase of Bank of the West, which added a California and Western US branch network. BMO reports under IFRS in Canadian dollars on an October fiscal year end, which means the quarter labelled Q2 fiscal 2026 ended April 30, 2026.

Full BMO guide

The Toronto-Dominion Bank is one of Canada's largest banks, with roughly $2 trillion in assets and a franchise that spans both sides of the border. It reports in four segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, US retail banking, wealth management and insurance, and wholesale banking (TD Securities). More than half of its revenue comes from Canada, where it holds leading market share across most banking products, while its US retail bank gives it one of the larger branch networks on the East Coast. TD is also a long-standing dividend payer, and management targets a payout ratio in the 40 to 50 percent range of adjusted earnings, so income is a meaningful part of the total-return case.

Full TD guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• BMO drivers: The return-on-equity repair plan; Credit costs coming back down.
• TD drivers: Dominant Canadian retail franchise; AML remediation and the US asset cap.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The largest near-term risk is valuation rather than fundamentals: at about 19 to 20 times trailing reported earnings and roughly 2.3 times book, BMO trades well above the multiple Canadian banks have historically carried, and the shares sit at a 52-week high after a run of roughly 43% in 2026 in US dollar terms, so the ROE plan is substantially priced in. For TD, the central risk is regulatory: the US asset cap limits growth in a key market, and the OCC can require further reductions in US assets each year TD fails to meet its remediation and compliance obligations, so execution on the AML program is critical.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick BMO if you believe its drivers more; TD if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the BMO and TD guides.

BMO. BMO closed at $185.86 USD on the NYSE on August 14, 2026, a 52-week high against a low of $112.21 USD, for a market capitalisation near $131 billion USD (roughly $182 billion CAD at the August 14 rate of about 1.39 CAD per USD). Trailing twelve-month revenue is about $37.7 billion CAD and trailing reported diluted EPS about $13.03 CAD, or roughly $13.65 CAD on an adjusted basis, putting the annualized $6.84 CAD dividend at a payout near 50%. The most recent reported quarter is Q2 fiscal 2026, ended April 30 and released May 27; Q3 fiscal 2026 results are scheduled for August 25, 2026 and Q4 for December 2, 2026.

TD. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. TD trades more on the trajectory of its US remediation and the durability of its Canadian franchise and dividend than on any single quarter's result. A bank's reported earnings can swing with loan-loss provisions and one-time items, so directional trends in net interest income, credit quality, and remediation progress matter more than a headline multiple. TD is Canadian-listed as well as NYSE-listed, so results are reported in Canadian dollars and currency moves affect US-dollar returns.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): BMO shows net interest income (q2 fy2026) ~$5.27B CAD (~$21.9B CAD trailing twelve months), cet1 ratio (april 30, 2026) ~13.0%, return on equity (q2 fy2026) ~13.0% reported, ~13.5% adjusted, provision for credit losses (q2 fy2026) ~$739M CAD, down from ~$1,054M CAD a year earlier; TD shows scale One of Canada's two largest banks, with approximately $2 trillion in total assets, business mix Four segments: Canadian P&C banking, US retail banking, wealth and insurance, and wholesale (TD Securities); more than half of revenue from Canada, recent earnings direction Record group earnings in recent quarters, with notable strength in wholesale and wealth; US retail constrained by the asset cap and remediation costs, dividend A core part of the return; management targets an approximately 40 to 50 percent payout of adjusted earnings and has continued to raise the dividend.

BMO and TD are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined BMO and TD exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.