EXPGY vs TRU: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
EXPGY is the larger of the two ($31.08B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (15.53x forward earnings, beta 0.90). TRU is the smaller challenger ($12.52B), cheaper on forward earnings (11.74x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
EXPGY vs TRU: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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.
| Metric | EXPGY | TRU | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $31.08B | $12.52B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 15.53 | 11.74 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 21.77 | 17.24 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.90 | 1.54 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 20% of range | 16% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 5.75 | 2.59 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: TRU is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how EXPGY and TRU affect your concentration
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. EXPGY and TRU 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 EXPGY and TRU 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.
What does Experian plc (EXPGY) do?
Experian plc runs credit bureaus and the data, analytics and software built on top of them. Lenders pay it for credit reports, scores, identity checks, fraud tools and decisioning software, which make up the B2B side (about 73% of revenue as of the June 2026 quarter). The rest is Consumer Services: free and paid memberships that let people check their credit score and file, plus marketplace referral fees when a member takes out a card or loan through the app. Experian had more than 215 million free consumer members at the end of fiscal 2026. Inside B2B, Financial Services (banks, card issuers, mortgage and auto lenders) is about 53% of group revenue, and Verticals (health, automotive, marketing data, insurance and others) about 20%.
What does TransUnion (TRU) do?
TransUnion is a global information and insights company best known as one of the three dominant U.S. consumer credit bureaus, alongside Equifax and Experian. It aggregates and analyzes credit, identity, and marketing data on more than a billion consumers across 30-plus countries, then sells reports, scores, analytics, fraud-and-identity tools, and consumer-facing subscription products. Revenue is organized around two segments: U.S. Markets (Financial Services, plus Emerging Verticals like insurance, healthcare, tenant and employment screening, and public sector) and International (fast-growing operations in India, the UK, Canada, Latin America, and Africa).
EXPGY vs TRU: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- EXPGY drivers: US B2B data and decisioning; Latin America and Serasa.
- TRU drivers: U.S. Financial Services reacceleration; International expansion.
Which fits which kind of investor
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 most immediate risk is FICO. For TRU, transUnion's results are directly exposed to the credit cycle: recessions, rising unemployment, or tighter lending cut demand for credit reports and marketing services.
EXPGY or TRU: which should you pick?
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 EXPGY if you believe its drivers more; TRU 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 EXPGY and TRU guides.
EXPGY vs TRU: the full fundamentals
EXPGY. At ~$35.48 per ADR, Experian trades at roughly 20 times its fiscal 2026 Benchmark EPS of 179.8 cents, and around 18 times forward estimates. That is a lower multiple than the stock has commanded through most of the last decade, and it reflects the FICO licensing change and the slower Q1 rather than any fall in reported profit: Benchmark EBIT grew 15% last year and statutory pre-tax profit 26% to ~$1.95 billion. Guidance for fiscal 2027 still calls for double-digit Benchmark EPS growth on 8% to 11% total revenue growth. If that holds, the multiple compresses further on forward numbers. The yield is modest because Experian returns more cash through buybacks ($1 billion authorised to June 2027) than through dividends.
TRU. TransUnion returned to double-digit revenue growth in Q1 2026 (up ~14%), beating estimates and prompting a raised full-year outlook. Reported net income was boosted by a one-time gain from consolidating its Mexico operation, so adjusted per-share earnings (around $1.18 in the quarter) give a cleaner view. Valuation multiples vary widely between trailing and forward measures because of past charges, and the sizable debt load makes leverage and free-cash-flow trends central to the story.
Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): EXPGY shows revenue (fy26, to march 2026) ~$8.45B (+12%; 8% organic), benchmark ebit (fy26) ~$2.41B (28.6% margin), benchmark eps (fy26) 179.8 US cents (+15%), market cap ~$31.4B (ADR ~$35.48, Oct 9, 2026); TRU shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.7B, fy2025 revenue ~$4.58B (up ~9%), 2026 revenue guidance ~$5.1B-$5.14B, adjusted ebitda margin ~35%.
The bottom line: EXPGY vs TRU
EXPGY and TRU 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 EXPGY and TRU exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how EXPGY or TRU fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Experian plc with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how EXPGY fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between EXPGY and TRU?
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Experian plc runs credit bureaus and the data, analytics and software built on top of them. TransUnion is a global information and insights company best known as one of the three dominant U.S. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is EXPGY or TRU the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. EXPGY is the larger incumbent; TRU is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, EXPGY or TRU?
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On forward P/E (as of October 2026), EXPGY trades at 15.53x and TRU at 11.74x, so TRU is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both EXPGY and TRU?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of EXPGY vs TRU?
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EXPGY: The most immediate risk is FICO. In late 2025 Fair Isaac launched a programme letting mortgage tri-merge resellers calculate and distribute FICO scores directly, bypassing the three bureaus, and Experian's FY26 results cite FICO mortgage royalties as a headwind to margins; Experian shares fell ~4% in London on the day of the announcement, and Jefferies estimated FICO's new models could hit bureau earnings by 10% to 15% on average. The second is slowing growth: Q1 fiscal 2027 organic growth of 7% was down from 9% in the prior quarter, EMEA and Asia Pacific grew just 1%, and the midpoint of FY27 organic guidance (6% to 8%) came in below what some analysts expected. Consumer Services is shrinking in North America while the breach contracts run off. Credit bureaus are regulated businesses, and the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the UK Financial Conduct Authority and Brazilian regulators can change what data may be held and how consumer products are sold; data security is a standing exposure for a company holding files on hundreds of millions of people. Currency matters too, because Experian reports in dollars but earns a meaningful share in reais, sterling and euros. For ADR holders specifically, EXPGY trades OTC (on the OTCQX tier) with thinner volume than the London line, so spreads can be wider; dividends paid directly by the company are subject to 25% Irish dividend withholding tax unless an exemption applies, so the amount received can be lower than the declared rate depending on how the depositary and the holder's paperwork handle it. TRU: TransUnion's results are directly exposed to the credit cycle: recessions, rising unemployment, or tighter lending cut demand for credit reports and marketing services. The company carries roughly $5 billion of debt against a market value near $14 billion, so higher interest rates and slower deleveraging pressure earnings and flexibility. As a custodian of sensitive consumer data, it faces cybersecurity and data-breach risk plus heavy regulatory scrutiny (CFPB, FTC, FCRA, and international privacy rules). It also competes against larger peers Experian and Equifax and can be affected by mortgage-inquiry pricing changes from FICO and the bureaus. Foreign-exchange swings weigh on reported international growth.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell EXPGY or TRU; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.