FHN vs ITUB: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
ITUB is the larger of the two ($104.05B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (9.73x forward earnings, beta 0.11). FHN is the smaller challenger ($10.84B), priced similarly on forward earnings (9.82x): 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.
FHN vs ITUB: 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 | FHN | ITUB | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $10.84B | $104.05B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 9.82 | 9.73 | 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 | 16.58 | 12.10 | 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 | 0.63 | 0.11 | 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 | 44% of range | 79% 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 | 1.31 | 2.41 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how FHN and ITUB 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. FHN and ITUB 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 FHN and ITUB 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 First Horizon Corporation (FHN) do?
First Horizon Corporation is the holding company for First Horizon Bank, a regional lender headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee with roughly $84 billion in assets (~$84.3 billion at September 30, 2026) and operations across about 12 states in the Southeast and Texas. The bank offers commercial and private banking, consumer and small-business services, wealth and trust management, retail brokerage, capital markets, and fixed income. It holds leading deposit market share positions in Tennessee and Louisiana, with additional density in Florida, the Carolinas, Virginia, Atlanta, and the Dallas and Houston markets.
What does Itau Unibanco Holding (ITUB) do?
Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE: ITUB) is the largest private-sector bank in Brazil and one of the largest financial institutions in Latin America, offering retail and commercial banking, credit cards, insurance, asset management, and investment banking across Brazil and other markets. The U.S.-listed security is an American Depositary Receipt tied to the Brazil-listed preferred shares (ITUB4), so its dollar value moves with both the underlying share price and the Brazilian real. Itau, together with Bradesco and Santander Brasil, forms the private-bank core of a sector where these three plus the state-owned banks control the bulk of system assets.
FHN vs ITUB: 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.
- FHN drivers: Sun Belt regional growth; Net interest income and margin.
- ITUB drivers: High and durable profitability; Interest-rate and credit cycle.
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: As a regional bank, First Horizon carries interest rate risk, since a falling or inverted yield curve can compress margins. For ITUB, the largest risks are macro and currency: ITUB is an ADR whose dollar value depends on the Brazilian real, so a weakening real can wipe out local-currency gains for U.S.
FHN or ITUB: 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 FHN if you believe its drivers more; ITUB 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 FHN and ITUB guides.
FHN vs ITUB: the full fundamentals
FHN. The trailing P/E of ~16.8x is inflated by the Q3 2026 mortgage-sale charge; on 2027 estimates of ~$2.33 per share the shares trade near 10x, and at about 1.3x book. That is cheaper than the ~12x trailing multiple the stock carried in spring 2026, after a ~9% decline over the last three months. The 21 analysts covering FHN rate it a buy on average with a mean target near $27, and the next quarterly report is expected around January 13, 2027.
ITUB. At about $9.46 on October 16, 2026, Itau trades near 12 times trailing and 10 times forward earnings and about 2.4 times book, a discount to large U.S. banks on earnings despite a much higher return on equity, because of Brazilian country and currency risk. The multiple has risen with a 42% one-year price gain, and the ADR now sits above the analyst mean target. Reported figures are in Brazilian reais, so the dollar ADR value also depends on the BRL/USD exchange rate; Q3 results are due November 3, 2026.
Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): FHN shows market cap ~$10.95B (share price ~$23.12), revenue (ttm) ~$3.5B (Q3 2026 ~$883M), net income (ttm) ~$1.03B, adjusted eps (q3 2026) ~$0.53 vs ~$0.52 expected; ITUB shows revenue (ttm) ~R$144B (Q2 2026 +17.5% YoY), net income (ttm) ~R$46.8B, q2 2026 net income ~R$12.2B, operating / profit margin ~39% / ~33%.
The bottom line: FHN vs ITUB
FHN and ITUB 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 FHN and ITUB exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how FHN or ITUB 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 First Horizon Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how FHN 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 FHN and ITUB?
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First Horizon Corporation is the holding company for First Horizon Bank, a regional lender headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee with roughly $84 billion in assets (~$84.3 billion at September 30, 2026) and operations across about 12 states in the Southeast and Texas. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. 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 FHN or ITUB the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. ITUB is the larger incumbent; FHN is the smaller challenger and looks pricier 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, FHN or ITUB?
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On forward P/E (as of October 2026), FHN trades at 9.82x and ITUB at 9.73x, so ITUB 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 FHN and ITUB?
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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 FHN vs ITUB?
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FHN: As a regional bank, First Horizon carries interest rate risk, since a falling or inverted yield curve can compress margins. Credit risk is meaningful because a downturn in its Southeastern and Texas markets, including commercial real estate exposure, could raise charge-offs from the low levels seen recently. Deposit competition and the possibility of funding outflows remain a concern after the 2023 regional-banking stress. The stock also lost the premium tied to the TD takeover when that deal collapsed, and regulatory capital requirements could limit buybacks. The mortgage sale adds execution risk of its own: it is not settled until early in Q4 2026, and the promised accretion depends on redeploying the proceeds into loans at better yields without loosening credit standards. Because the loss on the sale runs through GAAP earnings, trailing GAAP EPS (~$1.38) now understates the bank's ongoing earnings power, and screens that rely on the trailing P/E will show the stock as more expensive than adjusted figures imply. ITUB: The largest risks are macro and currency: ITUB is an ADR whose dollar value depends on the Brazilian real, so a weakening real can wipe out local-currency gains for U.S. holders. Politics is a live risk in October 2026: the stock rallied after a first-round election surprise, and the late-October runoff between Flavio Bolsonaro and President Lula could reverse that move as easily as extend it. Brazilian interest-rate swings and rising credit costs (guided at a large range for 2026) can pressure loan growth and provisions. Structural competition from Nubank and other fintechs, which have surpassed the incumbents on customer count, threatens fee income and deposit economics over time. After a 42% one-year gain the ADR trades above the analyst mean target of about $9.02, so expectations are higher than they were. Regulatory, tax, and country-specific risks in Brazil, plus the fact that the ADR tracks non-voting preferred shares, add further layers to weigh.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell FHN or ITUB; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.