HQY vs WBS: 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.

Reading it: WBS 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.

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. HQY and WBS 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 HQY and WBS 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.

HealthEquity, Inc. is the largest independent non-bank custodian of health savings accounts in the United States, and it also administers the flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, COBRA and commuter benefits that sit alongside them. As of April 30, 2026 it held 10.6 million HSAs containing $37.1 billion of member assets, plus 7.2 million other consumer-directed benefit accounts, for 17.8 million total accounts. Almost none of that comes from consumers directly: it reaches members through their employers, and employers through benefits brokers, health plans and retirement recordkeepers. Revenue arrives in three lines: service fees from employers and members, custodial revenue on the interest spread from member cash placed with insurance-company partners and banks, and interchange on every swipe of a member's benefits card. Custodial is the biggest and by far the most profitable, at $174.3 million of the $354.6 million booked in the quarter ended April 30, 2026, against only $11.7 million of direct cost.

Full HQY guide

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE: WBS) is a US regional bank holding company with more than $84 billion in total assets, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and operating primarily across the Northeast. It runs three business lines: Commercial Banking (lending, treasury, and deposit services for middle-market and commercial clients), Consumer Banking (checking, savings, mortgages, and consumer lending across its branch network), and Healthcare Financial Services, home to HSA Bank, one of the largest administrators of health savings accounts in the country. Like most banks, Webster earns money mainly from net interest income (the spread between what it earns on loans and securities and what it pays on deposits), which it guided to roughly $2.47 to $2.50 billion for 2025, supplemented by fee income from deposit services, wealth management, and its HSA business.

Full WBS guide

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

• HQY drivers: The cash repricing ladder; Balances that compound whether or not accounts do.
• WBS drivers: Pending Banco Santander acquisition is the whole story; Regulatory approvals are the gating factor.

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: Custodial revenue is the profit engine and it depends on rates HealthEquity does not control, so a sustained decline in market yields would eventually reset renewing contracts lower, just as slowly as the current tailwind arrived. For WBS, the central risk is deal completion: if the Federal Reserve or European Central Bank blocks or materially delays the merger, Webster shares could fall back toward their pre-announcement level, giving up the acquisition premium.

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 HQY if you believe its drivers more; WBS 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 HQY and WBS guides.

HQY. HealthEquity runs a January fiscal year, so the quarter ended April 30, 2026 is fiscal 2027's first, reported May 28, 2026. Net debt is modest at roughly $680 million ($600 million of 4.50% notes due 2029 plus a drawn revolver, against $265 million of cash), which puts enterprise value near $9.3 billion, or about 15x the midpoint of guided adjusted EBITDA. Because custodial revenue carries almost no direct cost, small changes in the yield on member cash swing earnings far more than equivalent changes in account count.

WBS. Webster's valuation is effectively set by the Banco Santander merger terms ($48.75 cash plus 2.0548 Santander ADS per share) rather than by traditional bank multiples. The deal was struck at roughly 2.0x fourth-quarter 2025 tangible book value. Because part of the payment is Santander stock, the effective per-share value fluctuates with Santander's share price until close.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): HQY shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.34B, latest quarter (q1 fy2027, ended april 30, 2026) ~$354.6M revenue, +7% year over year, q1 fy2027 earnings ~$69.4M net income, ~$0.82 diluted (~$1.24 non-GAAP), hsa assets under custody ~$37.1B (~$17.5B cash, ~$19.6B invested); WBS shows total assets ~$84 billion (as of 2025), full-year 2025 revenue ~$2.9 billion, full-year 2025 diluted eps ~$5.90 (Q4 adjusted EPS ~$1.59), q1 2026 net income to common ~$239 million (~$1.50 diluted, ~$1.57 adjusted).

HQY and WBS 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 HQY and WBS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.