ITUB vs XP: 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: XP 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. ITUB and XP 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 ITUB and XP 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.

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.

Full ITUB guide

XP Inc. runs Brazil's largest independent investment platform. It was founded in 2001 as a small independent financial advisor partnership, listed on Nasdaq in December 2019, and files with the SEC as a foreign private issuer on Forms 20-F and 6-K. The group is wider than the brokerage most people picture: XP Investimentos alongside the Rico and Clear retail brands, XP Asset Management, Banco XP as a multipurpose bank, XP Vida e Previdencia for retirement plans and insurance, and the Infomoney financial media property. Distribution is the part that made it work. About ~18.3 thousand advisors were connected to the platform in the first quarter of 2026, most of them independent financial agents rather than salaried staff, which let XP pull assets away from Itau, Bradesco and Banco do Brasil without opening branches.

Full XP guide

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

• ITUB drivers: High and durable profitability; Interest-rate and credit cycle.
• XP drivers: The Selic cutting cycle and the rotation out of fixed income; Client assets compounding faster than client count.

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 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. For XP, currency sits underneath everything, because XP earns and reports in reais while the stock is priced in dollars, so the same Brazilian profit translates into a different result depending on the exchange rate.

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 ITUB if you believe its drivers more; XP 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 ITUB and XP guides.

ITUB. Itau trades at a low-double-digit price-to-earnings multiple, a discount to large U.S. banks, reflecting Brazilian country and currency risk despite a much higher return on equity. The dividend yield is meaningfully above that of most developed-market megabanks. Reported figures are in Brazilian reais, so the dollar ADR value also depends on the BRL/USD exchange rate.

XP. XP reports in Brazilian reais, and the dollar figures above convert at roughly ~R$5.10 per US dollar, the rate in early August 2026, so a move in the exchange rate changes the reported dollar result without anything changing in Brazil. The trailing multiple looks low beside US brokers such as Charles Schwab or Interactive Brokers, and a good part of that discount is the country rather than the company. Second quarter 2026 results are scheduled for August 17, 2026, the first print covering both the April and June Selic cuts.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): ITUB shows q1 2026 recurring managerial result ~R$12.3B (~$2.5B), q1 2026 net income ~R$11.9B (up ~11% YoY), q1 2026 net interest income ~R$29.7B, recurring roe ~24.8%; XP shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.5 billion (~R$18.7 billion), up ~10% year over year, net income (ttm) ~$1.0 billion, diluted EPS ~$1.90, q1 2026 (reported may 18, 2026) gross revenue ~R$4,919 million (up 8%), adjusted net income ~R$1,318 million (up 7%), adjusted diluted EPS ~R$2.49, market cap and multiples ~$8.3 billion at ~$16 per share, about ~8.5x trailing earnings, ~7.4x forward, ~1.8x book.

ITUB and XP 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 ITUB and XP exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.