KEY vs ZION: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
KEY is the larger of the two ($24.22B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (10.56x forward earnings, beta 1.02). ZION is the smaller challenger ($10.17B), priced similarly on forward earnings (10.24x): 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.
KEY vs ZION: the tie-breaker metrics
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.
| Metric | KEY | ZION | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $24.22B | $10.17B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 10.56 | 10.24 | 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 | 13.21 | 8.88 | 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 | 1.02 | 0.79 | 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 | 81% of range | 87% 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 | 1.40 | 1.42 | 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 KEY and ZION 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. KEY and ZION 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 KEY and ZION 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 KeyCorp (KEY) do?
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is the Cleveland, Ohio holding company for KeyBank National Association, one of the larger regional banks in the United States, with roughly $189 billion in assets as of early 2026. It operates through two segments: the Consumer Bank, which offers deposits, mortgages, home equity, credit cards, student-loan refinancing (through its national Laurel Road digital brand), and financial-wellness services to individuals and small businesses across a 15-state branch footprint, and the Commercial Bank, which serves middle-market clients in seven industry verticals (consumer, energy, healthcare, industrial, public sector, real estate, and technology) with lending, treasury management, and capital-markets services. Like other banks, KeyCorp makes money in two broad ways: net interest income, the spread between what it earns on loans and securities and what it pays on deposits, and noninterest fee income from investment banking, payments, wealth management, and service charges.
What does Zions Bancorporation (ZION) do?
Zions Bancorporation, National Association is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City with roughly $89 billion in total assets at the end of 2025. It runs a collection of locally managed and separately branded banks, including California Bank & Trust, Amegy Bank in Texas, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, and Vectra Bank Colorado, serving small and mid-sized businesses, commercial clients, and retail customers across 11 western states. Its core business is gathering deposits (about $73.8 billion) and lending them out, with roughly $59.6 billion of loans spread across commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and consumer credit.
KEY vs ZION: 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.
- KEY drivers: Net interest income and margin recovery; Fee income and investment banking.
- ZION drivers: Net interest margin recovery; Western small-business and commercial franchise.
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: KeyCorp is highly sensitive to interest rates: net interest income is its largest revenue line, so falling rates, an inverted yield curve, or deposit repricing can compress the net interest margin and earnings. For ZION, the largest risks are credit and interest-rate related.
KEY or ZION: 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 KEY if you believe its drivers more; ZION 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 KEY and ZION guides.
KEY vs ZION: the full fundamentals
KEY. KeyCorp trades as a mid-cap regional bank, with a market value near $25 billion on roughly 1.08 billion shares and a dividend yield around 3.7%. Earnings have been recovering sharply off a weak 2024, so year-over-year growth rates look large partly because of the low base. As with all banks, valuation multiples like price-to-book and price-to-earnings are best read against peer regional banks and the direction of interest rates and credit costs.
ZION. Zions trades at a low-single-digit-multiple valuation typical of regional banks, with a trailing P/E near 9.5x and return on equity around 14%. Q1 2026 net earnings of about $232 million were up roughly 37% year over year, helped by a wider margin and higher fee income. Analyst price targets in 2026 clustered in the high-$60s to mid-$70s, reflecting a mix of optimism on operating leverage and caution on credit.
Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): KEY shows total assets ~$189 billion (Q1 2026), q1 2026 total revenue ~$1.95 billion (up ~10% YoY), q1 2026 net income to common ~$486 million, q1 2026 diluted eps ~$0.44 (up ~33% YoY); ZION shows revenue (2025 net revenue) ~$3.4B, net interest income (q1 2026) ~$662M, diluted eps (q1 2026) ~$1.56, market cap ~$9.2B.
The bottom line: KEY vs ZION
KEY and ZION 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 KEY and ZION exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how KEY or ZION 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 KeyCorp with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how KEY 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 KEY and ZION?
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KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is the Cleveland, Ohio holding company for KeyBank National Association, one of the larger regional banks in the United States, with roughly $189 billion in assets as of early 2026. Zions Bancorporation, National Association is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City with roughly $89 billion in total assets at the end of 2025. 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 KEY or ZION the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. KEY is the larger incumbent; ZION 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, KEY or ZION?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), KEY trades at 10.56x and ZION at 10.24x, so ZION 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 KEY and ZION?
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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 KEY vs ZION?
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KEY: KeyCorp is highly sensitive to interest rates: net interest income is its largest revenue line, so falling rates, an inverted yield curve, or deposit repricing can compress the net interest margin and earnings. As an economically cyclical regional bank, it is exposed to the credit cycle, where a recession or rising unemployment would increase loan losses; commercial real estate and leveraged commercial lending are areas investors watch closely, though credit metrics were healthy in early 2026 (net charge-offs around 38 basis points). Deposit competition from larger banks, online banks, and money-market funds can raise funding costs. The 2024 securities repositioning was executed at a realized loss, and any renewed rate volatility could pressure the securities book again. Finally, regional banks broadly face heightened regulatory scrutiny and capital requirements after the 2023 regional-bank stress, and Scotiabank's large minority stake, while a source of capital, concentrates a significant block of ownership with a single strategic holder. ZION: The largest risks are credit and interest-rate related. Commercial real estate is about 22% of loans, and while the portfolio is described as granular with low loan-to-value ratios, the office segment and criticized-loan levels bear watching as CRE loans mature into 2026. A renewed rise in funding costs or deposit flight, as the sector experienced during the 2023 regional-bank stress, would compress margins and pressure the stock. Concentration in western commercial and small-business borrowers ties results to regional economic health. Rising loan losses or a recession would increase provisions and reduce earnings, and the low valuation multiple reflects the market pricing these tail risks.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell KEY or ZION; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.