RY vs TD: 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.

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. RY and TD 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 RY and TD 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.

Royal Bank of Canada is the largest bank in Canada by assets and market value, and one of the largest banks in North America. It operates across five main areas: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Capital Markets, Insurance, and Corporate Support, serving individuals, businesses, institutions, and governments in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and globally. RBC deepened its dominant Canadian footprint by completing the roughly $13.5 billion all-cash acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada in March 2024, folding those clients into its personal, commercial, wealth, and capital-markets segments. The US-listed RY shares trade on the NYSE and mirror the Toronto-listed stock, giving American investors direct access to the franchise.

Full RY guide

The Toronto-Dominion Bank is one of Canada's largest banks, with roughly $2 trillion in assets and a franchise that spans both sides of the border. It reports in four segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, US retail banking, wealth management and insurance, and wholesale banking (TD Securities). More than half of its revenue comes from Canada, where it holds leading market share across most banking products, while its US retail bank gives it one of the larger branch networks on the East Coast. TD is also a long-standing dividend payer, and management targets a payout ratio in the 40 to 50 percent range of adjusted earnings, so income is a meaningful part of the total-return case.

Full TD guide

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

• RY drivers: Scale and diversification across banking segments; HSBC Canada integration and domestic dominance.
• TD drivers: Dominant Canadian retail franchise; AML remediation and the US asset cap.

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 bank, RBC's earnings are cyclical and depend on credit quality, so a Canadian recession, rising unemployment, or a housing correction could lift loan-loss provisions and pressure profit. For TD, the central risk is regulatory: the US asset cap limits growth in a key market, and the OCC can require further reductions in US assets each year TD fails to meet its remediation and compliance obligations, so execution on the AML program is critical.

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 RY if you believe its drivers more; TD 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 RY and TD guides.

RY. As of July 2026, RY trades around $211 per share on the NYSE with a market cap near $290 billion and a trailing P/E of roughly 19 times, a moderate multiple for a large, high-return bank. Second-quarter fiscal 2026 results were records, with net income of about $5.5 billion (Canadian dollars) and return on equity above 17 percent, though RBC reports in Canadian dollars so US-dollar returns also move with the exchange rate.

TD. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. TD trades more on the trajectory of its US remediation and the durability of its Canadian franchise and dividend than on any single quarter's result. A bank's reported earnings can swing with loan-loss provisions and one-time items, so directional trends in net interest income, credit quality, and remediation progress matter more than a headline multiple. TD is Canadian-listed as well as NYSE-listed, so results are reported in Canadian dollars and currency moves affect US-dollar returns.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): RY shows revenue (ttm) ~$62B CAD, q2 fy2026 net income ~$5.5B CAD, q2 fy2026 diluted eps ~$3.85 CAD, return on equity ~17.2%; TD shows scale One of Canada's two largest banks, with approximately $2 trillion in total assets, business mix Four segments: Canadian P&C banking, US retail banking, wealth and insurance, and wholesale (TD Securities); more than half of revenue from Canada, recent earnings direction Record group earnings in recent quarters, with notable strength in wholesale and wealth; US retail constrained by the asset cap and remediation costs, dividend A core part of the return; management targets an approximately 40 to 50 percent payout of adjusted earnings and has continued to raise the dividend.

RY and TD 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 RY and TD exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.