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Side-by-side financial comparison of STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP (SF) and UL Solutions Inc. (ULS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $789.0M, roughly 1.4× UL Solutions Inc.). STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP runs the higher net margin — 23.5% vs 8.5%, a 15.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (23.0% vs 6.8%). STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($369.0M vs $86.0M). Over the past eight quarters, STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP's revenue compounded faster (21.1% CAGR vs 8.5%).

Stifel Financial Corp. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company created under the Stifel name in July 1983 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 24, 1986. Its predecessor company was founded in 1890 as the Altheimer and Rawlings Investment Company and is headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

The UL enterprise is a global private safety company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, composed of three organizations, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL Solutions.

SF vs ULS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SF
SF
1.4× larger
SF
$1.1B
$789.0M
ULS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SF
SF
+16.3% gap
SF
23.0%
6.8%
ULS
Higher net margin
SF
SF
15.0% more per $
SF
23.5%
8.5%
ULS
More free cash flow
SF
SF
$283.0M more FCF
SF
$369.0M
$86.0M
ULS
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SF
SF
Annualised
SF
21.1%
8.5%
ULS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Revenue
$1.1B
$789.0M
Net Profit
$264.4M
$67.0M
Gross Margin
49.7%
Operating Margin
27.3%
15.0%
Net Margin
23.5%
8.5%
Revenue YoY
23.0%
6.8%
Net Profit YoY
8.3%
-17.3%
EPS (diluted)
$2.30
$0.33

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$1.1B
$789.0M
Q3 25
$962.6M
$783.0M
Q2 25
$838.9M
$776.0M
Q1 25
$842.5M
$705.0M
Q4 24
$916.0M
$739.0M
Q3 24
$810.9M
$731.0M
Q2 24
$798.9M
$730.0M
Q1 24
$768.1M
$670.0M
Net Profit
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$264.4M
$67.0M
Q3 25
$211.4M
$100.0M
Q2 25
$155.1M
$91.0M
Q1 25
$53.0M
$67.0M
Q4 24
$244.0M
$81.0M
Q3 24
$158.5M
$88.0M
Q2 24
$165.3M
$101.0M
Q1 24
$163.6M
$56.0M
Gross Margin
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
49.7%
Q3 25
50.3%
Q2 25
49.4%
Q1 25
48.4%
Q4 24
47.4%
Q3 24
49.0%
Q2 24
50.1%
Q1 24
47.6%
Operating Margin
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
27.3%
15.0%
Q3 25
29.7%
19.9%
Q2 25
25.5%
17.9%
Q1 25
7.5%
15.5%
Q4 24
29.1%
15.6%
Q3 24
26.7%
17.8%
Q2 24
28.4%
17.3%
Q1 24
28.5%
13.6%
Net Margin
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
23.5%
8.5%
Q3 25
22.0%
12.8%
Q2 25
18.5%
11.7%
Q1 25
6.3%
9.5%
Q4 24
26.6%
11.0%
Q3 24
19.5%
12.0%
Q2 24
20.7%
13.8%
Q1 24
21.3%
8.4%
EPS (diluted)
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$2.30
$0.33
Q3 25
$1.84
$0.49
Q2 25
$1.34
$0.45
Q1 25
$0.39
$0.33
Q4 24
$2.10
$0.40
Q3 24
$1.34
$0.44
Q2 24
$1.41
$0.50
Q1 24
$1.40
$0.28

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$2.3B
$295.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$617.4M
$491.0M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$6.0B
$1.3B
Total Assets
$41.3B
$2.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.10×
0.39×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$2.3B
$295.0M
Q3 25
$3.2B
$255.0M
Q2 25
$1.9B
$272.0M
Q1 25
$2.7B
$267.0M
Q4 24
$2.6B
$298.0M
Q3 24
$1.9B
$327.0M
Q2 24
$2.6B
$295.0M
Q1 24
$3.4B
$344.0M
Total Debt
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$617.4M
$491.0M
Q3 25
$617.2M
$544.0M
Q2 25
$617.0M
$608.0M
Q1 25
$616.8M
$653.0M
Q4 24
$616.6M
$742.0M
Q3 24
$616.4M
$797.0M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$810.0M
Q1 24
$1.1B
$879.0M
Stockholders' Equity
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$6.0B
$1.3B
Q3 25
$5.8B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$5.6B
$1.1B
Q1 25
$5.5B
$970.0M
Q4 24
$5.7B
$904.0M
Q3 24
$5.6B
$872.0M
Q2 24
$5.4B
$769.0M
Q1 24
$5.3B
$671.0M
Total Assets
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$41.3B
$2.9B
Q3 25
$41.7B
$2.9B
Q2 25
$39.9B
$2.9B
Q1 25
$40.4B
$2.9B
Q4 24
$39.9B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$38.9B
$2.9B
Q2 24
$37.8B
$2.7B
Q1 24
$38.3B
$2.8B
Debt / Equity
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
0.10×
0.39×
Q3 25
0.11×
0.46×
Q2 25
0.11×
0.56×
Q1 25
0.11×
0.67×
Q4 24
0.11×
0.82×
Q3 24
0.11×
0.91×
Q2 24
0.21×
1.05×
Q1 24
0.21×
1.31×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$382.4M
$144.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$369.0M
$86.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
32.7%
10.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.2%
7.4%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.45×
2.15×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.1B
$403.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$382.4M
$144.0M
Q3 25
$338.3M
$155.0M
Q2 25
$607.5M
$147.0M
Q1 25
$-211.2M
$154.0M
Q4 24
$694.6M
$130.0M
Q3 24
$198.3M
$150.0M
Q2 24
$207.2M
$103.0M
Q1 24
$-609.7M
$141.0M
Free Cash Flow
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
$369.0M
$86.0M
Q3 25
$321.1M
$109.0M
Q2 25
$592.7M
$105.0M
Q1 25
$-227.8M
$103.0M
Q4 24
$677.2M
$72.0M
Q3 24
$185.6M
$84.0M
Q2 24
$173.3M
$47.0M
Q1 24
$-619.4M
$84.0M
FCF Margin
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
32.7%
10.9%
Q3 25
33.4%
13.9%
Q2 25
70.6%
13.5%
Q1 25
-27.0%
14.6%
Q4 24
73.9%
9.7%
Q3 24
22.9%
11.5%
Q2 24
21.7%
6.4%
Q1 24
-80.6%
12.5%
Capex Intensity
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
1.2%
7.4%
Q3 25
1.8%
5.9%
Q2 25
1.8%
5.4%
Q1 25
2.0%
7.2%
Q4 24
1.9%
7.8%
Q3 24
1.6%
9.0%
Q2 24
4.2%
7.7%
Q1 24
1.3%
8.5%
Cash Conversion
SF
SF
ULS
ULS
Q4 25
1.45×
2.15×
Q3 25
1.60×
1.55×
Q2 25
3.92×
1.62×
Q1 25
-3.99×
2.30×
Q4 24
2.85×
1.60×
Q3 24
1.25×
1.70×
Q2 24
1.25×
1.02×
Q1 24
-3.73×
2.52×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

SF
SF

Segment breakdown not available.

ULS
ULS

Industrial$352.0M45%
Ongoing Certification Services$259.0M33%
Software And Advisory$102.0M13%
Software$75.0M10%

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