Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AFL scored 69.0, LNC scored 75.0 — LNC leads.
Compare another set
AFL
Aflac Incorporated
Insurance - Life · Financial strength
65.7Fin
$116.44 · $58.4B
fundamentals as of
Strength gap
25.5
LNC leads
LNC
Lincoln National Corporation
Insurance - Life · Financial strength
91.2Fin
$40.63 · $7.8B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestLNC3.5x
Fastest growthLNC+2.0%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AFL
LNC
-9.3%D
Rev
+2.0%C
12.5xB
P/E
3.5xA
16.9%B+
ROE
22.6%A-
1.92B
P/B
0.75A
2.1%B
Yield
4.5%B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
The companies
AFLAflac Incorporated
Insurance - Life · $116.44 · beta 0.56
Why now
Insurance - Life · market cap $58.4b. 11% off the 52-week high of $130.22. Revenue -9% — in contraction; any catalyst that reverses this triggers re-rating. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $117.80 (implying +1% upside).
Moat
Net margin 27% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 17% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. $58.4b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Revenue contracting -9% — the operational turn is not yet visible in the top line. Regulatory capital risk — stricter capital requirements (CCAR, Basel) can force a dividend cut or a capital raise; the largest banks are most exposed because they're held to the tightest standards.
LNCLincoln National Corporation
Insurance - Life · $40.63 · beta 1.15
Why now
Insurance - Life · market cap $7.8b. 15% off the 52-week high of $47.67. 12 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $48.00 (implying +18% upside).
Moat
Net margin 12% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 23% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. Financial moat — scale of deposit base / underwriting franchise plus regulatory capital advantages. The largest players compound book value through cycles that erase smaller competitors.
Risk
Balance-sheet financial — book value, net interest margin, and credit loss provisions are the lever points; a rates regime change or a deterioration in the loan book moves the stock more than EPS does.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Common questions
Is LNC or AFL the better stock?
LNC scores higher: LNC 75.0, AFL 69.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
How are LNC and AFL scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.