Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. BFAM scored 67.7, HRB scored 75.2 — HRB leads.
Compare another set
BFAM
Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.
Personal Services · Quality-Growth
67.7
$69.45 · $3.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
7.5
HRB leads
HRB
H&R Block, Inc.
Personal Services · Quality-Growth
75.2
$44.05 · $5.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestHRB7.7x
Fastest growthBFAM+8.5%
Highest qualityHRB94 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueHRB-53%
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.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
BFAM
stronger →← stronger
HRB
67
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
94
73
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
61
63
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
74
HRB is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
BFAM
HRB
$236mC
FCF
$756mC+
+8.5%B
Rev
+4.9%C+
2.18C
D/E
—
22.0xC+
P/E
7.7xA
1.43B
PEG
0.57A-
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.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
BFAM
HRB
12% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
53% below
~6%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-14%/yr
0%
1-yr DCF upside
+110%
+14%
5-yr DCF upside
+113%
+37%
10-yr DCF upside
+118%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
BFAM
Why this score
Buying back stock
HRB
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
The companies
BFAMBright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.
Personal Services · $69.45 · beta 1.18
Why now
Personal Services · market cap $3.4b. Down 37% from 52-week high of $109.86 — deep drawdown territory. 9 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $88.11 (implying +27% upside).
Moat
ROE 19% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 135% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
D/E 2.18 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Down 37% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
HRBH&R Block, Inc.
Personal Services · $44.05 · beta 0.39
Why now
Personal Services · market cap $5.4b. Down 25% from 52-week high of $58.67 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.57 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 3 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $51.67 (implying +17% upside).
Moat
Net margin 19% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. FCF converts 103% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
The model favors HRB (79.4) over BFAM (69.6) primarily for its superior Quality pillar score of 96, significantly higher than BFAM's 67, and its durable high returns. A contrarian, however, could prefer BFAM for its stronger revenue growth of +8.5% (B grade), which is priced with only 3% implied growth, suggesting less market optimism.
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.
Where BFAM and HRB diverge
On the headline score the gap is 7.5 points in favor of HRB. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
QualityBFAM 66.8 · HRB 94.0HRB +27.2
GrowthBFAM 73.4 · HRB 61.0BFAM +12.4
ValueBFAM 63.2 · HRB 74.2HRB +11.0
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is HRB or BFAM the better stock?
HRB scores higher: HRB 75.2, BFAM 67.7 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.
Where do HRB and BFAM differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where HRB leads by 27 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are HRB and BFAM 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.