COMPARE · Data as of October 9, 2026

WAY vs HQY

Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. WAY scored 62.0, HQY scored 69.2 — HQY leads.
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WAY
Waystar Holding Corp.
Health Information Services · Quality-Growth
62
$26.68 · $5.1B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
7.2
HQY leads
HQY
HealthEquity, Inc.
Health Information Services · Quality-Growth
69.2
$92.61 · $7.7B
fundamentals as of
  • CheapestHQY33.4x
  • Fastest growthWAY+19.2%
  • Strongest balance sheetWAY0.37
  • Highest qualityHQY71 / 100
  • Largest discount to fair valueHQY-2%
THE BULL RANKINGS SCORECARD62.0/ 100 · BULL SCOREPEER MEDIANQUALITY46.1GROWTH88.5VALUE58.3
THE BULL RANKINGS SCORECARD69.2/ 100 · BULL SCOREPEER MEDIANQUALITY71.1GROWTH77.9VALUE59.9
WAYHQYQuality46.171.1Growth88.577.9Value58.359.9
cheap & fastrevenue growth →← cheaper (lower multiple)-1%29%28x43xWAYHQY

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.

FCFWAY$246mHQY$437m
RevWAY+19.2%HQY+9.5%
D/EWAY0.37HQY0.49
P/EWAY38.1xHQY33.4x
PEGWAY3.02HQY1.14
WAY
stronger →← stronger
HQY
46
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
71
89
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
78
58
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
60
HQY is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
WAY
HQY
$246mC
FCF
$437mC
+19.2%B+
Rev
+9.5%B
0.37B
D/E
0.49B
38.1xC+
P/E
33.4xC+
3.02D
PEG
1.14B+
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.
WAY
HQY
7% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
2% below
~12%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~8%/yr
-20%
1-yr DCF upside
-9%
-7%
5-yr DCF upside
+2%
+16%
10-yr DCF upside
+19%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
WAY
Why this score
  • Diluting shareholders
  • Short track record
HQY
Why this score
  • Buying back stock
WAYWaystar Holding Corp.
Health Information Services · $26.68 · beta 0.18
Why now
Health Information Services · market cap $5.1b. Down 34% from 52-week high of $40.35 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. 22 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $33.77 (implying +27% upside).
Moat
FCF converts 183% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Down 34% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Trailing P/E 38x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. ROE 3% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
HQYHealthEquity, Inc.
Health Information Services · $92.61 · beta 0.24
Why now
Health Information Services · market cap $7.7b. 14% off the 52-week high of $107.62. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $119.33 (implying +29% upside).
Moat
Net margin 17% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 11% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. FCF converts 185% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 33x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
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.

Where WAY and HQY diverge

On the headline score the gap is 7.2 points in favor of HQY. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.

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 HQY or WAY the better stock?

HQY scores higher: HQY 69.2, WAY 62.0 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.

Where do HQY and WAY differ most?

The widest gap is quality, where HQY leads by 25 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 HQY and WAY 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.