Sector Report4 min read
Financials: 22 A-Grades, Five Banks Destroying Cash
Payments and exchanges print money. The biggest banks still burn it. Six F-grades are all improving, but from deeply negative baselines.
Aug 7, 2026
CMEVMACOF+11
Financial data as of Dec 31, 2025Improving · Financials
Base grade from FCF margin, adjusted by financial health factors
Key financials compared side by side
Debt, liquidity, and leverage snapshot
Free cash flow per quarter
FCF Margin ranked against sector peers
Payments and exchanges print money. The biggest banks still burn it. Six F-grades are all improving, but from deeply negative baselines.
The sector splits clean: exchanges and payments print cash, megabanks burn it. Twenty companies improving can't hide the bottom five.
Payment networks and exchanges print 50%+ margins while traditional banks bleed cash. The sector split is stark.