Macquarie Group vs AMP shares: Which ASX financial stock stands out?

If you’re considering ASX financial stocks, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) are both familiar names—though they play very different roles in Australia’s finance sector. Investors might be weighing up Macquarie Group vs AMP shares for solid income, growth potential, or pure exposure to the banking and investment space. Here’s how these two stack up right now.

The case for Macquarie

Macquarie Group is a global powerhouse in investment banking, asset management, and specialist advisory. While it is best known as Australia’s fifth-largest bank by market cap, its retail banking arm is just a slice of the wider business. Macquarie has footholds in 34 markets and, as of its company profile, is ranked among the top 50 global asset managers. Its expertise covers everything from infrastructure and commodities to renewable energy and resources.

In terms of key numbers, Macquarie is a true ASX heavyweight with a market cap of $94.41 billion. Its shares currently trade at a P/E ratio of 19.50, showing a more moderate valuation relative to the broader financial sector heavyweights. Dividend yield sits at 2.83%, franked to 35%. Earnings per share (EPS) come in at 12.669, so despite the generally cyclical nature of investment banking, profitability remains healthy.

For dividends, Macquarie has a solid history of regular payouts, albeit with some variability in franking percentages over time. Its most recent announced dividend was $4.20 with 35% franking.

The case for AMP

AMP Limited traces its roots back to 1849, giving it a uniquely deep history among ASX names. Today it operates across superannuation, life insurance, investment management, and some banking and wealth divisions. After demutualising in 1998, AMP has undergone serious transformation—shedding various assets, including the Collimate Capital business in 2022, and shifting its financial advice arm into a new joint venture in 2024, according to its most recent public description.

AMP’s fundamentals look quite different to Macquarie’s. Its market cap is $6.22 billion, making it much smaller in scale. The shares trade at a P/E ratio of 35.00—well above Macquarie’s—though the earnings per share are also much lower at just 0.074. The dividend yield now sits at 1.93% with 20% franking. Recent dividends have been modest—its last payment was 3 cents per share.

AMP’s story in recent years has been one of turnaround efforts and business refocus, with income investors seeing less predictability in dividend payments compared to Macquarie.

Valuation comparison

There are some clear valuation and size differences between these two:

Metric	Macquarie Group	AMP
Market Cap	$94.41 billion	$6.22 billion
P/E Ratio	19.50	35.00
Dividend Yield	2.83% (35% franking)	1.93% (20% franking)
Dividend per Share	$7.00	$0.05
Earnings per Share	12.669	0.074
Year to Date Return	23.7%	45.1%

Note: AMP’s reported P/E ratio may be based on a different earnings measure (e.g. underlying or forward earnings) than the EPS figure shown, which is why they may appear inconsistent.

Recent share price performance

Comparing recent share price action up to 29 September 2026:

• As of 29 September 2026, Macquarie Group closed at $247.09, having delivered a 23.7% year-to-date return. Its share price has shown steady momentum with only modest pullbacks during the period.
• On the same date, AMP closed at $2.58, boasting a strong 45.1% year-to-date gain. Recent price movement has tilted higher, although its share price remains far lower in absolute dollar terms and tends to be more volatile day-to-day.

Which is the better buy?

Both Macquarie Group and AMP are established finance names, but I’d lean strongly towards Macquarie at current levels. Its size, diversified global earnings base, and history of resilient profitability set it apart. The P/E ratio is reasonable for a major financial, especially given its international footprint and wide range of fee-earning businesses. Dividends are higher and more consistent, with better franking.

AMP, by contrast, is still rebuilding investor trust after a string of restructures. Its higher P/E and much lower EPS signal either a recovery story not yet proven, or simply a more speculative bet. While the 45.1% year-to-date return for AMP is impressive, it comes after a drawn-out period of underperformance and heavy restructuring. Dividends are lower and only lightly franked.

Unless you are looking specifically for a speculative turnaround play or believe in AMP’s fresh growth strategy, my pick would be Macquarie Group for its overall blend of income, growth, and business quality.

The post Macquarie Group vs AMP: Which ASX financial stock is best? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial draft. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in Imricor Medical Systems Inc (ASX: IMR) have been on the slide recently, falling from levels above $2 to just $1.56 at the time of writing.

This has created a buying opportunity, according to the analysts at Morgans, who have issued a new research report into the company with a bullish share price target.

Innovative medical technology gaining traction

Imricor has developed a suite of products such as catheters, sheaths, and other tools which can be used under real-time magnetic resonance (MR) guidance, rather than under x-ray fluoroscopy guidance, thus taking advantage of MR’s superior imaging capabilities.

The company has had some wins recently, with the Children’s Medical Centre Dallas signing up to buy Imricor’s NorthStar mapping and guidance system, becoming the second US hospital customer just two weeks after the launch of the company’s US commercial operations.

Imricor said:

Children’s Medical Center Dallas will be the second customer under Imricor Cardiovascular, validating the newly launched vertical and the market opportunity across more than 250 children’s hospitals and more than 2,000 adult hospitals in the United States.

The company also recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved a manufacturing module which covers the design, manufacturing, and quality processes around seven Imricor products.

Imricor Chair Steve Wedan said:

Manufacturing is one of the most demanding components of any PMA, and ours covered seven devices at once. To have the FDA complete its evaluation and close this module is a strong validation of the design controls, production processes and quality system our team has built. It is the kind of milestone that is easy to state in a sentence but very hard to earn.

Morgans said in its new research note on the company that its share price had fallen more than 20% since it entered the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO).

The broker added:

The recent share price weakness creates a great buying opportunity. The recent news flow has been positive and we expect further key milestones to be announced over the next three to six months.

Morgans said a collaboration with Philips combining Philips’ MRI platform with Imricor’s cardiac systems and catheters offered a purpose-built alternative to x-ray guidance.

They added:

It is available immediately in CE-marked (European) markets. The partnership expands IMR’s commercial reach and creates a scalable platform for future MRI-guided interventions across additional clinical application. We expect this will accelerate commercial adoption across the Philips global network. The other major manufacturers (Siemens and GE Health) will be following suit.

Morgans has a price target of $2.90 on Imricor shares compared to $1.56 at the time of writing, which would represent upside of 85.9%.

Imricor is valued at $568.3 million.

The post Could this ASX biotech really jump more than 80% in value? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended GE HealthCare Technologies. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) shares fell further into the red in September, down around 31% over the course of the month.

At the time of writing, the ASX technology stock is down around 1% to $57.39. That means the shares are down 49% year-to-date and 64% lower than 12 months ago.

It’s been well-documented that the cloud-based accounting software business has been smashed by a tech-sector wide selloff this year after investors became spooked that AI could replace the core services of companies like Xero. 

There has also been an investor rotation away from growth stocks and into more defensive assets amid ongoing global volatility and inflation concerns.

No price-sensitive news explains why Xero shares have shed so much value over the past month. Investors may have taken profits after the shares rebounded strongly through July and most of August.

The resurgence of macroeconomic pressures has also spooked investors across the board. This hasn’t helped Xero’s share price downturn.

Concerns about the latest inflation figures and the Reserve Bank’s interest rate hike in September has only contributed to headwinds.

The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to a 15-year high of 4.6% at its meeting earlier this week. On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced that Australia’s annual headline inflation rate jumped to 4% in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 3.5% the month prior.

As of late September, Australian 10-year bond yields were sitting at around 5.36%, which hasn’t helped high-growth tech stocks either.

The question now is, are Xero shares still a buy? Or will any investment made today turn into a loss by October 2027?

What’s ahead for Xero?

The company has sticky subscription revenue, and I see huge potential for growth both into new markets and with new offerings.

It looks like the experts are also bullish on Xero shares.

Market Index data shows that most brokers rate the shares a buy. The $112 average target price implies that the shares could jump another 95%, at the time of writing.

Sentiment is also very positive on TradingView. Out of seven analysts, six have a buy/strong buy rating and one rates the shares as a hold. However, they all agree there will be upside ahead.

The average $113.31 target price implies a potential 97% upside, while the maximum $144.36 implies Xero’s shares could rise by another 151% at the time of writing.

If I buy $5,000 of Xero shares today, what could they be worth in 12 months time?

Assuming Xero shares reach the average forecasted target prices of $112 or $113.31, a $5,000 investment today could be worth around $9,750 or $9,850 by October 2027.

However, if the more bullish expert forecasts come to fruition, a $5,000 investment today could grow to $12,550 by this time next year.

The post By October 2027, $5,000 invested in Xero shares could turn into… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.