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what it is
Morgan Stanley advises, trades, and manages money through three businesses that produced $59.1B of annual revenue.
how it gets paid
Last year Morgan Stanley made $59.1B in revenue. Wealth Management was the main engine at $27.2B, or 46% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 9.1% last year. To wit, rebounding investment banking activity and a robust showing from its equity business boosted its institutional securities arm.
what just happened
Morgan Stanley missed by 9.8% on EPS, with profit at $2.68 a share.
At a glance
A+ balance sheet — rock-solid finances — built to survive anything
70/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
17.1x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.3% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
5.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 75/100 — average
What they do
Morgan Stanley advises, trades, and manages money through three businesses that produced $59.1B of annual revenue.
46% of 2024 revenue came from Wealth Management, or about $27.2B. That is client money the bank keeps billing every year. AUM (assets under management, client money the firm oversees) hit $1.67T, so leaving means moving your accounts, advisors, and history, not just clicking a button.
How they make money
$59.1B
annual revenue · their business grew +9.1% last year
Institutional Securities
$26.6B
Wealth Management
$27.2B
Investment Management
$5.3B
The products that matter
trading and advisory platform
Institutional Securities
$32.5B · 55% of revenue
it's the biggest segment at $32.5B, and 8% growth tells you capital markets and deal activity were supportive. this is still the earnings engine the street notices first.
largest segment
advisor-led client franchise
Wealth Management
$20.7B · +11% growth
this $20.7B business grew faster than the trading arm. in plain English: more of Morgan Stanley's revenue is coming from clients who pay recurring fees, not from one hot quarter on a desk.
stability driver
portfolio and fund management
Investment Management
$5.9B · 10% of revenue
it's the smallest segment at $5.9B, but 7% growth still matters. it adds more fee income to a company the market still thinks of as a bank first and a manager second.
fee income
Key numbers
$1.67T
AUM
AUM (assets under management, client money) is the fee base. More assets, more tolls.
$59.1B
annual revenue
This is the bank's top line. It is the amount flowing in before pay, legal bills, and bonuses.
17.1x
trailing p/e
P/E (price to earnings, what you pay for one dollar of profit) is 17.1x. That is not bargain-bin pricing for a bank.
2.3%
dividend yield
Dividend yield means cash paid to you each year. At 2.3%, you get paid while you wait.
Financial health
A+
strength
- balance sheet grade A+ — near the highest rating possible
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 65 / 100
- long-term debt $331.7B (54% of capital)
- net profit margin 20.0% — keeps 20 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 15% — $0.15 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A+ with balance sheet grade and risk rank standing out. your money faces less risk here than at most public companies.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in MS 3 years ago → it's now worth $23,030.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Morgan Stanley missed by 9.8% on EPS, with profit at $2.68 a share.
The supplied revenue figures conflict: EDGAR shows $44.1B for the latest quarter, while consensus shows $59.1B TTM. The clean signal is EPS at $2.68 versus $2.97 expected, a 9.8% miss.
$44.1B
revenue
$2.68
eps
n/a
n/a
the number that mattered
The $2.68 EPS print versus $2.97 expected is the cleanest read. That is a 9.8% miss, and this bank trades on fee rhythm more than one noisy quarter.
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morgan stanley likely posted impressive results in 2025.
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the investment bank recorded strong top- and bottom-line tallies over the first nine months of the year, thanks to growth across its operating segments and geographies.to wit, rebounding investment banking activity and a robust showing from its equity business boosted its institutional securities arm.
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the wealth management segment was supported by stellar client activity, enabling morgan to register record asset management revenues over the term.and higher asset management fees on rising assets under management propped up the company’s investment management division.
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during the september quarter, profits soared nearly 49% from the year-ago period, coming in at $2.80 a share.
-
revenues, which include interest income, advanced 14% vs. prior year, and excluding this figure, net revenues increased 18%.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top threat is repeat control failures inside capital-markets businesses. Morgan Stanley can absorb a fine. what you do not want is a pattern.
med
stock-loan antitrust settlement
Morgan Stanley was part of a $499M settlement with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and UBS tied to pension-fund allegations around stock lending.
The cash hit is real, but the bigger issue is what it says about oversight in businesses that sell trust for a living.
med
block-trading enforcement
A January 2024 settlement required a $249M payment tied to criminal and regulatory investigations into block-trading practices.
Known cost: $249M. Less visible cost: repeat scrutiny can keep a quality multiple from expanding.
med
compensation pressure in a people business
The February 2026 SEC filing flagged regulatory and human-capital risks for 2025. For an advisory and trading franchise, talent retention is not overhead. It is the product.
Higher pay, weaker retention, or both would pressure the current 20.0% net margin.
the known bill is $748M. against the roughly $11.8B implied by a 20.0% margin on $59.1B of revenue, that is about 6% of annual profit — painful, not thesis-breaking.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
Q1 2026 earnings report
April 15, 2026 is the next check-in. After a 10% beat, you want to see whether the strength still looks broad across segments.
mix
wealth management keeping the lead
wealth management grew 11% versus 8% for institutional securities. if that spread holds, the earnings profile gets less cyclical and the premium case stays alive.
regulatory
whether the settlements stay isolated
$748M of combined settlement costs is the known number. what matters next is whether that number stops growing.
valuation
17.1x earnings near the high
the stock is sitting near its $182 high while trading at 17.1x trailing earnings. quality supports that. any slip in margins or mix leaves you less room for error.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
70 / 100
results are reasonably dependable, but trading and deal activity still move the numbers around. in human-speak: this is steadier than a pure investment bank, not as smooth as a fee-only manager.
price stability
65 / 100
the stock has held up well, but it still behaves like a financial. when investors get nervous about banks, they rarely stop to sort the good ones first.
xvary composite
75 / 100
above weak, below elite. you are looking at a strong franchise with a respectable setup, not a neglected bargain.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 1,051 buyers vs. 903 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 1.3B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$137
$264
$180
current price
$201
target midpoint · +12% from current · 3-5yr high: $220 (+22% · 7% ann'l return)
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