⚡What does Morgan Stanley do, in 30 seconds?
Morgan Stanley helps companies raise money, trades for big investors and looks after the savings of individual investors, including wealthy families 3 2 2. In FY2025 its revenue was $70.6bn ✓, and it kept $16.9bn ✓ as profit.
📱What does Morgan Stanley sell?
Morgan Stanley reports three businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management 3. Here is what each one does and who uses it.
Institutional Securities
This is the investment bank and trading business, with $33.1bn ✓ of revenue in FY2025. It helps companies raise money and advises on mergers 2. It also trades for clients, lends to them and writes research 2. In fiscal 2025, its Equity business brought in $15.6 billion, Fixed Income $8.7 billion and Investment Banking $7.6 billion 2. It advised on $756 billion of completed mergers in 2025, counting deals of $100 million or more with full credit to each advisor 2.
👥 Companies, governments, banks, funds and very wealthy people 2.
Wealth Management
This unit looks after people's savings, with $31.8bn ✓ of revenue in FY2025. It offers investment advice, brokerage, financial planning, stock plan services, loans and banking, mainly in the US 23. Of its fiscal 2025 revenue, $18.6 billion came from fees on assets, $7.9 billion from net interest and $4.6 billion from transaction revenues 4. Its clients held $8.43 trillion with it at 30 September 2026 45.
👥 Individual investors, including wealthy families, plus businesses and institutions, served through advisors, self-directed accounts and workplace plans 2.
Investment Management, net of eliminations
This unit offers investment strategies in stocks, bonds, alternatives and cash-like liquidity 2. Its $5.8bn ✓ is total FY2025 revenue minus the two bigger units, so it also includes intersegment eliminations. Morgan Stanley says these eliminations can stop its segment revenues from adding up to the total 2. It managed or supervised $2.05 trillion at 30 September 2026 78. Morgan Stanley bought the asset manager Eaton Vance in 2021 9.
👥 Pension plans, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurers and companies, plus individuals through other distributors 2.
How the mix has shifted
Where the customers are
Most of Morgan Stanley's revenue comes from the Americas, at 75% ✓ in FY2025. Asia added 13% ✓, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa 12% ✓. Of its about 83 thousand staff at the end of 2025, about 54 thousand worked in the Americas 31.
💸How does Morgan Stanley make money?
Follow the money from left to rightfrom top to bottom: what comes in (after paying interest to savers and lenders), what it costs to run, what is lost on bad loans, and what is left as profit.
For a firm like Morgan Stanley, revenue means fees, trading gains and interest, after paying interest on its own borrowing. Its revenue was $70.6bn ✓ in FY2025. Institutional Securities brought in $33.1bn ✓ and Wealth Management $31.8bn ✓.
Running costs took $48.3bn ✓. Next, it set aside $0.3bn ✓ for loans that may not be repaid. That left a pretax profit of $22.0bn ✓. After tax of $4.9bn ✓ and other items of -$0.2bn ✓, Morgan Stanley kept $16.9bn ✓ as profit.
Out of every $100 of revenue, about $68 ✓ went on running costs, under $1 ✓ on loan losses and $7 ✓ on tax. Morgan Stanley kept $24 ✓.
Out of every $100 of revenue in FY2025…
⏱️ Morgan Stanley by the clock
Spread the FY2025 totals evenly over its 365 days and you get this. Source: MORGAN STANLEY 10-K [6].
📈How is Morgan Stanley doing?
Morgan Stanley has grown in most years for a decade. From FY2015 to FY2025, revenue grew 7.2% ✓ a year on average. It rose in 8 ✓ of those 10 ✓ years. Profit grew faster, from $6.1bn ✓ in FY2015 to $16.9bn ✓ in FY2025. The share of revenue left as pretax profit rose from 24.2% ✓ to 31.1% ✓.
The four quarters to 30 June 2026 look even stronger. Revenue reached $78.0bn ✓, up 18.0% ✓ on the four quarters before. Profit was $20.2bn ✓. Both the first and second quarters of 2026 set records for quarterly revenue 34 27. In the July to September 2026 quarter, revenue was $20.3 billion, up from $18.2 billion a year earlier 8.
📝 The report card
Morgan Stanley earns a good mark for profit, middling marks for growth and steadiness, and a weak mark for its equity cushion. Cash generation is not graded ✓ for banks. Every company is graded on the same fixed scale, so an A means the same thing on every page. The strip shows where Morgan Stanley (orange) and its 5 peers land; further right is better.
Growth
Morgan Stanley's revenue grew 9.6% ✓ a year over its last three fiscal years, which earns a C ✓, just under the 10% needed for a B. It ranked number 2 of the six banks ✓, above the 6.0% ✓ peer median. JPMorgan grew 12.3% ✓, good for a B ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Growing revenue is the engine of a business. For a bank, revenue is what it earns after paying interest to savers and lenders; for an insurer, it is mostly premiums. Mature giants rarely grow fast, so 5% a year already earns a C.
Profitability
Over the last three years combined, Morgan Stanley earned 12.5% ✓ profit on its owners' money, which earns a B ✓. That beat the 11.0% ✓ peer median. JPMorgan earned 15.9% ✓, enough for an A ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Banks and insurers work with other people's money, so profit margins on revenue say little. Return on equity shows how much profit they make on the owners' money; above 15% is excellent for a big bank or insurer.
Cash generation
Not graded for banks and insurers: their cash flow mostly moves customers' money (deposits, loans, premiums), so it says little about the business.
Cash generation is not graded ✓ for banks. A bank's cash flow mostly shows clients' money moving in and out. Morgan Stanley's operating cash flow swung from -$33.5bn ✓ in FY2023 to $1.4bn ✓ in FY2024 and -$17.9bn ✓ in FY2025, which says little about how the business did.
Balance sheet
Shareholders' equity was 7.9% ✓ of everything Morgan Stanley owned at the end of FY2025, which earns a D ✓. That is just under the 8% needed for a C, and below the 8.2% ✓ peer median. Goldman Sachs, at 6.9% ✓, also gets a D ✓. Regulators use a different test called CET1. Morgan Stanley's was 15.0% at the end of 2025, above its required 11.8% 215.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Owners' equity is the cushion that absorbs losses before customers' money is at risk. The thicker the cushion compared with everything the company owns, the safer it is.
Steadiness
Morgan Stanley's yearly revenue growth swings by 9.9% ✓ over the last 10 years, measured as a standard deviation, which earns a C ✓. Bank of America, at 3.8% ✓, earns an A ✓.
Why this measure? (lower is better)
Steady growers are easier to plan around. Big swings mean revenue depends on interest rates, markets or one-off events.
🧑🏫 How the grades work
- Same scale for everyone. Each measure has fixed cut-offs (shown under each strip). Clear the A line and you get an A, whatever your peers do.
- Three years together. Profitability and cash generation add up the last three fiscal years before dividing, so one unusual year counts for less than it would on its own (a year much bigger than the others still weighs most).
- Banks and insurers are graded differently. They lend or invest customers' money, so profitability uses return on equity, the balance sheet uses the owners' share of total assets, and cash generation is not graded. They are compared only with other banks and insurers.
- Peers for context. The rank shows how Morgan Stanley compares with the group. Companies within 0.1 percentage point share a rank.
- Same source. Every company's figures come from its own latest annual report (10-K), so fiscal years end in different months.
- Judgement, openly stated. The cut-offs are QuantVantage.ai's view of what good looks like for a large, established company. They are not a forecast or a recommendation.
11 years at a glance
Where the cash goes
Morgan Stanley returns cash to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks 15. From FY2015 to FY2025 it spent $96.5bn ✓ on buybacks and dividends. In FY2025 alone it paid out $11.2bn ✓, including $6.6bn ✓ of dividends. In June 2026 it raised its quarterly dividend from $1.00 to $1.15 per share and renewed a multi-year share buyback plan of up to $20 billion, with no end date 15. It bought back $1.5 billion of its shares from July to September 2026 8.
🧮Ratios 101: what are Morgan Stanley's key financial ratios?
Ratios shrink Morgan Stanley's giant numbers into easy comparisons. For a bank, profit on the owners' money and on total assets matter most. A ratio divides one number by another so companies of any size can be compared. Each card shows the formula with Morgan Stanley's real FY2025 numbers, the peer median and the trend.
💰 Profitability: how much of each dollar of revenue is kept?
Net margin
The bottom line: profit after interest and taxes, per dollar of revenue.
👉 Morgan Stanley keeps 23.9% ✓ of revenue as final profit, up from 17.4% ✓ in FY2015 but below the 27.0% ✓ peer median.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 15% is strong; one-off tax items can move it in a single year.
Return on equity (ROE)
Profit earned for each dollar that shareholders have left in the company.
👉 ROE of 15.1% ✓ tops the 11.8% ✓ peer median and is nearly double the 8.1% ✓ of FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Around 15% or more is good, but buybacks shrink equity and can make ROE look huge.
⚙️ Efficiency: how hard do the assets work?
Return on assets (ROA)
Profit earned from everything the company owns, however it was paid for.
👉 Banks earn thin profits on huge balance sheets. Morgan Stanley made 1.2% ✓ on $1,420.3bn ✓ of assets, above the 0.9% ✓ peer median and 0.8% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: For big banks, about 1% on assets is usual and above 1.2% is strong; insurers are not judged on that scale.
💵 Cash and owners: where does the money end up?
Stock pay
Pay given to staff in shares instead of cash. It is a real cost to owners because it adds shares.
👉 Stock pay is 2.7% ✓ of revenue, close to the 2.8% ✓ peer median and down from 3.1% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Banks and insurers pay part of their staff in shares, so a few percent of revenue is normal.
Shareholder payout
How much of the year's profit was handed back to owners.
👉 Buybacks and dividends equalled 66.3% ✓ of FY2025 profit, up from 58.4% ✓ in FY2015 but far below the 102.7% ✓ peer median.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 100% means it returned more than it earned, using cash savings or debt.
Ratios use fiscal-year-end balance sheet values. Inputs are shown rounded, so dividing them can differ from the result in the last digit. A peer median leaves out peers that do not report the inputs, or where the ratio means nothing (for example, negative shareholders' equity). Rules of thumb are general guides from QuantVantage.ai, not hard limits. No share-price ratios (like price-to-earnings) are shown on this page.
🥊Who are Morgan Stanley's competitors?
Morgan Stanley meets Bank of America and JPMorgan in deal advice, trading and wealth 416 2223. Goldman Sachs also advises on deals and trades stocks 2021. Citigroup meets it in markets and wealth, and Wells Fargo in wealth and investment banking 171819 2425.
| Company | Where they compete | Revenue | Growth/yr (3y) | Pretax margin | Return on equity (3y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley (MS, FY2025) | Investment banking, trading, wealth management and investment management 3 2 | $70.6bn | 9.6% | 31.1% | 12.5% |
| Bank of America (BAC, FY2025) | Investment banking and trading, plus a large US wealth business built on advisors, called Merrill 416 | $113.1bn | 6.0% | 33.3% | 9.4% |
| Citigroup (C, FY2025) | Markets and wealth businesses for institutions and wealthy clients 171819 | $85.2bn | 4.2% | 23.3% | 5.8% |
| Goldman Sachs (GS, FY2025) | Deal advice and stock trading for big investors; Morgan Stanley leans more on wealth 2021 | $58.3bn | 7.2% | 37.5% | 11.0% |
| JPMorgan Chase (JPM, FY2025) | Global investment banking, trading, wealth and asset management; JPMorgan ranked first in global investment banking fees in 2025 2223 | $182.4bn | 12.3% | 39.8% | 15.9% |
| Wells Fargo (WFC, FY2025) | Wealth management and investment banking 2425 | $83.7bn | 4.0% | 30.1% | 11.0% |
Morgan Stanley says it faces growing competition from banks, brokers, digital investing apps, fund managers and financial technology firms 3. It also faces price pressure in trading from electronic markets 3.
🧭Morgan Stanley SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
💪 Strengths
- Clients held $10.5 trillion across its wealth and investment management arms at 30 September 2026 278.
- Wealth Management's pretax margin was a record 29.3% in fiscal 2025, up from 27.2% in fiscal 2024 916.
- Wealth clients brought in $356 billion of net new assets in fiscal 2025 4.
- It earned 12.5% ✓ on its owners' money over the last three years combined, a B ✓ on our report card.
🩹 Weaknesses
- Shareholders' equity was only 7.9% ✓ of its assets at the end of FY2025, a D ✓ on our report card.
- Revenue growth swings from year to year: it varies by 9.9% ✓, a C ✓ for steadiness.
- In the July to September 2026 quarter, Investment Management revenue fell 12% to $1.5 billion, mainly because some carried interest from a private fund was reversed 8.
- Fixed Income revenue fell 7% in that quarter, even as Equity revenue rose 41% 8.
🚀 Opportunities
- Morgan Stanley's 2026 proxy set a goal of more than $10 trillion of client assets, up from $9.3 trillion at the end of 2025 9. In July 2026 it said the total had reached $10 trillion 278.
- It bought EquityZen to expand private-markets investment options for its wealth clients 9.
- Its workplace channel served 6.7 million stock plan participants at 30 September 2026 5, and Morgan Stanley says its client funnel is driving growth 94.
- Self-directed clients made about 1.03 million trades per trading day in 2025, up from 759 thousand in 2023 4.
⚠️ Threats
- Morgan Stanley estimates its extra capital charge as a global systemically important bank may rise from 3.0% to 3.5%, not before 1 January 2028 28.
- US regulators proposed new capital rules for the largest banks in March 2026, with no effective date yet 29.
- Since February 2024, two of its broker units have faced class actions claiming they paid clients too little interest on cash sweep accounts 26.
- Digital investing apps and financial technology firms are adding to competition 3.
🏰Does Morgan Stanley have a moat?
Why 4?
Morgan Stanley says its position depends on factors including its reputation, client experience and execution, and that Wealth Management competes partly on brand 3. Its 2026 proxy calls Wealth Management a 'Category of 1' in 2025, ranking it first on revenues and net new asset growth 9. The proxy also says Institutional Securities raised its share of the top-tier global fee pool by 120 basis points from 2023, more than its core peers 9. It bought E*TRADE in 2020 and Eaton Vance in 2021 9.
Why 3?
Wealth clients brought in net new assets of $282 billion in 2023, $252 billion in 2024 and $356 billion in 2025 4. At the end of 2025, 48% of advisor-led client assets sat in fee-based accounts 4. Its US banks also held $408 billion of Wealth Management deposits and $181 billion of loans at the end of 2025 4. But advisors can leave: the loans it gives recruited advisors fall due in full if they go 26.
Why 3?
Morgan Stanley's 2026 proxy says its wealth client funnel is expanding and driving growth 94. Its workplace channel provides stock plan services to companies and their staff 94, with 6.7 million participants at 30 September 2026 5. The proxy says record 2025 Equity revenues were driven by financing revenues from higher prime brokerage balances and strong client activity 9. But many banks, brokers and apps compete for the same clients 3.
Why 4?
Client assets across wealth and investment management reached $10.5 trillion at 30 September 2026 278. Wealth Management's pretax margin was a record 29.3% in 2025, against a 25% operating margin at Bank of America's wealth unit 916. Costs fell to 68% of revenue in 2025 from 71% in 2024, and were 66% in the first nine months of 2026 28. Electronic markets still put pressure on trading prices 3.
Why 3?
Morgan Stanley owns two US national banks regulated by the OCC 3. It needs Federal Reserve approval to start some new activities, and the Volcker Rule bars some trading for its own account 3. A grandfather rule lets it keep some commodities activities 3. As a global systemically important bank, it must hold extra capital 328.
A moat is what keeps rivals from taking a company's customers and profits. Scores are QuantVantage.ai's judgement (5 = strongest), set with the same rubric on every explainer (orange is Morgan Stanley; grey dots are peers).
🔭What should you watch next?
Next dividend payment
The declared quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share goes to shareholders of record on 30 October 2026 8.
End of the current stress buffer
Morgan Stanley's 4.3% stress capital buffer applies until then, when a new one based on the Fed's 2027 stress test may apply 29.
Higher capital charge
Morgan Stanley estimates its extra charge as a global systemically important bank may rise from 3.0% to 3.5% 28.
Cash sweep lawsuits
Class actions filed since February 2024 claim two of its broker units paid clients too little interest on cash sweep accounts 26.
Client asset growth
Wealth Management added a record $232 billion of net new assets from July to September 2026, just over half linked to IPO-related flows 8.
📚Learn the words
❓Frequently asked questions about Morgan Stanley
How does Morgan Stanley make money?
Morgan Stanley makes most of its money from two businesses. Institutional Securities, its investment bank and trading arm, brought in $33.1bn ✓ in FY2025. Wealth Management, which looks after people's savings, brought in $31.8bn ✓.
Is Morgan Stanley a bank?
It is a bank holding company supervised by the Federal Reserve 3. It owns two US national banks, Morgan Stanley Bank and Morgan Stanley Private Bank 3. Most of its FY2025 revenue came from Institutional Securities, at 47% ✓, and Wealth Management, at 45% ✓.
How much money does Morgan Stanley look after?
Clients had $10.5 trillion with its wealth and investment management arms at 30 September 2026 278. Wealth Management held $8.43 trillion of that 45. Investment Management managed or supervised $2.05 trillion 78.
Does Morgan Stanley own E*TRADE?
Yes. Morgan Stanley bought the online broker E*TRADE in October 2020 9. Morgan Stanley's self-directed clients had $1.80 trillion of assets in 8.8 million households at 30 September 2026 5.
Who runs Morgan Stanley?
Ted Pick has been chief executive since January 2024 and chairman since January 2025 30. Before that, he ran Institutional Securities from July 2018 to December 2023 30.
🎮Play: higher or lower, then test yourself
Figures come from each company's latest annual report (10-K); fiscal years end in different months. Sources: [6] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14].
🧠 Test yourself
5 quick questions. Score: 0 / 5
1. Which Morgan Stanley business brought in the most revenue in FY2025?
2. Roughly how much profit did Morgan Stanley make each second in FY2025?
3. How far back do Morgan Stanley's roots go?
4. About how many trades a day did Morgan Stanley's self-directed clients make in 2025?
5. Which online broker did Morgan Stanley buy in 2020?
🔎Sources and method
Every figure comes from a source listed here or is calculated from those sources (marked ✓). Company financials are taken from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) as tagged in XBRL. Peer grades rank the same measures across the company and its peers. This page contains no share-price data and no valuation.
- Morgan Stanley (MS) Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed 2026-02-19 — revenue by product, segment and geography (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — MD&A: segment descriptions, full-year 2025 results, Institutional Securities revenue lines (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 overview: incorporation, predecessors, headquarters, financial holding company status, competition (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — MD&A Wealth Management metrics: client assets, channels, net new assets, loans, deposits, pre-tax margin (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley third quarter 2026 financial supplement (Form 8-K exhibit, October 14, 2026) — Wealth Management metrics at September 30, 2026: client assets, channels, households, stock plan participants (accessed 2026-10-30)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Morgan Stanley (MS) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — MD&A Investment Management: assets under management or supervision, Parametric (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, October 14, 2026) — Q3 2026 results by segment, client assets, capital ratios, dividend (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley 2026 proxy statement (DEF 14A, filed April 2, 2026) — 2025 performance review: client assets, acquisitions, wallet share, Wealth Management rankings (accessed 2026-10-30)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ (BAC) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: CITIGROUP INC (C) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC (GS) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO (JPM) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY/MN (WFC) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Morgan Stanley dividend and share repurchase release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, June 24, 2026) — Dividend increase, repurchase program reauthorization, stress capital buffer (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Bank of America Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Business segments; Global Wealth and Investment Management businesses, client balances and margin (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Citigroup Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Markets segment: products, clients, trading floors and network (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Citigroup Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Wealth segment: Private Bank, Citigold, Wealth at Work, countries, client investment assets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Business segment descriptions (Institutional Securities, Wealth Management) and Wealth Management total client assets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — MD&A: 2025 segment results, efficiency ratio, assets under supervision, targets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — 2025 Equity and Wealth Management net revenues, expense efficiency ratio (accessed 2026-10-30)
- JPMorgan Chase Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Commercial and Investment Bank businesses; investment banking fee rank; Asset and Wealth Management client assets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, January 15, 2026) — Full year 2025 results and total client assets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1) — Third quarter 2026 revenues, expense efficiency ratio, wealth client assets (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Wells Fargo third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1) — Third quarter 2026 results, segment descriptions and drivers (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Legal proceedings (cash sweep class actions) and notes (employee loans to recruit financial advisors) (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley second quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, July 15, 2026) — Q2 2026 results: record net revenues, net new assets, client assets milestone (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Supervision and regulation; regulatory capital and G-SIB capital surcharge (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 — Regulatory developments: capital proposals, stress capital buffer, leverage buffer, bank stress tests, legal-entity changes (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Executive officers: Edward (Ted) Pick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (accessed 2026-10-30)
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 human capital: employees, countries, regional split, tenure, attrition, engagement survey (accessed 2026-10-30)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Morgan Stanley (MS) — quarterly 10-Q/10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Morgan Stanley (MS) — balance sheet at 2026-06-30 (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Morgan Stanley first quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, April 15, 2026) — Q1 2026 results: record net revenues, segment highlights (accessed 2026-10-30)