Morgan Stanley Q3 profit rises to $4.9 billion as equities soar 41% and wealth adds $232 billion

Morgan Stanley on Wednesday, 14 October, reported third-quarter results that beat analyst estimates, according to the firm’s earnings release and CNBC.

Firm totals

• Net revenues: $20.338 billion, up 12% from $18.224 billion a year earlier.
• Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley: $4.909 billion, or $3.03 per diluted share, versus $4.610 billion ($2.80) a year ago.
• Return on tangible common equity (ROTCE): 22.6%.
• Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected about $2.91 EPS and $19.95 billion in revenue, CNBC said.

Where growth came from

• Institutional Securities revenue: $10.029 billion (up from $8.523 billion).
• Equity trading: $5.799 billion, up 41% from $4.116 billion.
• Fixed Income: $2.011 billion, down 7%.
• Investment banking: $2.159 billion, up 2%.
• Wealth Management revenue: a record $9.065 billion; net new assets $232.4 billion; fee-based flows $80.5 billion. Client assets across Wealth and Investment Management reached $10.5 trillion.

CEO Ted Pick said the quarter showed “global strength, led by our Equity franchise,” and that Wealth Management added the record net new assets. The firm said it repurchased $1.5 billion of common stock and declared a $1.15 quarterly dividend.