Morgan Stanley beats Q2 estimates as record revenue, record EPS, and trading activity strengthen.
Stock Earnings Results
July 15, 2026
Table of Contents
July 15, 2026
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported second-quarter 2026 results above expectations, supported by record net revenues, record EPS, strong trading activity, investment banking momentum, and record net new assets in Wealth Management.
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities trading, wealth management, and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals.
The company reported EPS of $3.46, above estimates of $2.89, representing a 19.7% earnings surprise. The dashboard showed revenue of $34.47 billion, above estimates of $19.38 billion, with revenue growth of 17.4%.
Morgan Stanley reported net revenues of $21.3 billion, compared with $16.8 billion a year earlier.
Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley increased to $5.6 billion from $3.5 billion.
EPS increased to a record $3.46 from $2.13 in the prior-year quarter.
Pre-tax income was $7.3 billion, compared with $4.6 billion a year earlier.
Return on equity was 20.7%, while return on tangible common equity was 26.6%.
The firm’s expense efficiency ratio improved to 65% from 71%, showing stronger operating leverage.
Institutional Securities reported record net revenues of $11.0 billion, up from $7.6 billion a year earlier.
Investment Banking revenue increased 58% to $2.4 billion, driven by higher completed M&A activity, stronger IPO and follow-on issuance, and higher fixed income underwriting.
Equity revenue increased 69% to $6.3 billion, reaching a record level on strong client engagement and favorable market conditions.
Fixed Income revenue increased 13% to $2.5 billion, helped by stronger credit results and lending growth in securitized products.
Wealth Management net revenues increased to $8.9 billion from $7.8 billion a year earlier.
The segment generated a pre-tax margin of 30.5%.
Morgan Stanley added a record $148 billion in net new assets during the quarter.
Fee-based client assets increased to $3.0 trillion, compared with $2.5 trillion a year earlier.
Total client assets across Wealth Management and Investment Management reached $10 trillion.
Investment Management reported net revenues of $1.6 billion, compared with $1.6 billion a year earlier.
Assets under management increased to $2.0 trillion from $1.7 trillion.
Long-term net flows were positive at $7.5 billion.
The segment benefited from higher average AUM, supported by market gains and positive flows.
Morgan Stanley repurchased $1.5 billion of common stock during the quarter.
The board also reauthorized a multi-year common equity share repurchase program of up to $20 billion, beginning in the third quarter of 2026.
The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, an increase of $0.15 per share.
Investors are likely watching equity trading momentum, investment banking recovery, M&A activity, IPO issuance, Wealth Management asset flows, fee-based assets, expense efficiency, capital levels, buybacks, and dividend growth.
The earnings beat was strong, but the bigger signal was the combination of record EPS, record net revenues, and record Wealth Management net new assets.
Morgan Stanley delivered one of the strongest quarters across large-cap financials.
The firm benefited from active markets, higher investment banking activity, strong equity trading, and continued growth in Wealth Management. Record EPS and record net revenues showed broad strength across the integrated platform.
The key question is whether capital markets activity and trading conditions can remain strong enough to support another period of outsized earnings growth.
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