logo
Morgan Stanley profit beats estimates as traders shine

Morgan Stanley profit beats estimates as traders shine

Reuters16-07-2025
July 16 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's (MS.N), opens new tab profit beat Wall Street estimates in the second quarter as its traders cashed in on volatile markets, mirroring results among its Wall Street rivals.
Equities trading revenue surged 23%, while it jumped 9% in fixed income, as the turbulence also spilled into bond markets.
Equity markets swung sharply during the quarter after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against major economies. This spurred trading as investors repositioned their portfolios and hedged risks.
Institutional Securities, which houses Morgan Stanley's Wall Street operations, posted revenue of $7.6 billion, compared with $7 billion, a year ago.
"Institutional Securities saw strength and balance across businesses and geographies. Wealth continues to deliver," CEO Ted Pick said in a statement.
Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab, Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab all reported trading windfall in the second quarter.
Morgan Stanley posted net income of $3.5 billion, or $2.13 per share, for the three months ended June 30. That compares with $3.1 billion, or $1.82 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected $1.96 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
Morgan Stanley's revenue reached $16.8 billion in the second quarter, topping estimates of $16.1 billion.
Shares of the bank were last flat following the results.
Morgan Stanley's investment banking revenue fell 5% in the quarter, lagging rivals including Goldman and JPMorgan Chase.
Advisory revenue slid to $508 million, compared with $592 million, a year ago, due to lower completed M&A transactions.
CEO Pick has maintained a positive view for the year, telling investors in June that deal discussions were persistent and ramping up.
In line with his view, dealmaking rebounded at the end of the quarter as some companies looked past tariff uncertainty and gained confidence to carry out IPOs, mergers and acquisitions.
Industry executives also held up that optimism this week, anticipating that deals and stock market listings will pick up in the second half of the year.
Among prominent deals in the quarter, Morgan Stanley advised Elon Musk's xAI on a $5 billion debt raise and a separate $5 billion strategic equity investment. It also advised TJC on the $5 billion sale of Silvus Technologies to Motorola.
The concern about U.S. tariff policies has also abated since Trump's initial "Liberation Day" announcement on April 2 spurred market volatility.
Morgan Stanley was the lead underwriter of fintech giant Chime's $864 million June IPO. The bank also led IPOs for Hinge Health, raising $437.3 million, and marketing tech firm MNTN, which raised $187.2 million, in May.
The investment bank's equity underwriting surged 42% to $500 million, driven by higher follow-on and convertibles deals, as well as IPOs. Fixed-income underwriting fell 21% to $532 million on lower non-investment grade issuances.
Wealth management revenue increased to $7.8 billion in the second quarter, from $6.8 billion a year earlier. It posted net new assets of $59 billion and fee-based asset flows of $43 billion for the period.
Morgan Stanley has focused on growing its wealth management business by deepening relationships with existing clients and attracting new ones, aiming to build a more stable revenue base less exposed to market swings. It has a target of managing $10 trillion in client assets.
"Total client assets across Wealth and Investment Management reached $8.2 trillion," Pick said.
Attracting net new assets is critical for wealth and investment management, as it drives fee-based revenue and supports long-term growth in assets under management.
Pick became the CEO of Morgan Stanley in January 2024. He took on the additional role of chairman at the start of this year.
He replaced long-time CEO James Gorman, who is credited with turning Morgan Stanley into a wealth management behemoth, raising profits and making the bank's results more predictable.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Is it about to get even worse for Tesla?
Is it about to get even worse for Tesla?

Auto Car

time20 minutes ago

  • Auto Car

Is it about to get even worse for Tesla?

Close Tesla can normally rely on positive commentary from its biggest champion in the investment community, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. After the second-quarter results and call featuring CEO Elon Musk, however, the Tesla 'mega-bull' was nonplussed. 'Almost no detail on outlook. Tesla's outlook continues to lack any specific targets on revenues or margins,' he wrote in a note to investors. 'Elon seems to be… exiting the auto industry'. Jonas noted that Musk was 'pulling capital out of the business and doubling down on AI, autonomy and robotaxis.'

UK's BAE upgrades forecasts as threat environment drives orders
UK's BAE upgrades forecasts as threat environment drives orders

Reuters

time21 minutes ago

  • Reuters

UK's BAE upgrades forecasts as threat environment drives orders

LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Britain's BAE Systems (BAES.L), opens new tab upgraded its annual earnings forecast after strong first-half results, as it continues to benefit from the heightened global threat environment which is driving countries to spend more on defence. BAE's order book has been ticking up since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. This year, U.S. President Donald Trump's call for European countries to become more self-sufficient in defence prompted most NATO countries to pledge to hike military budgets. BAE, which makes combat vehicles, submarines, drones and other kit, said on Wednesday it expected its annual underlying earnings (EBIT) to rise 9% to 11% on last year's result, higher than the 8% to 10% growth it had previously forecast. That came after earnings jumped 13% in the first six months of the year to 1.55 billion pounds ($2.07 billion), beating a consensus forecast of 1.52 billion pounds. The result was boosted by a contract win in the U.S. for a space-based missile tracking capability, which could lead to further work as the country develops its Golden Dome defence shield, as well as progress made on the GCAP project to develop a new fighter jet with Italy and Japan. Shares in BAE traded down 2% in early deals. The stock is up 60% so far this year, outperforming Britain's bluechip index (.FTSE), opens new tab which is 10% higher. "Strength was expected," Bernstein analysts said. BAE, whose biggest markets are the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia, said it was well-placed to win more work from across Europe as well as the Middle East. The company is set to receive a new order for Eurofighter Typhoon military jets after an agreement between Turkey and Britain was signed earlier in July. Orders from Saudi Arabia and Qatar could also be on the cards. "There's definitely interest," CEO Charles Woodburn told reporters. "But it's hard to put a timeframe on when those potential next buys might come through." He declined to comment on whether BAE was in talks with Boeing and Sweden's Saab about teaming up on a future replacement for Britain's Hawk trainer jet. ($1 = 0.7492 pounds)

‘This war can only be stopped through force,' says senior Ukraine aide after night of Russian attacks
‘This war can only be stopped through force,' says senior Ukraine aide after night of Russian attacks

The Guardian

time21 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

‘This war can only be stopped through force,' says senior Ukraine aide after night of Russian attacks

Update: Date: 2025-07-30T08:29:23.000Z Title: This war can only be stopped through force Content: Andriy Yermak, senior aide to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, issues warning as Donald Trump threatens to impose serious sanctions on Russia Jakub Krupa Wed 30 Jul 2025 04.27 EDT First published on Wed 30 Jul 2025 03.37 EDT From 3.37am EDT 03:37 Jakub Krupa 'The Russians want to continue the war. ,' Andriy Yermak, the most senior aide to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned this morning after another night of Russian attacks. A missile strike on a Ukrainian training unit killed three and injured 18, following a pattern of similar attacks on Ukrainian training centres in recent months. US president Donald Trump said last night he would give Russia ten days to cease fire – so that's until 8 August – or face crippling economic sanctions. On his way back to the US from Scotland, he said the clock was ticking with 10 days to go. And since that was technically yesterday, we're on D-9 today. The key question is what Trump will actually do when the clock runs down to zero, and this is exactly what Yermak's comments this morning are about. Expect more of that language from various European leaders, joining Ukraine in the effort to push Trump into taking meaningful actions. Elsewhere, we are obviously following the tsunami warnings issued across the Pacific region after a major 8.8 magnitude earthquake in far east of Russia with all live updates here … … but on Europe live we will be looking also at the French government's consultations with industries affected by the new EU-US deal, the wildfires in Portugal, and much more. I will bring you all key updates from across Europe here. It's Wednesday, 30 July 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. 4.27am EDT 04:27 Elsewhere, we are getting the latest economic figures from Germany and Italy with both reporting -0.1% GDP growth in the second quarter. Our business blog has more on the figures and their significance for the rate of growth in the eurozone. 3.37am EDT 03:37 Jakub Krupa 'The Russians want to continue the war. ,' Andriy Yermak, the most senior aide to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned this morning after another night of Russian attacks. A missile strike on a Ukrainian training unit killed three and injured 18, following a pattern of similar attacks on Ukrainian training centres in recent months. US president Donald Trump said last night he would give Russia ten days to cease fire – so that's until 8 August – or face crippling economic sanctions. On his way back to the US from Scotland, he said the clock was ticking with 10 days to go. And since that was technically yesterday, we're on D-9 today. The key question is what Trump will actually do when the clock runs down to zero, and this is exactly what Yermak's comments this morning are about. Expect more of that language from various European leaders, joining Ukraine in the effort to push Trump into taking meaningful actions. Elsewhere, we are obviously following the tsunami warnings issued across the Pacific region after a major 8.8 magnitude earthquake in far east of Russia with all live updates here … … but on Europe live we will be looking also at the French government's consultations with industries affected by the new EU-US deal, the wildfires in Portugal, and much more. I will bring you all key updates from across Europe here. It's Wednesday, 30 July 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store