Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stock rose 0.77% (As on October 16, 11:22:56 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted third-quarter earnings that beat expectations by the largest margin in nearly five years on booming equities trading, investment banking and wealth management results. The bank said profit surged 45% from a year earlier to $4.61 billion. The Firm delivered a strong ROTCE of 23.5%. The expense efficiency ratio was 69% year-to-date, demonstrating operating leverage in a constructive market environment. The Standardized Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 15.2%. On September 30, 2025, the Federal Reserve announced that it had reduced Morgan Stanley’s Stress Capital Buffer (“SCB”) from 5.1% to 4.3%, effective on October 1, 2025 in response to the Firm seeking reconsideration of its preliminary SCB announced in June 2025.

Moreover, Morgan Stanley said equities trading revenue jumped 35% to $4.12 billion, or $720 million more than what analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had expected. The company cited increased activity across business lines and regions and record results in its prime brokerage business that caters to hedge funds. Fixed income trading rose 8% to $2.17 billion, essentially matching the StreetAccount estimate. Equity net revenues up 35%. Investment banking revenue in the quarter surged 44% from a year earlier to $2.11 billion, about $430 million more than the StreetAccount estimate. The bank cited more completed mergers, more IPOs and more fixed income fundraising as drivers for the quarter. Wealth management revenue rose 13% to $8.23 billion, about $500 million more than expected, as rising asset levels and transaction fees bolstered results. Institutional Securities reported net revenues of $8.5 billion compared with $6.8 billion a year ago. Investment Management reported net revenues of $1.7 billion compared with $1.5 billion a year ago

MS in the third quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $2.80, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $2.10, according to LSEG. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 18 percent to $18.22 billion in the third quarter of FY25, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $16.7 billion.

Additionally, MS has repurchased $1.1 billion of its outstanding common stock during the quarter as part of its Share Repurchase Program. The firm has declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend per share payable on November 14, 2025 to common shareholders of record on October 31, 2025.