Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stock rose 0.53% (As on January 16, 11:20:44 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported fourth-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations on the back of strong revenue from wealth management. Fourth-quarter net income rose to $4.40 billion from $3.71 billion, a year ago. The wealth management unit posted $8.4 billion in net revenue in the most recent quarter, up from $7.5 billion a year earlier. For the full year, the division generated a record $31.8 billion in net revenue. Total client assets in the wealth and investment management business climbed to $9.3 trillion, fueled by more than $350 billion in net new assets. Investment banking was also a standout for the firm. Net revenue for the segment jumped 47% to $2.41 billion from $1.64 billion a year earlier, driven by stronger advisory fees as completed M&A activity increased across all regions. The firm bought back $1.5 billion of its stock during the quarter and $4.6 billion over the full year under its share repurchase program.

Moreover, despite a bumper IPO market being disrupted by the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown late last year, soaring valuations and falling interest rates emboldened companies to pursue follow-on equity offerings and convertible bond deals. Morgan Stanley’s debt underwriting revenue surged nearly 93% to $785 million, driven by higher issuance volumes. Its equity underwriting revenue jumped 8.6%, after more than doubling in the year-ago quarter. The bank was among the joint book-running managers on big initial public offerings late in the quarter, including electric aircraft maker BETA Technologies, tax advisory firm Andersen Group, and medical supply giant Medline, the biggest IPO of 2025. The bank also served as the exclusive advisor to Meta on the tech giant’s joint venture with Blue Owl Capital to develop the Hyperion data center campus in Louisiana. Equities trading remained a bright spot as clients rebalanced their portfolios amid volatile markets whipsawed by shifting monetary policy expectations and concerns about an AI bubble.

MS in the fourth quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $2.68, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $2.44, according to Wall Street analysts surveyed by LSEG. The company had reported the adjusted revenue of $17.89 billion in the fourth quarter of FY25, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $17.77 billion.