MS Stock Hits All-Time High as Capital Markets Drive Q3 Earnings

Morgan Stanley’s MS shares touched an all-time high of $166.77 yesterday following its blockbuster third-quarter 2025 results, which reflected exceptionally robust capital markets performance. The company’s earnings per share of $2.80 surged 49% year over year and easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.08.

The capital markets business, which encompasses advisory, underwriting and trading operations, had been firing on all cylinders since the start of the third quarter. Hence, Morgan Stanley’s quarterly top-line growth was driven by record investment banking (IB) fees and a strong performance from its trading desk.

This, along with robust wealth management, resulted in an 18% year-over-year rise in its net revenues to a record $18.22 billion. The top line also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.4 billion.

Deep Dive Into Morgan Stanley’s Q3 Capital Markets Business

Global mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the third quarter rebounded solidly from the lows witnessed in April and May following President Donald Trump’s announcement of ‘Liberation Day’ tariff plans. Companies quickly adapted to the rapidly changing geopolitical and macroeconomic scenarios. They took advantage of a strong U.S. economy, optimism over potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and a more accommodating regulatory environment under Trump. So, Morgan Stanley’s IB business gained from a frenzy of deal-making activities and IPOs. Advisory fees jumped 25% year over year to $684 million as completed M&As rose. 

Further, higher non-investment grade and investment grade issuances supported MS’ fixed income underwriting fees, which surged 39% to $772 million. Additionally, equity underwriting income soared 80% to $652 million “as clients actively engaged in capital-raising opportunities.” Hence, total IB fees (in the Institutional Securities division) increased 44% to $2.11 billion. We had projected it to be $1.54 billion.

Morgan Stanley’s solid third-quarter performance echoed across Wall Street, with peers such as JPMorgan JPM and Goldman Sachs GS also booking double-digit increases in IB fees. JPMorgan’s IB business performance was far stronger than expected by management. Total IB fees (in the Commercial & Investment Bank segment) were up 16% from the prior-year quarter to $2.63 billion. The company had projected IB fees to be up in the low double digits.

Goldman maintained its leadership in overall fee generation, with IB income of $2.66 billion, climbing 42% year over year in the third quarter. This underscored the company’s dominance in M&A advisory and leveraged finance.

Moreover, MS posted a robust trading performance supported by increased client activity and market volatility. Equity trading revenues climbed 35% year over year to $4.12 billion and fixed-income trading income was up 8% to $2.17 billion. Our projections for equity and fixed-income trading revenues were $3.56 billion and $2.11 billion, respectively. Even JPMorgan and Goldman’s trading revenues improved in the third quarter as ambiguity over the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy and changes in the Fed’s policy stance drove client activity.

Other Factors That Impacted Morgan Stanley’s Q3 Earnings

Apart from the capital markets business, Morgan Stanley’s wealth and investment management operations were impressive, driven by a rise in client assets and assets under management. Wealth Management revenues grew 13% to $8.23 billion in the third quarter, by adding new assets and collecting more fees. 

Likewise, Investment Management posted net revenues of $1.65 billion, jumping 13%. Further, total client assets across both segments reached $8.86 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2025. This brings Morgan Stanley closer to its longstanding goal of $10 trillion in asset management set by former CEO James Gorman.

Additionally, Morgan Stanley’s net interest income rose 13% to $2.49 billion. Further, non-interest expenses increased during the quarter. The metric was $12.2 billion, up 10% from the prior-year quarter. 

Currently, Morgan Stanley carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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