How Morgan Stanley Won Big in Q4

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS | MS Price Prediction) released its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The investment bank said that it had $1.30 in earnings per share (EPS) and $10.86 billion in revenue, which topped consensus estimates of $0.99 in EPS and revenue of $9.72 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.80 on $8.55 billion in revenue.

In terms of its business segments, Morgan Stanley reported as follows:

• Investment Banking revenues increased 14% year over year to $1.70 billion.
• Trading revenue increased 33% to $2.31 billion.
• Investments revenue was $739 million.
• Commissions and Fees decreased by 6% to $984 million.
• Asset Management revenue increased 6% to $3.45 billion.
• Other revenue was $240 million.

For the quarter, book value per share was $45.82 and tangible book value per share was $40.01.

James P. Gorman, board chair and chief executive, commented:

We delivered strong quarterly earnings across all of our businesses. Firmwide revenues were over $10 billion for the fourth consecutive quarter, resulting in record full year revenues and net income. This consistent performance met all of our stated performance targets.

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Shares of Morgan Stanley traded up almost 7% early Thursday at $56.54, in a new 52-week range of $38.76 to $56.90. The consensus price target is $57.35.

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