UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Shares Slip After Downbeat Q4 Earnings

Shares of

dropped around 2.7% in pre-market trading after the bank reported downbeat results for the fourth quarter. The New York-based bank posted quarterly income from continuing operations applicable to Morgan Stanley of $1 billion, or $0.47 per share, compared to $95 million, or $0.02 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding special items, Morgan Stanley earned $0.40 per share. Its revenue came in flat at $7.8 billion. Excluding DVA, net revenue slipped to $7.5 billion from $8.2 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $8.08 billion. Institutional securities net revenue, excluding DVA, declined to $3.2 billion from $3.7 billion, while wealth management net revenue came surged to $3.8 billion from $3.7 billion. Investment management posted net revenue of $588 million, down from $858 million. Revenue from trading fixed-income securities, currencies and commodities, excluding accounting adjustments, tumbled 81% to $133 million. Legal expenses shrank to $284 million versus $1.4 billion. During the quarter, Morgan Stanley repurchased around $271 million of its common stock or around 8 million shares. Morgan Stanley declared a $0.10 quarterly dividend per common share, payable on February 13, 2015. James P. Gorman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We finished 2014 in substantially better shape than we entered the year. We delivered strong results across several of our businesses, although overall performance was affected by the choppy market conditions of the fourth quarter. We also addressed a number of items that, while affecting our results in the short term, position us well in the years ahead. Entering 2015, we remain confident about our business mix, market position and the opportunities ahead of us.” Morgan Stanley shares declined 2.78% to $33.92 in pre-market trading.