Morgan Stanley's Q1 Beat Sends Shares Higher

Morgan Stanley MS was the latest major bank to report its earnings on Wednesday.

Shares of Morgan Stanley were trading higher by more than 2 percent early Wednesday morning after the company reported its first quarter results.

Morgan Stanley said it earned $1.00 per share in the quarter on revenue of $9.7 billion; Analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.88 per share on revenue of $9.3 billion.

Net income rose from $1.1 billion in the same quarter a year ago to $1.9 billion. Over the same time period, Morgan Stanley's book value per common share rose from $35.34 to $37.48 while tangible book value also rose from $30.44 to $32.49.

Chairman and CEO James P. Gorman said, "We reported one of our strongest quarters in recent years. All our businesses performed well in improved market conditions. We are confident in our business model and the opportunities ahead, while recognizing that the environment remains uncertain."

Here is a summary of how each individual business unit performed in the first quarter.

Institutional Securities

• Net revenue rose from $3.714 billion a year ago to $5.152 billion.
• Investment banking revenue rose from $990 million a year ago to $1.4 billion.
• The company cited lower levels of completed M&A activity, higher equity and fixed income underwriting activity.
• Equity and fixed income trading related activities both rose on a year-over-year basis.

Wealth Management

• Net revenue rose from $3.668 billion a year ago to $4.058 billion.
• Asset management revenues rose from $2.1 billion a year ago to $2.2 billion due to market appreciation and positive flows.
• Net interest income rose from $831 million a year ago to $994 million due to loan growth and higher interest rates.

Investment Management

• Net revenue rose from $477 million a year ago to $609 million.
• The company cited investment gains in private equity and real estate funds.
• Total assets under management or supervision at the end of the quarter was $421 billion.

See Also:

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Bank Of America Inches Higher On Q1 Beat