Morgan Stanley posted a strong second quarter, with adjusted earnings of $3.46 per share crushing the Wall Street estimate of $2.93. Revenue came in at a record $21.3 billion, well ahead of the $19.7 billion analysts had penciled in.
MORGAN STANLEY $MS Q2’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
🔹 EPS: $3.46 (Est. $2.93) 🟢; +62% YoY
🔹 Net Revenue: $21.35B (Est. $19.58B) 🟢; +27% YoY
🔹 Net Income: $5.58B; +58% YoY
🔹 Investment Banking: $2.44B (Est. $2.20B) 🟢; +58% YoY
🔹 Equities Sales & Trading: $6.30B (Est. $4.47B) 🟢;…— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) July 15, 2026
MS stock was up 1.5% in premarket trading at $231.15 following the results.
For comparison, the same quarter last year delivered $2.13 in adjusted EPS and $16.8 billion in revenue — so the year-over-year jump is hard to ignore.
The quarter’s strength came from two directions: a booming investment banking environment and a wealth management unit that keeps setting records.
The institutional securities unit posted record revenue of $11 billion, up 44.7% from a year ago. Investment banking revenue alone surged to $2.44 billion, up from $1.54 billion in Q2 2025.
Morgan Stanley was a lead underwriter on the SpaceX IPO — the largest in history — as well as Cerebras’ New York listing and a joint book-runner on Alphabet’s equity capital raise. The bank also advised on Fertitta Entertainment’s $17.6 billion deal to acquire Caesars Entertainment.
Equities trading revenue surged 69% to $6.3 billion. Fixed income net revenue rose 13%. Volatile macro conditions — including the US-Iran standoff and oil price spikes — pushed clients to hedge and reposition, which translated into strong trading desk activity.
M&A activity helped across the board. The total value of announced deals hit $2.8 trillion in the first half of 2026, up 48% from a year ago and the highest first-half figure since LSEG records began in 1980.
Morgan Stanley is also lined up as an underwriter for Jersey Mike’s planned IPO, keeping its deal pipeline well stocked.
The wealth management unit brought in $8.9 billion in revenue, up from $7.8 billion a year ago. Net new assets came in at a record $148 billion — up 150% year over year — well ahead of the $55 billion some analysts had forecast.
Fee-based client assets rose 22% to just over $3 trillion. Total client assets across wealth and investment management reached $10 trillion, a target the bank had set years ago.
Morgan Stanley said more than half of the net new assets this quarter were tied to IPO-related inflows through its workplace channel.
Self-directed client assets through E*Trade rose 25% to $1.8 trillion. Daily average revenue trades hit 1.3 million, up 30% from a year ago.
Total bank loans for the wealth unit rose 16% to $196 billion. Deposits climbed 14% to $436 billion.
Net income came in at $5.58 billion, or $3.46 per share, versus $3.54 billion, or $2.13 per share, a year earlier.
MS stock is up 29% in 2026, outpacing the S&P 500’s 10% gain, though it still trails Goldman Sachs year to date.
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