Morgan Stanley said Friday that first-quarter earnings and earnings exceeded expectations for stronger-than-expected banking and investment results.
The bank posted a profit of $ 4.1 billion, or $ 2.19 per share, more than double the earnings of $ 1.7 billion in the previous period. The firm said that, excluding merger-related expenses, the adjusted profit was $ 2.22 per share; analysts expected $ 1.70.
Company-wide revenue rose 61 percent to a record $ 15.7 billion, beating analysts’ estimates by $ 1.6 billion, helped by solid Wall Street trading and banking revenue. Expectations rose after rivals posted oversized banking and investment results. The boom in the SPAC issue led to an increase in fees for offices in the equity markets, and trading offices benefited from strong activity in fixed income and stock markets.
Morgan Stanley’s fixed-income trading offices generated revenue of $ 2.97 billion, nearly 850 million more than analysts expected for the quarter, following strong credit trading results. Stock trading generated revenues of $ 2.88 billion, or about $ 170 million more than estimated.
Banking investment income rose 128% to $ 2.61 billion, exceeding estimates by nearly $ 500 million, fueled by what Morgan Stanley said were record equity subscriptions.
CEO James Gorman announced $ 20 billion in transactions last year, marking the most aggressive takeovers since the financial crisis. He spent $ 13 billion to buy e-commerce to expand his attention to the mass rich and $ 7 billion to buy Eaton Vance to expand his investment management business. The acquisition of Eaton Vance was completed in the first quarter.
The bank said revenue from wealth management rose 47 percent to $ 5.96 billion in the quarter, in line with analysts’ expectations.
Morgan Stanley is the last of the top six US banks to report first-quarter earnings.
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup exceeded all analysts’ expectations by releasing the money allocated earlier for loan losses. Its main rival Goldman Sachs exceeded estimates of strong consulting and trading results.
Here’s what Wall Street expected:
Earnings: $ 1.70 per share, 68% higher than a year earlier, according to Refinitive
Revenue: $ 14.1 billion, 49% higher than a year earlier
This story is developing. Please check again for updates.
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