Morgan Stanley Quarterly Profit Climbs 51%

By Peter Rudegeair 

Morgan Stanley said Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit rose 51% from a year earlier, another big U.S. bank to emerge from a turbulent year in better shape than was expected at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The New York-based firm reported a profit of $3.39 billion, or $1.81 a share, on revenue of $13.64 billion. That beat the consensus estimates of analysts polled by FactSet, who predicted per-share earnings of $1.30 on revenue of $11.58 billion.

Morgan Stanley rounded out fourth-quarter earnings reports from the nation's big banks, which continued to benefit from a recovery on Wall Street and federal pandemic-response measures that forestalled the worst-case economic scenario. On Tuesday, rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit that was more than twice as large as year-earlier results and annual revenue that was at an 11-year high.

With its focus on wealthy Americans and big corporations and money managers, Morgan Stanley is less exposed to mass unemployment and small-business closures than more Main Street banks.

Stock- and bond-trading revenue at Morgan Stanley rose 32% to $4.22 billion. Fees from advising on deals and underwriting stock and bond offerings increased 46% to $2.30 billion.

Among the biggest U.S. banks, Morgan Stanley has been the most active in remaking itself through deals over the past year. Its acquisition of E*Trade Financial Corp., which closed during the fourth quarter, enabled the bank to take advantage of a boom in retail trading. In October, Morgan Stanley announced it was purchasing investment manager Eaton Vance Corp. for $7 billion, a deal that's expected to close later this year.

Write to Peter Rudegeair at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 20, 2021 08:12 ET (13:12 GMT)

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