Morgan Stanley's Earnings, Revenue Beat Expectations

By Liz Hoffman 

Morgan Stanley said its second-quarter profit rose to $1.76 billion as the Wall Street firm wrapped up the earnings season for large U.S. banks.

The New York investment bank reported earnings of 87 cents a share. Analysts had expected 76 cents, up from 75 cents a year ago. Revenue of $9.5 billion was up from $8.91 billion in the second quarter of last year, and ahead of analyst expectations of $9.09 billion.

During the second quarter, a three-month stretch of calm markets that has done little to jolt Wall Street businesses, big banks including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. offset trading declines with gains in other businesses such as commercial lending or private-equity investing.

Morgan Stanley's antidote is its huge wealth-management business, which churns out steady profits even when markets snooze or climb slowly and methodically higher.

The bank's return on equity, a key measure of how profitably it invests shareholders' money, stood at 9.1% in the quarter. A 10% level is one of Mr. Gorman's key objectives.

Write to Liz Hoffman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2017 07:16 ET (11:16 GMT)

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