Morgan Stanley

Strong Q3 fundamentals + momentum - Revenue $20.3B, EPS $3.03, ROTCE 22.6%; firm delivered “strong performance on top and bottom lines.” - Efficiency ratio 66% year-to-date (noting operating leverage from strong revenue, partially offset by higher execution-related costs vs. prior year). - Reported third quarter business strength: Institutional Securities revenue $10.0B (+18% YoY) with Equities $5.8B; Investment Banking revenues $2.2B (+2% YoY).

Wealth management: record flows and a key earnings/valuation driver - Wealth delivered record revenues >$9B, net new assets $232B, and fee-based flows $80B. - Client assets in Wealth & Investment Management total $10.5T (+$400B in the quarter)—a new record. - IPO-related flows contributed “just over half” of overall NNA, but management emphasized durability beyond a single IPO quarter via “tail” effects through cap table movements, lockup expirations, and adviser-led conversions. - Management expects steady retention (assets “retain and turn into fee-based assets”); flow timing may ebb and flow, but outlook remains constructive.

Investment banking/institutional activity: solid pipelines, but volume swings - Advisory revenues $887M (up YoY), fixed income underwriting $747M (supported by active new issue market). - Equity underwriting $525M down YoY, attributed to fewer/large-deal concentration and broader underwriting comps. - Macro/choppiness: July–August brisk (AI/hyperscaler investment risk appetite), but post–Labor Day volumes slowed due to renewed Middle East tensions and higher global interest rates.