Morgan Stanley rises: profit beats as investment banking revenues jump

Investing.com -- Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, driven by robust trading activity and strong client engagement amid increased market volatility.

The financial services firm posted earnings per share of $3.43, beating the analyst consensus of $3.02 by $0.41. Revenue reached $20.6 billion, surpassing the estimate of $19.7 billion and marking a 16% increase from $17.7 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley totaled $5.6 billion, compared with $4.3 billion a year ago.

Shares rose 2.1% premarket following the results.

"Morgan Stanley reported a record quarter," said Ted Pick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Strong execution resulted in net revenues of $20.6 billion, EPS of $3.43 and a ROTCE of 27.1%. Institutional Securities benefited from robust client engagement and strength globally."

The Institutional Securities division delivered record net revenues of $10.7 billion, up from $9.0 billion a year ago. Equity trading revenues jumped 25% to $5.1 billion, while Fixed Income revenues increased 29% to $3.4 billion, driven by strong client activity and volatility in energy markets. Investment Banking revenues rose 36% to $2.1 billion, led by higher completed M&A transactions.

Wealth Management posted record net revenues of $8.5 billion, up 16% from $7.3 billion a year ago, with a pre-tax margin of 30.4%. The business reported net new assets of $118 billion and fee-based asset flows of $54 billion for the quarter.

Investment Management reported net revenues of $1.5 billion with long-term net flows of $3.3 billion. The firm's return on tangible common equity reached 27.1%, up from 23.0% a year ago.

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