AB
AllianceBernstein Holding L.P.
AB offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over AB overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
AB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Unavailable | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
AB's profitability is currently strong. There isn't enough data to rate its revenue. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like AB.
MS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MS.
AB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 9.5x | $33.60 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $35.15 | +4.6% |
| Current | 10x | $33.60 | — |
| Fair | 12x | $40.78 | +21% |
| Expensive | 14x | $47.54 | +41% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AB has the edge over MS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $134 | -29% |
| Fair | 14x | $178 | -5.7% |
| Forward | 14x | $189 | — |
| Current | 15x | $189 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $223 | +18% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MS's PE is in its fair range at 15x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
AB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Stable | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect AB's revenue to grow, but its profitability to weaken.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over AB on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
AB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.55 | +6.1% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.35 | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.35 | -0.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.22 | -13% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.97 | -20% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.03 | -13% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.36 | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.71 | +53% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.71 | +59% |
AB earned $3.35 per share over the past year, up 11% from the year before.
MS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.39 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.60 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.37 | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.04 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.21 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.76 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.84 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.53 | +55% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.95 | +53% |
MS has the edge over AB on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
AB Quarterly Revenue
AB and MS do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
MS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.3B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.9B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.7B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | +26% |
MS's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $20.3B last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +5.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +14 points |
MS's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
AB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $76.4M | +7.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $76.9M | -13% |
| Q1 2026 | $88.5M | -23% |
| Q4 2025 | $77.2M | -12% |
| Q3 2025 | $71.2M | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $88.7M | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $115.3M | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $87.5M | +20% |
AB has the edge over MS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
MS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$46B | -$42.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.7B | -123% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.1B | +$16.9B |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.4B | -120% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.3B | +$14B |
| Q2 2025 | $11.8B | +368% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24B | -650% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.8B | +$29.6B |
MS's free cash flow was −$58.3B over the past year, against −$3.7B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
AB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -1.1M shares |
| 1 year | +1% | +938K shares |
| 3 years | -18% | -19.9M shares |
| 5 years | -6.9% | -6.8M shares |
| Available history | -6.4% | -6.3M shares |
AB has 92M diluted shares, up 1% from a year ago, despite $90M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.3M |
| Q2 2026 | $16.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $4.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $29.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $3.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $12.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $26.1M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
AB spent $90M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 112% from the year before.
MS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -77M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -246M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -74M shares |
MS has the edge over AB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
AB Net Leverage
MS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9x | High |
MS's net debt is about 7.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.4 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
AB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 32.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.3 | Oversold |
AB's weekly RSI is 32 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
MS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.7 | Oversold |
MS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
AB PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | AB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 10x | 13x | 23% below |
| PE % | 7 | 63 | 56 pts below |
AB has the edge over MS on valuation relative to its sector.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS is trading at 15x earnings, a 15% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
AB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $34.8 | 3.4% below |
| 20 week MA | $36.0 | 6.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $37.6 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $38.3 | 12% below |
| 200 week MA | $36.0 | 6.7% below |
AB is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 6.7% below its 200-week average.
MS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $186.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $203.3 | 6.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.9 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $129.3 | 46% above |
MS has the edge over AB on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
AB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $30.0 | $33.4 | +11% |
| 2021 | $33.4 | $49.0 | +47% |
| 2022 | $49.0 | $34.3 | -30% |
| 2023 | $34.3 | $31.0 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $31.0 | $37.2 | +20% |
| 2025 | $37.2 | $39.2 | +5.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $39.2 | $33.6 | -14% |
AB has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 14% so far in 2026.
MS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $51.1 | $68.1 | +33% |
| 2021 | $68.1 | $99.3 | +46% |
| 2022 | $99.3 | $86.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $86.1 | $93.3 | +8.3% |
| 2024 | $93.3 | $126.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $126.8 | $181.9 | +43% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.9 | $189.2 | +4% |
MS has the edge over AB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.