AFL
Aflac Incorporated
AFL's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over AFL overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
AFL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
AFL's profitability is currently healthy, but its revenue is under pressure. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like AFL.
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.
AFL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.5x | $57.77 | -54% |
| Fair | 10x | $68.92 | -46% |
| Expensive | 14x | $98.12 | -22% |
| Forward | 17x | $127 | — |
| Current | 19x | $127 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AFL's PE is in its expensive range at 19x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 17x next year's earnings.
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 has the edge over AFL in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
AFL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect AFL's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over AFL on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
AFL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $7.60 | +12% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.80 | -12% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.27 | +109% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.75 | +36% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.82 | -29% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.69 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.44 | -53% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.43 | -29% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.63 | +24% |
AFL's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $6.80 over the past year, against $9.63 in late 2024.
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 AFL on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
AFL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.3B | -31% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.1B | -1% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.3B | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.9B | -9.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.7B | +61% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.2B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.4B | -37% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.4B | +43% |
AFL's revenue has slid since its 2020 peak: $3.3B last quarter, down 31% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | -27 points |
| Q2 2026 | 24% | +4.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 28% | +24 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | -7.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 42% | +39 points |
| Q2 2025 | 20% | -20 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.3% | -36 points |
| Q4 2024 | 40% | +32 points |
AFL's operating margin was 15% last quarter, down 27 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 has the edge over AFL on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 has the edge over AFL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
AFL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | -4.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $112M | -72% |
| Q1 2026 | $968M | +64% |
| Q4 2025 | $315M | -5.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.3B | -1.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $399M | +56% |
| Q1 2025 | $589M | -31% |
| Q4 2024 | $333M | -60% |
AFL 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.
AFL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.4% | -6.9M shares |
| 1 year | -6.3% | -33.3M shares |
| 3 years | -16% | -94.9M shares |
| 5 years | -26% | -173M shares |
| Available history | -33% | -248M shares |
AFL has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $803M |
| Q2 2026 | $984M |
| Q1 2026 | $1B |
| Q4 2025 | $801M |
| Q3 2025 | $1B |
| Q2 2025 | $829M |
| Q1 2025 | $900M |
| Q4 2024 | $750M |
AFL spent $3.6B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 3.1% 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 1.6B diluted shares, down 1.5% from a year ago.
AFL 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.
AFL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 71.0 | Neutral |
AFL's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 71 (neutral).
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).
AFL PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | AFL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 13x | 43% above |
| PE % | 96 | 63 | 33 pts above |
AFL is trading at 19x earnings, a 43% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS has the edge over AFL on valuation relative to its sector.
AFL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $119.3 | 6% above |
| 20 week MA | $120.1 | 5.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $115.5 | 9.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $110.8 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $97.3 | 30% above |
AFL has the edge over MS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 46% above its 200-week average.
AFL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $52.6 | $43.8 | -17% |
| 2021 | $43.8 | $57.7 | +32% |
| 2022 | $57.7 | $71.8 | +24% |
| 2023 | $71.8 | $82.5 | +15% |
| 2024 | $82.5 | $103.4 | +25% |
| 2025 | $103.4 | $109.9 | +6.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $109.9 | $126.5 | +15% |
AFL has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
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 finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 4% so far in 2026.