BAC
Bank of America Corporation
BAC has the edge over MSDL overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
MSDL
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund
MSDL trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
BAC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
BAC's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like BAC.
MSDL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MSDL's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MSDL.
BAC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.4x | $39.50 | -22% |
| Forward | 10x | $50.51 | — |
| Current | 12x | $50.51 | — |
| Fair | 13x | $53.81 | +6.5% |
| Expensive | 15x | $62.23 | +23% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BAC has the edge over MSDL in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MSDL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 7.5x | $13.83 | — |
| Cheap | 7.6x | $0.38 | -97% |
| Fair | 9x | $0.45 | -97% |
| Expensive | 15x | $0.76 | -94% |
| Current | 277x | $13.83 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSDL's PE is in its expensive range at 277x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 7.5x, in its cheap range.
BAC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
BAC has the edge over MSDL on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and revenue expectations.
MSDL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect MSDL's profitability to improve, with its earnings and revenue holding steady.
BAC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.92 | +17% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.19 | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.34 | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.02 | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.81 | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.66 | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.41 | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.35 | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.21 | +4.2% |
BAC has the edge over MSDL on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MSDL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.85 | +3610% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.05 | -97% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.69 | -64% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.01 | -54% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.40 | -42% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.65 | -35% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.93 | -35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.18 | -29% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.43 | -22% |
MSDL's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.05 over the past year, against $3.11 in late 2023.
BAC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $30B | +6.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.6B | +19% |
| Q1 2026 | $30.3B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $31.2B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $28.1B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.5B | +4.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.4B | +6% |
| Q4 2024 | $25.3B | +15% |
MSDL has the stronger quarterly revenue trend. Revenue is up 6.7% for BAC versus up 26% for MSDL.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 30% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 37% | +7.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +4.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | +12 points |
| Q3 2025 | 34% | +4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 29% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 30% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 28% | +14 points |
BAC's operating margin was 30% last quarter, down 3.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MSDL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | $40.2M | +26% |
| Q3 2022 | $24.3M | -8.5% |
| Q2 2022 | $6.6M | -72% |
| Q1 2022 | $29.1M | +72% |
| Q4 2021 | $31.9M | +179% |
| Q3 2021 | $26.6M | +312% |
| Q2 2021 | $23.3M | +343% |
| Q1 2021 | $16.9M | +1731% |
MSDL's revenue has held roughly level: $40M last quarter, up 26% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | 51% | -32 points |
| Q3 2022 | 39% | -45 points |
| Q2 2022 | -49% | -135 points |
| Q1 2022 | 76% | -11 points |
| Q4 2021 | 83% | -20 points |
| Q3 2021 | 84% | -34 points |
| Q2 2021 | 85% | -28 points |
| Q1 2021 | 87% | +440 points |
MSDL's operating margin was 51% last quarter, down 32 points from the same quarter a year ago.
BAC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$6.5B | -114% |
| Q2 2026 | $29B | +$38.2B |
| Q1 2026 | $41.8B | +$44B |
| Q4 2025 | -$22.9B | -189% |
| Q3 2025 | $46.9B | +$84.2B |
| Q2 2025 | -$9.1B | -150% |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.2B | +$13.4B |
| Q4 2024 | $25.9B | -21% |
BAC's free cash flow was $41.4B over the past year, down 33% from the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like BAC.
MSDL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $128.7M | +230% |
| Q2 2026 | $103.8M | +332% |
| Q1 2026 | $86.3M | +153% |
| Q4 2025 | $53.8M | +$149.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $39M | +$156M |
| Q2 2025 | $24M | +$130.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $34.1M | +$87.8M |
| Q4 2024 | -$96.2M | -519% |
MSDL has the edge over BAC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BAC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -72M shares |
| 1 year | -5.3% | -405M shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -854M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -1.3B shares |
| Available history | -24% | -2.2B shares |
BAC has the edge over MSDL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6B |
| Q2 2026 | $6B |
| Q1 2026 | $7.2B |
| Q4 2025 | $6.3B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $5.3B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q4 2024 | $3.5B |
BAC spent $25.6B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 37% from the year before.
MSDL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -724K shares |
| 1 year | -3.2% | -2.8M shares |
| 3 years | +17% | +12.2M shares |
| 5 years | -4.8% | -4.2M shares |
| Available history | +2618% | +80.9M shares |
MSDL has 84M diluted shares, down 3.2% from a year ago, with $49M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.8M |
| Q2 2026 | $12.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $14.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $2.8M |
| Q2 2025 | $20.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $9.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $10.1M |
MSDL spent $49M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 14% from the year before.
BAC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 6.7x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 7.1x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 7.7x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.3x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.8x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 9.0x | High |
BAC's net debt is about 6.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.3 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like BAC.
MSDL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | 29.5x | High |
| Q3 2022 | 26.4x | High |
| Q2 2022 | 20.6x | High |
| Q1 2022 | 14.5x | High |
| Q4 2021 | 14.1x | High |
| Q3 2021 | 14.6x | High |
| Q2 2021 | 12.8x | High |
| Q1 2021 | 13.2x | High |
MSDL's net debt is more than 20 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 14 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MSDL.
BAC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 37.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 4.9 | Oversold |
BAC's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 5 (oversold).
MSDL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 35.8 | Neutral |
MSDL's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 36 (neutral).
BAC PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | BAC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 13x | 7.5% below |
| PE % | 40 | 63 | 23 pts below |
BAC has the edge over MSDL on valuation relative to its sector.
MSDL PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MSDL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 277x | 13x | 2,024% above |
| PE % | 100 | 36 | 64 pts above |
MSDL is trading at 277x earnings, a 2024% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
BAC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $52.1 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $57.8 | 13% below |
| 50 week MA | $54.7 | 7.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $50.5 | 0% below |
| 200 week MA | $42.5 | 19% above |
MSDL has stronger trend alignment. BAC is above 1 of 5 weekly averages versus MSDL above 1 of 4.
MSDL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $13.6 | 1.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $14.6 | 4.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $15.2 | 8.8% below |
| 100 week MA | $17.1 | 19% below |
MSDL has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 19% below its 100-week average.
BAC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $35.4 | $30.0 | -15% |
| 2021 | $30.0 | $44.4 | +48% |
| 2022 | $44.4 | $32.5 | -27% |
| 2023 | $32.5 | $33.7 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | $33.7 | $44.3 | +32% |
| 2025 | $44.3 | $56.2 | +27% |
| 2026 YTD | $56.2 | $50.5 | -10% |
BAC has the edge over MSDL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MSDL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $20.5 | $21.4 | +4.4% |
| 2025 | $21.4 | $17.0 | -21% |
| 2026 YTD | $17.0 | $13.8 | -19% |
MSDL has finished lower in one of the last two years. It's down 19% so far in 2026.