CATY
Cathay General Bancorp
CATY offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has a slight edge over CATY overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
CATY Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
CATY's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like CATY.
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.
CATY PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.8x | $42.03 | -36% |
| Fair | 11x | $58.42 | -10% |
| Forward | 11x | $65.27 | — |
| Expensive | 12x | $65.49 | +0.3% |
| Current | 12x | $65.27 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CATY 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.
CATY Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CATY, with profitability improving.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
CATY Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.09 | +12% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.42 | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.12 | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.85 | +23% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.54 | +15% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.32 | +8.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.13 | -0.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.95 | -13% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.95 | -19% |
CATY earned $5.42 per share over the past year, up 25% 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 CATY on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CATY Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $254.6M | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $222.3M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $214.8M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $222.8M | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $210.6M | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $196.6M | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $187.8M | +7.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $186.5M | -9.1% |
CATY's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $255M last quarter, up 21% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 48% | +3.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 53% | +4.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 51% | +5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 51% | +4.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 45% | +3.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 49% | +8.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 46% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 47% | +1.2 points |
CATY has the edge over MS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 CATY 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's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CATY Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $80.7M | -46% |
| Q2 2026 | $233.5M | +272% |
| Q1 2026 | $96M | -0.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $54.6M | -36% |
| Q3 2025 | $150.1M | +88% |
| Q2 2025 | $62.7M | -13% |
| Q1 2025 | $96.3M | +10% |
| Q4 2024 | $85.8M | +34% |
CATY 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.
CATY Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.8% | -543K shares |
| 1 year | -3.2% | -2.2M shares |
| 3 years | -8.4% | -6.1M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -11.4M shares |
| Available history | -17% | -13.5M shares |
CATY has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | $16,000 |
| Q3 2023 | $9,000 |
| Q2 2023 | $44,000 |
| Q1 2023 | $16.7M |
| Q4 2022 | $31.5M |
| Q3 2022 | $46.3M |
| Q2 2022 | $30.6M |
| Q1 2022 | $32.9M |
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.
CATY Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
CATY has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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.
CATY Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 65.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 73.4 | Neutral |
CATY's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 73 (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).
CATY PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | CATY | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 13x | 7.5% below |
| PE % | 82 | 63 | 19 pts above |
CATY 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.
CATY Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $62.5 | 4.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $62.6 | 4.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $56.9 | 15% above |
| 100 week MA | $51.3 | 27% above |
| 200 week MA | $45.2 | 45% above |
CATY 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.
CATY Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $38.1 | $31.5 | -17% |
| 2021 | $31.5 | $42.3 | +34% |
| 2022 | $42.3 | $41.1 | -2.9% |
| 2023 | $41.1 | $44.6 | +8.4% |
| 2024 | $44.6 | $48.0 | +7.8% |
| 2025 | $48.0 | $50.0 | +4.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $50.0 | $65.3 | +31% |
CATY 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.