CNS
Cohen & Steers, Inc.
CNS offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over CNS overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
CNS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
CNS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like CNS.
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.
CNS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 19x | $60.37 | -15% |
| Forward | 20x | $71.42 | — |
| Current | 22x | $71.42 | — |
| Fair | 25x | $80.45 | +13% |
| Expensive | 32x | $105 | +47% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CNS 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.
CNS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect CNS'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 CNS on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
CNS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.64 | +12% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.25 | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.25 | +3.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.02 | -1.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.97 | 0% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.19 | +19% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.15 | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.06 | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.97 | +14% |
CNS earned $3.25 per share over the past year, up 1.9% 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 CNS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CNS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $157.4M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $152.7M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $145.6M | +8.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $143.8M | +2.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $141.7M | +6.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $136.1M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $134.5M | +9.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $139.8M | +17% |
CNS's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $157M last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -2.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 35% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 28% | -7.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 35% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 32% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 34% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 35% | +3.5 points |
CNS 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 CNS on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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.
CNS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20M | -62% |
| Q1 2026 | -$51.4M | +$58.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $776K | -98% |
| Q3 2025 | $52.6M | +117% |
| Q2 2025 | -$69.8M | -357% |
| Q1 2025 | -$110M | -20588% |
| Q4 2024 | $33.1M | -31% |
| Q3 2024 | $24.2M | -50% |
CNS has the stronger cash trend. Its trailing FCF is down 71% versus its history, compared with MS at down 492%.
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.
CNS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +253K shares |
| 1 year | +1.1% | +542K shares |
| 3 years | +5% | +2.5M shares |
| 5 years | +5.8% | +2.9M shares |
| Available history | +7% | +3.4M shares |
CNS has 52M diluted shares, up 1.1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $358,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $394,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $16.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $258,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $621,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $26M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5M |
CNS spent $19M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 32% 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 CNS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
CNS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
CNS 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.
CNS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.9 | Neutral |
CNS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (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).
CNS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | CNS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 13x | 69% above |
| PE % | 33 | 63 | 30 pts below |
CNS is trading at 22x earnings, a 69% 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 CNS on valuation relative to its sector.
CNS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $71.8 | 0.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $77.0 | 7.2% below |
| 50 week MA | $71.1 | 0.4% above |
| 100 week MA | $74.1 | 3.6% below |
| 200 week MA | $73.1 | 2.3% below |
CNS's trend is mixed: it's above one of its five weekly moving averages, and 2.3% 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 CNS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
CNS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $62.7 | $73.4 | +17% |
| 2021 | $73.4 | $90.0 | +23% |
| 2022 | $90.0 | $63.2 | -30% |
| 2023 | $63.2 | $75.7 | +20% |
| 2024 | $75.7 | $93.4 | +23% |
| 2025 | $93.4 | $64.2 | -31% |
| 2026 YTD | $64.2 | $71.4 | +11% |
CNS 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.