CSWC
Capital Southwest Corporation
CSWC trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over CSWC overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
CSWC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
CSWC'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 CSWC.
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.
CSWC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9x | $15.26 | -35% |
| Forward | 9.8x | $23.50 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $18.28 | -22% |
| Current | 14x | $23.50 | — |
| Expensive | 15x | $25.07 | +6.7% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CSWC 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.
CSWC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Stable | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect CSWC'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 CSWC on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
CSWC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.39 | +41% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.70 | +5.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.81 | -1.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.90 | -4% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.81 | -21% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.61 | -39% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.83 | -32% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.98 | -27% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.30 | -14% |
CSWC's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.70 over the past year, against $2.94 in mid-2021.
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 CSWC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CSWC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | $13.9M | -44% |
| Q1 2022 | $30M | +49% |
| Q4 2021 | $23.7M | -12% |
| Q3 2021 | $24.1M | -6.4% |
| Q2 2021 | $25.1M | +42% |
| Q4 2020 | $26.9M | +374% |
MS has the stronger quarterly revenue trend. Revenue is down 44% for CSWC versus up 12% for MS.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | 29% | -35 points |
| Q1 2022 | 70% | +13 points |
| Q4 2021 | 56% | -9.4 points |
| Q3 2021 | -13% | -79 points |
| Q2 2021 | 64% | +8.6 points |
| Q1 2021 | 56% | N/A |
| Q4 2020 | 65% | +108 points |
| Q3 2020 | 66% | N/A |
CSWC's operating margin was 29% last quarter, down 35 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'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.
CSWC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$193.1M | -$121.8M |
| Q2 2026 | -$80.9M | -366% |
| Q1 2026 | -$59.2M | -$64K |
| Q4 2025 | -$93.6M | +$72.9M |
| Q3 2025 | -$71.3M | -$47M |
| Q2 2025 | $30.4M | -2.4% |
| Q1 2025 | -$59.1M | +$43M |
| Q4 2024 | -$166.6M | -1025% |
CSWC's free cash flow was −$427M over the past year, against −$267M the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like CSWC.
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 has the edge over CSWC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CSWC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.6% | +2.5M shares |
| 1 year | +13% | +8.2M shares |
| 3 years | +84% | +33.3M shares |
| 5 years | +224% | +50.5M shares |
| Available history | +304% | +54.9M shares |
CSWC has 73M diluted shares, up 13% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | $236,000 |
| Q3 2020 | — |
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 CSWC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
CSWC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | 15.0x | High |
| Q1 2022 | 10.5x | High |
| Q4 2021 | 12.3x | High |
| Q3 2021 | 10.1x | High |
| Q2 2021 | 6.8x | High |
| Q1 2021 | 6.1x | High |
| Q4 2020 | 15.6x | High |
| Q3 2020 | 215.5x | High |
CSWC's net debt is about 15 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 6.8 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like CSWC.
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.
CSWC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.9 | Neutral |
CSWC's weekly RSI is 50 (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).
CSWC PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | CSWC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 14x | 13x | 6.1% above |
| PE % | 76 | 63 | 13 pts above |
CSWC 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.
CSWC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $23.2 | 1.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $23.9 | 1.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $23.2 | 1.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $22.5 | 4.5% above |
| 200 week MA | $22.5 | 4.3% above |
CSWC 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.
CSWC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.0 | $16.6 | -21% |
| 2021 | $16.6 | $25.3 | +53% |
| 2022 | $25.3 | $17.3 | -32% |
| 2023 | $17.3 | $23.7 | +37% |
| 2024 | $23.7 | $21.6 | -8.9% |
| 2025 | $21.6 | $21.9 | +1.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $21.9 | $23.5 | +7.2% |
CSWC 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.