DFIN
Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc.
DFIN has a slight edge over MS overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
DFIN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
DFIN's profitability is currently strong, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like DFIN.
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.
DFIN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 10x | $40.61 | -41% |
| Forward | 13x | $68.62 | — |
| Current | 18x | $68.62 | — |
| Fair | 19x | $72.59 | +5.8% |
| Expensive | 32x | $124 | +81% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DFIN's PE is in its fair range at 18x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 13x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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 DFIN in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
DFIN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for DFIN, 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.
DFIN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.46 | +41% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.87 | +269% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.53 | -46% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.37 | -55% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.15 | -62% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.05 | -67% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.83 | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.02 | -7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.06 | +14% |
DFIN earned $3.87 per share over the past year, about four times what it earned 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 DFIN on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
DFIN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $185M | +5.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $224.2M | +2.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $205.5M | +2.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $172.5M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $175.3M | -2.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $218.1M | -10% |
| Q1 2025 | $201.1M | -1.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $156.3M | -11% |
DFIN's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $185M last quarter, up 5.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | +1.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 25% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.3% | +2.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 16% | +5.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 23% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6% | +0.4 points |
DFIN's operating margin was 18% last quarter, up 1.5 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 DFIN 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 DFIN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DFIN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $85.8M | +45% |
| Q2 2026 | $61.2M | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | -$16M | +$35M |
| Q4 2025 | $47.9M | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $59.2M | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $51.7M | +40% |
| Q1 2025 | -$51M | -$10.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $41.3M | -26% |
DFIN 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.
DFIN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -300K shares |
| 1 year | -8.8% | -2.4M shares |
| 3 years | -17% | -5.3M shares |
| 5 years | -28% | -9.7M shares |
| Available history | -27% | -9.3M shares |
DFIN has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $7M |
| Q2 2026 | $35.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $40.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $61.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $34.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $35.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $53M |
| Q4 2024 | $17.2M |
DFIN spent $145M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 3.4% 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.
DFIN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.3x | Very low |
DFIN 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.
DFIN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 75.3 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 89.2 | Overbought |
DFIN's weekly RSI is 75 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 89 (overbought).
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).
DFIN PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | DFIN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 18x | 13x | 36% above |
| PE % | 41 | 63 | 22 pts below |
DFIN is trading at 18x earnings, a 36% 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 DFIN on valuation relative to its sector.
DFIN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $56.7 | 21% above |
| 20 week MA | $51.5 | 33% above |
| 50 week MA | $48.3 | 42% above |
| 100 week MA | $51.2 | 34% above |
| 200 week MA | $53.4 | 29% above |
DFIN 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.
DFIN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.4 | $17.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $17.9 | $47.1 | +163% |
| 2022 | $47.1 | $37.5 | -20% |
| 2023 | $37.5 | $62.4 | +66% |
| 2024 | $62.4 | $62.5 | +0.2% |
| 2025 | $62.5 | $46.5 | -26% |
| 2026 YTD | $46.5 | $68.6 | +48% |
DFIN 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.