FCBC
First Community Bankshares, Inc.
FCBC offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over FCBC overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
FCBC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
FCBC's revenue and profitability are currently strong. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like FCBC.
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.
FCBC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 10x | $33.53 | -27% |
| Fair | 12x | $40.79 | -11% |
| Current | 14x | $45.89 | — |
| Forward | 14x | $45.89 | — |
| Expensive | 15x | $48.87 | +6.5% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FCBC 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.
FCBC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FCBC, but weaker profitability.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over FCBC on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and profitability expectations.
FCBC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.25 | -1.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.31 | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.17 | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.65 | -4.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.66 | -6.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.69 | -3.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.73 | -4.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.77 | +2.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.84 | +4.4% |
FCBC earned $3.31 per share over the past year, up 23% 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 FCBC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FCBC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $48.5M | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $57.2M | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $44.8M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $43.8M | +5.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $42.2M | +0.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $41M | -0.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $40.5M | -0.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $41.7M | -2% |
FCBC's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $49M last quarter, up 15% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 41% | +3.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 51% | +12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 35% | -2.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 37% | -2.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 38% | -1.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 39% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 38% | -2.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 40% | +4.9 points |
FCBC 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 FCBC 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.
FCBC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.5M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.8M | +79% |
| Q1 2026 | -$12.5M | -203% |
| Q4 2025 | $19.4M | +32% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.5M | +69% |
| Q2 2025 | $10M | -29% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.1M | -20% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.8M | +2% |
FCBC 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.
FCBC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +13.9K shares |
| 1 year | +3.2% | +593K shares |
| 3 years | +0.9% | +161K shares |
| 5 years | +9.9% | +1.7M shares |
| Available history | +21% | +3.3M shares |
FCBC has 19M diluted shares, up 3.2% from a year ago, despite $20M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $20.3M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $1.9M |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
FCBC spent $20M buying back its own shares over the past year, more than ten times what it spent 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 FCBC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
FCBC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
FCBC 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.
FCBC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 25.1 | Neutral |
FCBC's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 25 (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).
FCBC PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | FCBC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 14x | 13x | 6.5% above |
| PE % | 73 | 63 | 10 pts above |
FCBC 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.
FCBC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $47.3 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $47.4 | 3.2% below |
| 50 week MA | $42.7 | 7.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $40.3 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $37.4 | 23% above |
FCBC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 23% above 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's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 46% above its 200-week average.
FCBC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $31.0 | $21.8 | -30% |
| 2021 | $21.8 | $33.5 | +53% |
| 2022 | $33.5 | $34.8 | +4% |
| 2023 | $34.8 | $37.1 | +6.5% |
| 2024 | $37.1 | $41.7 | +12% |
| 2025 | $41.7 | $33.8 | -19% |
| 2026 YTD | $33.8 | $45.9 | +36% |
FCBC 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.