FCFS
FirstCash Holdings, Inc
FCFS offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has a slight edge over FCFS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
FCFS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
FCFS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like FCFS.
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.
FCFS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 15x | $182 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $176 | -2.9% |
| Current | 20x | $182 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $204 | +12% |
| Expensive | 26x | $240 | +32% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FCFS 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.
FCFS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FCFS, 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.
FCFS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $12.21 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $9.23 | +33% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.76 | +35% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.98 | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.42 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.93 | +28% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.51 | +25% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.25 | +22% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.73 | +19% |
FCFS's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $9.23 over the past year, up 33% from the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
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 FCFS on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
FCFS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | +29% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $935.6M | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $830.6M | 0% |
| Q1 2025 | $836.4M | 0% |
| Q4 2024 | $883.8M | +3.7% |
FCFS's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $1.1B last quarter, up 18% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +2.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 13% | +1.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 12% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.8% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | +3.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | +1.7 points |
FCFS's operating margin was 13% last quarter, up 0.6 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 FCFS 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 FCFS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FCFS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $142M | +4.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $176.8M | +51% |
| Q1 2026 | $153.6M | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $135.8M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $116.9M | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $126.6M | +3.4% |
| Q3 2024 | $113.1M | +1.5% |
| Q2 2024 | $106.2M | +12% |
FCFS's free cash flow was $608M over the past year, up 31% from the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like FCFS.
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.
FCFS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.6% | -701K shares |
| 1 year | -2.6% | -1.1M shares |
| 3 years | -4.5% | -2M shares |
| 5 years | +7% | +2.8M shares |
| Available history | +1.3% | +575K shares |
FCFS has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $134.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $66.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $50M |
| Q4 2025 | $25.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $30M |
| Q2 2025 | $850,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $59.6M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
FCFS spent $277M buying back its own shares over the past year, about three 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 1.6B diluted shares, down 1.5% from a year ago.
FCFS Net Leverage
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.
FCFS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 39.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.4 | Oversold |
FCFS's weekly RSI is 39 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
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).
FCFS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | FCFS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 20x | 13x | 51% above |
| PE % | 21 | 63 | 42 pts below |
FCFS is trading at 20x earnings, a 51% 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 FCFS on valuation relative to its sector.
FCFS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $197.3 | 7.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $208.3 | 13% below |
| 50 week MA | $199.6 | 9% below |
| 100 week MA | $165.4 | 9.9% above |
| 200 week MA | $135.7 | 34% above |
FCFS has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 34% 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 has the edge over FCFS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
FCFS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $80.8 | $70.1 | -13% |
| 2021 | $70.1 | $69.9 | -0.2% |
| 2022 | $69.9 | $87.9 | +26% |
| 2023 | $87.9 | $108.4 | +23% |
| 2024 | $108.4 | $103.1 | -4.9% |
| 2025 | $103.1 | $161.0 | +56% |
| 2026 YTD | $161.0 | $181.7 | +13% |
FCFS 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.