GL
Globe Life Inc.
GL offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over GL overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
GL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
GL'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 GL.
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.
GL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.9x | $148 | -7.4% |
| Forward | 10x | $160 | — |
| Current | 11x | $160 | — |
| Fair | 13x | $187 | +17% |
| Expensive | 14x | $216 | +35% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GL 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.
GL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect GL'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 GL on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
GL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $15.97 | +6.9% |
| Q3 2026 | $14.94 | +8.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.05 | +20% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.45 | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.07 | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.79 | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.50 | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.28 | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.94 | +18% |
GL's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $14.94 over the past year, up 8.3% from the year before, and higher year over year for 16 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 GL on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
GL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +5.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +8% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +5.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.5B | +3.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +4% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +4.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +3.6% |
GL's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $1.6B last quarter, up 5.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 28% | -3.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 21% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 22% | +0.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +5.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 21% | -2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 21% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | -1.8 points |
GL's operating margin was 28% last quarter, down 3.9 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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 GL 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 has the edge over GL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
GL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $310.8M | +49% |
| Q2 2026 | $297.6M | +0.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $396M | -5.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $330.1M | +2.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $208.7M | -33% |
| Q2 2025 | $295M | -17% |
| Q1 2025 | $420.1M | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $321.9M | -15% |
GL 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.
GL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -685K shares |
| 1 year | -4.6% | -3.8M shares |
| 3 years | -18% | -17.6M shares |
| 5 years | -24% | -24.2M shares |
| Available history | -30% | -33.2M shares |
GL has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $218M |
| Q2 2026 | $274.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $240.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $192.3M |
| Q3 2025 | $173.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $250.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $264.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $51.7M |
GL spent $925M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 25% 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.
GL 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.
GL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.7 | Oversold |
GL's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (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).
GL PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | GL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 13x | 18% below |
| PE % | 29 | 63 | 34 pts below |
GL 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.
GL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $162.1 | 1.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $171.2 | 6.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $156.9 | 2.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $141.9 | 13% above |
| 200 week MA | $124.6 | 28% above |
GL has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 28% 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.
GL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $105.9 | $92.9 | -12% |
| 2021 | $92.9 | $92.7 | -0.2% |
| 2022 | $92.7 | $120.1 | +30% |
| 2023 | $120.1 | $121.7 | +1.3% |
| 2024 | $121.7 | $109.5 | -10% |
| 2025 | $109.5 | $142.2 | +30% |
| 2026 YTD | $142.2 | $160.1 | +13% |
GL 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.