HOPE
Hope Bancorp, Inc.
HOPE offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has a slight edge over HOPE overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
HOPE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
HOPE's revenue and profitability are currently strong. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like HOPE.
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.
HOPE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.2x | $7.46 | -43% |
| Fair | 10x | $10.89 | -17% |
| Forward | 11x | $13.06 | — |
| Current | 13x | $13.06 | — |
| Expensive | 16x | $16.93 | +30% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HOPE's PE is 13x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
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 HOPE in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
HOPE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for HOPE, but weaker profitability. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over HOPE on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
HOPE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.18 | +14% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.04 | +167% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.00 | +186% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.52 | -33% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.46 | -44% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.39 | -54% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.35 | -61% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.78 | -22% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.82 | -27% |
HOPE's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.04 over the past year, against $1.81 in early 2022. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
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 HOPE on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
HOPE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $157.5M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $147.8M | +56% |
| Q1 2026 | $141M | +21% |
| Q4 2025 | $145.8M | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $142M | +22% |
| Q2 2025 | $94.6M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $116.5M | -5.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $118M | -13% |
HOPE's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $157M last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +3.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 29% | +60 points |
| Q1 2026 | 27% | +3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 27% | +1.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | -32% | -61 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | -5.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 26% | +0.9 points |
HOPE's operating margin was 29% last quarter, up 3.6 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 HOPE 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 HOPE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
HOPE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $146.1M | +210% |
| Q2 2026 | $56M | +712% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.8M | -51% |
| Q4 2025 | $73.4M | +55% |
| Q3 2025 | $47.2M | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.9M | +$35M |
| Q1 2025 | $24M | -13% |
| Q4 2024 | $47.4M | -38% |
HOPE 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.
HOPE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +316K shares |
| 1 year | 0% | +30.8K shares |
| 3 years | +6.9% | +8.3M shares |
| 5 years | +4.7% | +5.7M shares |
| Available history | +1.4% | +1.7M shares |
HOPE has 129M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $2M |
| Q1 2026 | $6.7M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | $2.8M |
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 HOPE on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
HOPE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
HOPE 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.
HOPE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.2 | Oversold |
HOPE's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (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).
HOPE PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | HOPE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 3.5% below |
| PE % | 62 | 63 | 1 pt below |
HOPE 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.
HOPE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $13.5 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $13.7 | 4.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $12.6 | 3.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $11.7 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $11.3 | 16% above |
HOPE has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 16% 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.
HOPE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $14.8 | $10.8 | -27% |
| 2021 | $10.8 | $14.5 | +35% |
| 2022 | $14.5 | $12.9 | -11% |
| 2023 | $12.9 | $12.1 | -6.4% |
| 2024 | $12.1 | $12.3 | +1.8% |
| 2025 | $12.3 | $11.3 | -8.5% |
| 2026 YTD | $11.3 | $13.1 | +16% |
HOPE 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.