LAZ
Lazard Ltd
LAZ's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over LAZ overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
LAZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
LAZ's revenue and profitability are currently stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like LAZ.
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.
LAZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $13.66 | -67% |
| Fair | 14x | $23.64 | -42% |
| Forward | 18x | $40.87 | — |
| Expensive | 20x | $32.49 | -21% |
| Current | 25x | $40.87 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LAZ's PE is in its expensive range at 25x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings.
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 LAZ in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
LAZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LAZ, with profitability holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over LAZ on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
LAZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.29 | +40% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.64 | -36% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.03 | -30% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.52 | -13% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.17 | -19% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.55 | -1.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.92 | +80% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.89 | +$3.17 |
| Q4 2024 | $2.68 | +$3.58 |
LAZ's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.64 over the past year, against $4.93 in early 2022.
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 LAZ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
LAZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $814.2M | +8.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $807.7M | +1.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $756.6M | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $906.7M | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $748.1M | -4.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $796M | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $648.1M | -15% |
| Q4 2024 | $816.9M | +1.3% |
LAZ's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $814M last quarter, up 8.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.7% | -6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.7% | -7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | +3.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.4% | -3.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | -7.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 12% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.4% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +4.2 points |
LAZ's operating margin was 6.7% last quarter, down 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 LAZ 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 LAZ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LAZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $310.8M | +9.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $199.5M | +425% |
| Q1 2026 | -$221.5M | +$9.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $396.1M | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $284.6M | +3.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $38M | -78% |
| Q1 2025 | -$231.4M | -$134.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $348M | +4.6% |
LAZ 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.
LAZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -56.7K shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -717K shares |
| 3 years | +21% | +18.6M shares |
| 5 years | -5.6% | -6.3M shares |
| Available history | -7.6% | -8.8M shares |
LAZ has 107M diluted shares, down 0.7% from a year ago, with $135M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $33.3M |
| Q2 2026 | $50M |
| Q1 2026 | $1.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $50M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $3.8M |
| Q1 2025 | $36.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $15.6M |
LAZ spent $135M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 139% 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 the edge over LAZ on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
LAZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 0.9x | Very low |
LAZ 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.
LAZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 39.4 | Neutral |
LAZ's weekly RSI is 49 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 39 (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).
LAZ PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | LAZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 25x | 13x | 91% above |
| PE % | 96 | 63 | 33 pts above |
LAZ is trading at 25x earnings, a 91% 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 LAZ on valuation relative to its sector.
LAZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $37.6 | 8.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $40.6 | 0.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $44.9 | 8.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $46.8 | 13% below |
| 200 week MA | $42.7 | 4.3% below |
LAZ has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 4.3% below 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 LAZ on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LAZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $39.6 | $41.6 | +5.2% |
| 2021 | $41.6 | $44.0 | +5.7% |
| 2022 | $44.0 | $35.6 | -19% |
| 2023 | $35.6 | $34.8 | -2.3% |
| 2024 | $34.8 | $52.0 | +49% |
| 2025 | $52.0 | $50.0 | -3.7% |
| 2026 YTD | $50.0 | $40.9 | -18% |
LAZ has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 18% so far in 2026.
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 the edge over LAZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.