MCO
Moody's Corporation
MCO has a slight edge over MS overall, supported by stronger valuation.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
MCO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MCO's profitability is currently strong, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MCO.
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.
MCO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 28x | $507 | — |
| Cheap | 30x | $495 | -2.3% |
| Current | 31x | $507 | — |
| Fair | 35x | $576 | +14% |
| Expensive | 44x | $719 | +42% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MCO 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.
MCO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MCO, 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.
MCO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $17.98 | +9.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $16.40 | +32% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.76 | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.94 | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.67 | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $12.43 | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.76 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.57 | +26% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.26 | +29% |
MCO's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $16.40 over the past year, up 32% from the year before, and higher year over year for 12 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 MCO on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
MCO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2B | +0.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.2B | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.1B | +8.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.9B | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $2B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.9B | +4.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +7.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.7B | +13% |
MCO's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $2B last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 45% | -0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 48% | +4.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 44% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | +7.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 46% | +5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 43% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 44% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 34% | -0.1 points |
MCO 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 MCO 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's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MCO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $668M | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $688M | +47% |
| Q1 2026 | $844M | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $777M | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $658M | +4.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $468M | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $672M | -3.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $600M | +49% |
MCO 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.
MCO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -1.2M shares |
| 1 year | -3.5% | -6.3M shares |
| 3 years | -5.8% | -10.7M shares |
| 5 years | -7.5% | -14M shares |
| Available history | -9.6% | -18.3M shares |
MCO has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $388M |
| Q2 2026 | $694M |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $437M |
| Q3 2025 | $513M |
| Q2 2025 | $284M |
| Q1 2025 | $373M |
| Q4 2024 | $480M |
MCO spent $3B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 81% 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.
MCO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.5x | Healthy |
MCO 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.
MCO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 58.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 70.3 | Neutral |
MCO's weekly RSI is 58 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 70 (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).
MCO PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MCO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 31x | 13x | 137% above |
| PE % | 22 | 63 | 41 pts below |
MCO is trading at 31x earnings, a 137% 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 MCO on valuation relative to its sector.
MCO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $481.1 | 5.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $485.3 | 4.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $474.1 | 6.8% above |
| 100 week MA | $477.9 | 6% above |
| 200 week MA | $428.7 | 18% above |
MCO has the edge over MS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
MCO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $239.3 | $278.9 | +17% |
| 2021 | $278.9 | $397.3 | +42% |
| 2022 | $397.3 | $278.8 | -30% |
| 2023 | $278.8 | $390.6 | +40% |
| 2024 | $390.6 | $476.8 | +22% |
| 2025 | $476.8 | $520.0 | +9.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $520.0 | $506.6 | -2.6% |
MCO has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 2.6% 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 MCO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.