MET
MetLife, Inc.
MET offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has a slight edge over MET overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
MET Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MET's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MET.
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.
MET PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8x | $61.38 | -40% |
| Forward | 9.4x | $102 | — |
| Current | 13x | $102 | — |
| Fair | 15x | $115 | +13% |
| Expensive | 25x | $191 | +88% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MET's PE is in its fair range at 13x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.4x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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 MET in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MET Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect MET's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over MET on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
MET Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $10.87 | +42% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.68 | +45% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.23 | -11% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.17 | -16% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.71 | -21% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.28 | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.87 | +58% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.12 | +110% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.94 | +225% |
MET earned $7.68 per share over the past year, up 45% from the year before.
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 MET on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MET Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.5B | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.2B | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $19.1B | +2.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.8B | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $17.4B | -5.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $17.3B | -2.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $18.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $18.7B | -1.9% |
MET's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $20.5B last quarter, up 18% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.9% | -0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 8.4% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.6% | +0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7% | -0.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.5% | -1.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7.6% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.4% | +2.5 points |
MET's operating margin was 8.9% last quarter, down 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 MET 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 MET on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MET Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2B | -44% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.2B | +1.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.7B | -37% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.1B | +53% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.6B | -14% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.2B | -37% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.3B | +83% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.6B | -11% |
MET 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.
MET Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.1% | -7M shares |
| 1 year | -4.4% | -29.2M shares |
| 3 years | -15% | -116M shares |
| 5 years | -26% | -221M shares |
| Available history | -32% | -305M shares |
MET has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $651M |
| Q2 2026 | $722M |
| Q1 2026 | $755M |
| Q4 2025 | $460M |
| Q3 2025 | $502M |
| Q2 2025 | $510M |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B |
| Q4 2024 | $406M |
MET spent $2.6B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 8.5% 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.
MET Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -2.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -2.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -3.3x | Net Cash |
MET 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.
MET Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 65.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 58.9 | Neutral |
MET's weekly RSI is 66 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 59 (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).
MET PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MET | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 1.8% above |
| PE % | 41 | 63 | 22 pts below |
MET 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.
MET Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $98.8 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $96.8 | 5.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $85.6 | 19% above |
| 100 week MA | $82.5 | 23% above |
| 200 week MA | $75.3 | 35% above |
MET 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.
MET Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $50.8 | $46.3 | -8.9% |
| 2021 | $46.3 | $61.8 | +33% |
| 2022 | $61.8 | $72.3 | +17% |
| 2023 | $72.3 | $66.1 | -8.5% |
| 2024 | $66.1 | $82.3 | +24% |
| 2025 | $82.3 | $80.3 | -2.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $80.3 | $101.9 | +27% |
MET 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.