MKTX
MarketAxess Holdings Inc.
MKTX has the edge over MS overall, supported by stronger valuation.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
MKTX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MKTX'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 MKTX.
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.
MKTX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 20x | $165 | — |
| Forward | 20x | $165 | — |
| Cheap | 29x | $238 | +44% |
| Fair | 40x | $328 | +99% |
| Expensive | 66x | $535 | +224% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MKTX 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.
MKTX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect MKTX'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 MKTX on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and revenue expectations.
MKTX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.43 | +3.4% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.15 | +38% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.46 | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.44 | +47% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.64 | -8.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.89 | -20% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.95 | -14% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.76 | -15% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.28 | +6.3% |
MKTX earned $8.15 per share over the past year, up 38% 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 MKTX on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MKTX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $210.4M | +0.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $218.4M | -0.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $233.4M | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $209.4M | +3.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $208.8M | +1% |
| Q2 2025 | $219.5M | +11% |
| Q3 2022 | $172.1M | +6.2% |
| Q2 2022 | $182.2M | +3.3% |
MKTX's revenue has held roughly level: $210M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 35% | -5.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 41% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 43% | +0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 36% | -3.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 41% | -1.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 42% | +0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 42% | N/A |
| Q4 2024 | 40% | N/A |
MKTX 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 MKTX 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's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MKTX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $246.7M | +178% |
| Q2 2026 | $26.2M | -74% |
| Q1 2026 | -$75.6M | -373% |
| Q4 2025 | $155.1M | -12% |
| Q3 2025 | $88.7M | -5.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $102.5M | -7.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.7M | +$33.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $176M | +26% |
MKTX 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.
MKTX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +36K shares |
| 1 year | -4.9% | -1.8M shares |
| 3 years | -6.1% | -2.3M shares |
| 5 years | -7.4% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -7.1% | -2.7M shares |
MKTX has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $300M |
| Q3 2025 | $45.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $36.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $38.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $16.8M |
MKTX spent $300M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 119% 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.
MKTX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
MKTX 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.
MKTX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 59.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 93.0 | Overbought |
MKTX's weekly RSI is 60 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 93 (overbought).
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).
MKTX PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MKTX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 20x | 13x | 56% above |
| PE % | 7 | 63 | 56 pts below |
MKTX is trading at 20x earnings, a 56% 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 MKTX on valuation relative to its sector.
MKTX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $164.8 | 0.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $154.1 | 7.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $158.5 | 4.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $180.6 | 8.5% below |
| 200 week MA | $219.8 | 25% below |
MKTX has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 25% 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's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 46% above its 200-week average.
MKTX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $375.0 | $573.1 | +53% |
| 2021 | $573.1 | $410.7 | -28% |
| 2022 | $410.7 | $280.9 | -32% |
| 2023 | $280.9 | $292.9 | +4.3% |
| 2024 | $292.9 | $229.0 | -22% |
| 2025 | $229.0 | $182.9 | -20% |
| 2026 YTD | $182.9 | $165.2 | -9.7% |
MKTX has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's down 9.7% 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 MKTX on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.