MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over PJT overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
PJT
PJT Partners Inc.
PJT's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
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.
PJT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
PJT's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like PJT.
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 PJT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PJT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $92.56 | -39% |
| Forward | 18x | $151 | — |
| Fair | 24x | $134 | -11% |
| Current | 27x | $151 | — |
| Expensive | 31x | $175 | +15% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PJT's PE is in its fair range at 27x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
PJT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PJT, with profitability improving.
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 PJT on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PJT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.24 | +46% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.63 | -13% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.95 | +2.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.50 | -3% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.15 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.50 | +9.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.82 | +0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.67 | +1.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.90 | -3.2% |
PJT's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $5.63 over the past year, against $7.89 in mid-2021.
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 PJT 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 PJT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PJT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $385.1M | -14% |
| Q2 2026 | $486.3M | +20% |
| Q1 2026 | $418.2M | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $535.2M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $447.1M | +37% |
| Q2 2025 | $406.9M | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $324.5M | -1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $477.3M | +45% |
PJT's revenue is growing: $385M last quarter, down 14% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | +1.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 24% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 22% | +4.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 20% | +1.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | 0 points |
| Q4 2024 | 23% | +4.4 points |
PJT's operating margin was 18% last quarter, down 3.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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.
PJT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $267M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $226.4M | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $56M | +$133.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $138.6M | -29% |
| Q3 2025 | $240.9M | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $178.9M | -7.3% |
| Q1 2025 | -$77.9M | -$38.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $195.3M | +58% |
PJT has the edge over MS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
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.
PJT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -12% | -3.4M shares |
| 1 year | -12% | -3.4M shares |
| 3 years | -5.3% | -1.4M shares |
| 5 years | -40% | -16.8M shares |
| Available history | -22% | -7.3M shares |
PJT has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $53.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $61.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $4.7M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $63.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $127.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $49.5M |
PJT spent $140M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 42% from the year before.
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.
PJT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
PJT has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
PJT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 32.9 | Neutral |
PJT's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 33 (neutral).
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 PJT on valuation relative to its sector.
PJT PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | PJT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 13x | 106% above |
| PE % | 62 | 63 | 1 pt below |
PJT is trading at 27x earnings, a 106% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
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 PJT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
PJT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $144.4 | 4.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $159.0 | 4.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $158.2 | 4.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $160.3 | 5.6% below |
| 200 week MA | $128.9 | 17% above |
PJT's trend is mixed: it's above two of its five weekly moving averages, and 17% above its 200-week average.
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 PJT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PJT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $44.8 | $77.7 | +74% |
| 2021 | $77.7 | $75.0 | -3.6% |
| 2022 | $75.0 | $76.1 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | $76.1 | $101.9 | +34% |
| 2024 | $101.9 | $159.6 | +57% |
| 2025 | $159.6 | $172.3 | +8% |
| 2026 YTD | $172.3 | $151.3 | -12% |
PJT has finished higher in five of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 12% so far in 2026.