MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over PMTS overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
PMTS
CPI Card Group Inc.
PMTS'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.
PMTS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
PMTS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like PMTS.
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 PMTS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PMTS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 7.6x | $25.16 | — |
| Cheap | 7.7x | $10.50 | -58% |
| Fair | 13x | $17.47 | -31% |
| Expensive | 18x | $24.54 | -2.5% |
| Current | 18x | $25.16 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PMTS's PE is in its expensive range at 18x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 7.6x 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.
PMTS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PMTS, 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 PMTS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PMTS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.32 | +142% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.37 | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.15 | +3.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.02 | -35% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.25 | -24% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.19 | -8.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.11 | -27% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.58 | +1.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.64 | -18% |
PMTS's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.37 over the past year, against $3.54 in mid-2023.
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 PMTS 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 has the edge over PMTS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PMTS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $158.4M | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $149.2M | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $147.1M | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $153.1M | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $138M | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $129.8M | +9.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $122.8M | +9.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $125.1M | +22% |
PMTS's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $158M last quarter, up 15% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.9% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 8% | +0.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.5% | -4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -0.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.4% | -4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.3% | -5.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +2.5 points |
PMTS's operating margin was 9.9% last quarter, about level with 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.
PMTS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $10.1M | +90% |
| Q2 2026 | $25.9M | +4762% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.1M | +3371% |
| Q4 2025 | $35.2M | +63% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.3M | -52% |
| Q2 2025 | $533K | +$6.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $292K | -96% |
| Q4 2024 | $21.6M | +89% |
PMTS 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 the edge over PMTS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
PMTS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.1% | +127K shares |
| 1 year | +2.6% | +313K shares |
| 3 years | +2.9% | +339K shares |
| 5 years | +3.1% | +367K shares |
| Available history | +8.7% | +970K shares |
PMTS has 12M diluted shares, up 2.6% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | $2.2M |
| Q2 2024 | $5.2M |
| Q1 2024 | $1.3M |
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.
PMTS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.0x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.1x | Elevated |
PMTS 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).
PMTS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.6 | Neutral |
PMTS's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (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 PMTS on valuation relative to its sector.
PMTS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | PMTS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 18x | 13x | 41% above |
| PE % | 84 | 63 | 21 pts above |
PMTS is trading at 18x earnings, a 41% 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's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 46% above its 200-week average.
PMTS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $25.3 | 0.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $24.5 | 2.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $19.2 | 31% above |
| 100 week MA | $20.7 | 21% above |
| 200 week MA | $22.9 | 9.8% above |
PMTS has the edge over MS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
PMTS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $0.82 | $4.25 | +418% |
| 2021 | $4.25 | $20.1 | +373% |
| 2022 | $20.1 | $35.1 | +75% |
| 2023 | $35.1 | $19.2 | -45% |
| 2024 | $19.2 | $31.9 | +66% |
| 2025 | $31.9 | $15.2 | -52% |
| 2026 YTD | $15.2 | $25.2 | +65% |
PMTS has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.