MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
STEP
StepStone Group Inc.
STEP has a slight edge over MS overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
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.
STEP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Weak | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
STEP's revenue is currently healthy, but its profitability is weak. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like STEP.
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.
STEP PE Valuation
STEP has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over STEP on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
STEP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for STEP, but weaker profitability.
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 STEP on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
STEP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.83 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$3.91 | +$4.22 |
| Q2 2026 | -$7.70 | -$4.49 |
| Q1 2026 | -$6.78 | -$4.26 |
| Q4 2025 | -$7.07 | -$5.39 |
| Q3 2025 | -$8.13 | -1433% |
| Q2 2025 | -$3.21 | -517% |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.52 | -377% |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.68 | -285% |
STEP is still losing money, but far less than before: $3.91 per share over the past year, against $8.13 at its worst in late 2025.
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's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $20.3B last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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 STEP on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
STEP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $773.1M | +70% |
| Q2 2026 | $378.9M | +4% |
| Q1 2026 | $588.6M | +56% |
| Q4 2025 | $586.5M | +73% |
| Q3 2025 | $454.2M | +67% |
| Q2 2025 | $364.3M | +95% |
| Q1 2025 | $377.7M | +5.9% |
| Q3 2024 | $271.7M | +42% |
STEP's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $773M last quarter, up 70% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -19% | +140 points |
| Q2 2026 | -54% | -38 points |
| Q1 2026 | -3.5% | -1.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | -38% | +68 points |
| Q3 2025 | -159% | -178 points |
| Q2 2025 | -16% | -42 points |
| Q1 2025 | -1.6% | -26 points |
| Q4 2024 | -106% | N/A |
STEP's operating margin was −19% last quarter, up 140 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 has the edge over STEP on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
STEP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$362.3M | -2377% |
| Q2 2026 | -$458.1M | -1114% |
| Q1 2026 | -$24M | +$45.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $26.7M | -1.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $15.9M | -70% |
| Q2 2025 | $45.2M | -8.9% |
| Q1 2025 | -$69.2M | -1131% |
| Q4 2024 | $27M | +28% |
STEP's free cash flow was −$818M over the past year, against $19M the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like STEP.
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 STEP on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
STEP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +298K shares |
| 1 year | +4.8% | +3.7M shares |
| 3 years | +24% | +16.1M shares |
| 5 years | +79% | +36.4M shares |
| Available history | +181% | +53.1M shares |
STEP has 82M diluted shares, up 4.8% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $19.2M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
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.
STEP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2023 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2023 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2023 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2022 | 2.1x | Moderate |
STEP has more cash than debt. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like STEP.
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).
STEP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 46.3 | Neutral |
STEP's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 46 (neutral).
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.
STEP PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | STEP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 13x | — |
STEP has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
STEP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $44.5 | 6.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $45.7 | 4% above |
| 50 week MA | $51.3 | 7.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $55.0 | 14% below |
| 200 week MA | $45.8 | 3.6% above |
STEP's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 3.6% 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 STEP on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
STEP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $25.0 | $36.9 | +48% |
| 2021 | $36.9 | $41.7 | +13% |
| 2022 | $41.7 | $25.9 | -38% |
| 2023 | $25.9 | $31.8 | +23% |
| 2024 | $31.8 | $59.9 | +88% |
| 2025 | $59.9 | $66.2 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $66.2 | $47.5 | -28% |
STEP has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 28% so far in 2026.