MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over UBSI overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
UBSI
United Bankshares, Inc.
UBSI offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
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.
UBSI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
UBSI'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 UBSI.
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.
UBSI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 12x | $43.13 | -9.9% |
| Forward | 12x | $47.86 | — |
| Fair | 13x | $47.68 | -0.4% |
| Current | 13x | $47.86 | — |
| Expensive | 15x | $53.85 | +13% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UBSI has the edge over MS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
UBSI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for UBSI, 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 UBSI on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
UBSI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.90 | +5.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.69 | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.67 | +30% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.57 | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.27 | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.05 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.83 | +6.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.69 | +2.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.74 | +1.1% |
UBSI's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $3.69 over the past year, up 21% from the year before, and higher year over year for eight quarters in a row. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
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 UBSI 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.
UBSI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $325.1M | +0.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $323.8M | +5.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $316.6M | +9.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $318.4M | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $323.3M | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $306M | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $289.6M | +14% |
| Q4 2024 | $261.9M | -0.5% |
UBSI's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $325M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 50% | -1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 51% | +1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 49% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 50% | +4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 51% | +5.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 50% | +4.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 37% | -5.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 46% | +6.6 points |
UBSI has the edge over MS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
UBSI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $162.7M | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $98M | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $156M | +34% |
| Q4 2025 | $133.5M | 0% |
| Q3 2025 | $146.4M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $85.2M | +46% |
| Q1 2025 | $116.1M | -2.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $133.5M | -16% |
UBSI 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.
UBSI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -1.4M shares |
| 1 year | -3.5% | -4.9M shares |
| 3 years | +1.6% | +2.1M shares |
| 5 years | +6.3% | +8.1M shares |
| Available history | +35% | +35.5M shares |
UBSI has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $98.8M |
| Q2 2026 | $66M |
| Q1 2026 | $70.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $47.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $26.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $32.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $20.3M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
UBSI spent $283M buying back its own shares over the past year, about four times what it spent 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.
UBSI Net Leverage
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).
UBSI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 57.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.1 | Neutral |
UBSI's weekly RSI is 58 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (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.
UBSI PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | UBSI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 0.4% below |
| PE % | 50 | 63 | 13 pts below |
UBSI has the edge over MS on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
UBSI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $47.4 | 1% above |
| 20 week MA | $47.5 | 0.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $44.3 | 8% above |
| 100 week MA | $40.3 | 19% above |
| 200 week MA | $37.4 | 28% above |
UBSI 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.
UBSI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $38.4 | $31.9 | -17% |
| 2021 | $31.9 | $36.0 | +13% |
| 2022 | $36.0 | $40.5 | +12% |
| 2023 | $40.5 | $37.6 | -7.2% |
| 2024 | $37.6 | $37.9 | +0.9% |
| 2025 | $37.9 | $39.5 | +4.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $39.5 | $47.9 | +21% |
UBSI has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.