MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has a slight edge over UCB overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
UCB
United Community Banks, Inc.
UCB 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.
UCB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
UCB'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 UCB.
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.
UCB PE Valuation
UCB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
UCB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for UCB, 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 UCB on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
UCB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.37 | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.05 | +39% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.73 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.62 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.52 | +65% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.20 | +43% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.11 | +38% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.04 | +32% |
| Q3 2024 | $1.53 | -30% |
UCB earned $3.05 per share over the past year, up 39% from the year before.
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 UCB 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.
UCB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $279.3M | +7.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $276.5M | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $278.4M | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $276.8M | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $260.2M | +6.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $247.7M | +3.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $250.9M | +39% |
| Q3 2024 | $217.3M | -7.4% |
UCB's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $279M last quarter, up 7.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 53% | +15 points |
| Q1 2026 | 39% | +2.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 43% | +15 points |
| Q2 2025 | 39% | +3.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 37% | +3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 38% | +32 points |
| Q3 2024 | 28% | +2 points |
UCB 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.
UCB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $121.4M | +43% |
| Q1 2026 | $62.4M | -34% |
| Q4 2025 | $59.7M | -58% |
| Q3 2025 | $117.7M | +$119.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $84.7M | -2.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $94.3M | +26% |
| Q4 2024 | $142.6M | +1588% |
| Q3 2024 | -$2.2M | -103% |
UCB 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 UCB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
UCB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -281K shares |
| 1 year | -0.8% | -990K shares |
| 3 years | +3.9% | +4.6M shares |
| 5 years | +38% | +33M shares |
| Available history | +51% | +40.7M shares |
UCB has 120M diluted shares, down 0.8% from a year ago, with $67M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $37.1M |
| Q4 2025 | $30.3M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | $10M |
UCB spent $67M buying back its own shares over the past year.
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.
UCB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | 0.4x | Very low |
UCB 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).
UCB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 78.3 | Neutral |
UCB's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 78 (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 UCB on valuation relative to its sector.
UCB PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | UCB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 31x | 13x | 137% above |
| PE % | 100 | 63 | 37 pts above |
UCB 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.
UCB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $35.5 | 5.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $35.5 | 4.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $34.0 | 9.6% above |
| 100 week MA | $32.1 | 16% above |
| 200 week MA | $29.8 | 25% above |
UCB 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.
UCB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $30.9 | $28.7 | -7.1% |
| 2021 | $28.7 | $34.4 | +20% |
| 2022 | $34.4 | $33.5 | -2.5% |
| 2023 | $33.5 | $29.3 | -13% |
| 2024 | $29.3 | $32.4 | +11% |
| 2025 | $32.4 | $32.3 | -0.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $32.3 | $37.3 | +15% |
UCB has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.