MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has a slight edge over UPST overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
UPST
Upstart Holdings, Inc.
UPST 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.
UPST Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
UPST's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like UPST.
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.
UPST PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $19.15 | — |
| Cheap | 30x | $18.54 | -3.2% |
| Current | 31x | $19.15 | — |
| Fair | 75x | $46.41 | +142% |
| Expensive | 441x | $273 | +1328% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UPST 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 |
MS has the edge over UPST on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
UPST Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Decline | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect UPST's revenue to grow, but its earnings and profitability to decline. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $12.60 over the past year, up 29% from the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
UPST Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.04 | +67% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.62 | +158% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.52 | +$0.58 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.41 | +$1.14 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.45 | +$1.89 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.24 | +$2.14 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.06 | +$2.25 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.73 | +$1.30 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.44 | +$1.43 |
UPST's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.62 over the past year, against $1.66 in early 2022.
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 UPST on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
UPST Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $370.5M | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $364.7M | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $308.2M | +44% |
| Q4 2025 | $296.1M | +35% |
| Q3 2025 | $277.1M | +71% |
| Q2 2025 | $257.3M | +102% |
| Q1 2025 | $213.4M | +67% |
| Q4 2024 | $219M | +56% |
UPST has the edge over MS on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.7% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4% | +2.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | -2.4% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.4% | +8.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.5% | +36 points |
| Q2 2025 | 1.8% | +45 points |
| Q1 2025 | -2.1% | +51 points |
| Q4 2024 | -2.2% | +32 points |
UPST's operating margin was 9.7% last quarter, up 1.2 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 UPST on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
UPST Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$20.6M | +$102.1M |
| Q2 2026 | -$138.7M | -$18.4M |
| Q1 2026 | -$136M | -$122.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $108.4M | +$219.3M |
| Q3 2025 | -$122.7M | -168% |
| Q2 2025 | -$120.3M | -284% |
| Q1 2025 | -$13.5M | -126% |
| Q4 2024 | -$110.9M | +$33M |
UPST's free cash flow was −$187M over the past year, against −$367M the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like UPST.
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 UPST on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
UPST Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +14% | +15.7M shares |
| 1 year | +14% | +15.7M shares |
| 3 years | +49% | +41M shares |
| 5 years | +31% | +29.4M shares |
| Available history | +771% | +111M shares |
UPST has 125M diluted shares, up 14% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $100.1M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | $27.8M |
| Q3 2022 | $25M |
| Q4 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.
UPST Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -5.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -7.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -9.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -11.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -39.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | -7.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2022 | -4.5x | Net Cash |
UPST 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).
UPST Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 30.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 5.5 | Oversold |
UPST's weekly RSI is 30 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 5 (oversold).
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 UPST on valuation relative to its sector.
UPST PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | UPST | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 31x | 13x | 137% above |
| PE % | 18 | 61 | 43 pts below |
UPST is trading at 31x earnings, a 137% 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 UPST on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
UPST Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $22.8 | 16% below |
| 20 week MA | $26.7 | 28% below |
| 50 week MA | $31.7 | 40% below |
| 100 week MA | $44.8 | 57% below |
| 200 week MA | $38.6 | 50% below |
UPST is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 50% below 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 UPST on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
UPST Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $44.1 | $44.0 | -0.3% |
| 2021 | $44.0 | $148.1 | +237% |
| 2022 | $148.1 | $13.2 | -91% |
| 2023 | $13.2 | $40.9 | +210% |
| 2024 | $40.9 | $68.0 | +66% |
| 2025 | $68.0 | $47.5 | -30% |
| 2026 YTD | $47.5 | $19.2 | -60% |
UPST's yearly returns have swung widely, from +237% in 2021 to −91% in 2022. It's down 60% so far in 2026.