MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over VALU overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
VALU
Value Line, Inc.
VALU trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
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.
VALU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
VALU's revenue and profitability are currently stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like VALU.
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.
VALU PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $33.31 | -18% |
| Fair | 19x | $39.26 | -3.6% |
| Current | 19x | $40.73 | — |
| Expensive | 25x | $52.04 | +28% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VALU 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.
VALU Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for VALU to show an outlook.
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 VALU on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VALU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.11 | -6.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.30 | +5% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.34 | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.26 | -3.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.26 | +6.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.19 | +8.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.28 | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.35 | +26% |
VALU's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.11 over the past year, against $2.88 in late 2021.
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 VALU 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 has the edge over VALU on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
VALU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $8.1M | -6.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $8M | -4.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.3M | -7.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.6M | -3.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.6M | -3.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.4M | -6.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $9M | -1.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.8M | -8% |
VALU's revenue has slid since its 2020 peak: $8M last quarter, down 6.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | -4.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2% | -9.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | -5.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | -2.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 17% | -3.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.9% | -6.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 17% | -7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 20% | -8.1 points |
VALU's operating margin was 13% last quarter, down 4.6 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'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.
VALU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.7M | -15% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.8M | -14% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.3M | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $3M | -2% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.6M | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.5M | +47% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.8M | -20% |
| Q4 2024 | $3M | +327% |
VALU 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 VALU on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
VALU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -14.8K shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -30.4K shares |
| 3 years | -0.5% | -48.3K shares |
| 5 years | -1.8% | -176K shares |
| Available history | -2.8% | -273K shares |
VALU has 9M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $100,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $62,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $647,000 |
| Q4 2025 | $160,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $59,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $179,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $96,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $1,000 |
VALU spent $969,000 buying back its own shares over the past year, up 189% from 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.
VALU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -3.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -4.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -7.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -6.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -4.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -4.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
VALU 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).
VALU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 56.2 | Neutral |
VALU's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 56 (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 VALU on valuation relative to its sector.
VALU PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | VALU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 13x | 48% above |
| PE % | 51 | 63 | 12 pts below |
VALU is trading at 19x earnings, a 48% 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.
VALU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $42.0 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $39.8 | 2.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $37.6 | 8.4% above |
| 100 week MA | $38.7 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $42.2 | 3.4% below |
VALU's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 3.4% 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 finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 4% so far in 2026.
VALU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $28.6 | $29.7 | +3.6% |
| 2021 | $29.7 | $47.6 | +60% |
| 2022 | $47.6 | $50.8 | +6.8% |
| 2023 | $50.8 | $48.8 | -4% |
| 2024 | $48.8 | $53.4 | +9.6% |
| 2025 | $53.4 | $38.1 | -29% |
| 2026 YTD | $38.1 | $40.7 | +7% |
VALU has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.