MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
ZETA
Zeta Global Holdings Corp.
ZETA has the 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.
ZETA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
ZETA's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
ZETA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 29x | $37.27 | — |
| Current | 248x | $37.27 | — |
| Cheap | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Fair | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Expensive | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ZETA 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.
ZETA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for ZETA, with profitability improving. 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.
ZETA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.27 | +748% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.15 | +$0.23 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.01 | +$0.14 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.10 | +$0.15 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.14 | +$0.24 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.08 | +$0.61 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.15 | +$0.72 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.25 | +$0.80 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.38 | +$0.82 |
ZETA has returned to profit: it earned $0.15 per share over the past year, after losing money 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'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 ZETA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ZETA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $492.7M | +46% |
| Q2 2026 | $442.8M | +44% |
| Q1 2026 | $396.3M | +50% |
| Q4 2025 | $394.6M | +25% |
| Q3 2025 | $337.2M | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $308.4M | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $264.4M | +36% |
| Q4 2024 | $314.7M | +50% |
ZETA has the edge over MS on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.3% | +6.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 3.8% | +5.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | -4.8% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 4.5% | +2.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.6% | +7.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | -1.7% | +10 points |
| Q1 2025 | -6.1% | +12 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.2% | +17 points |
ZETA's operating margin was 9.3% last quarter, up 6.7 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2020.
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.
ZETA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $88.3M | +68% |
| Q2 2026 | $64.4M | +62% |
| Q1 2026 | $46.7M | +46% |
| Q4 2025 | $60.9M | +72% |
| Q3 2025 | $52.4M | +78% |
| Q2 2025 | $39.7M | +63% |
| Q1 2025 | $32.1M | +70% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.4M | +66% |
ZETA 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 ZETA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
ZETA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.1% | +8M shares |
| 1 year | +19% | +42.2M shares |
| 3 years | +67% | +107M shares |
| 5 years | +417% | +213M shares |
| Available history | +712% | +232M shares |
ZETA has 265M diluted shares, up 19% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q3 2020 | — |
| 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.
ZETA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -3.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -4.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -14.1x | Net Cash |
ZETA 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).
ZETA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.3 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 75.8 | Neutral |
ZETA's weekly RSI is 70 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 76 (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.
ZETA PE vs Technology 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.
ZETA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $32.6 | 15% above |
| 20 week MA | $28.6 | 30% above |
| 50 week MA | $22.6 | 65% above |
| 100 week MA | $19.7 | 89% above |
| 200 week MA | $16.7 | 123% above |
ZETA 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.
ZETA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $8.27 | $8.40 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | $8.40 | $8.21 | -2.3% |
| 2023 | $8.21 | $8.82 | +7.4% |
| 2024 | $8.82 | $17.7 | +100% |
| 2025 | $17.7 | $20.7 | +17% |
| 2026 YTD | $20.7 | $37.3 | +80% |
ZETA has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.