Morgan Stanley (MS) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats, Revenue Misses; Operating Cash Flow Turns Deeply Negative

Morgan Stanley (MS) — Q4 2025 highlights

Morgan Stanley reported total revenues of $17.9 billion, up 10.3% year-over-year. Diluted earnings per share rose to $2.68, a 20.9% increase that topped the consensus EPS estimate of $2.51.

Gross profit: $9.7 billion (+10.8% YoY)

Operating profit: $5.8 billion (+17.4% YoY)

Net income attributable to common shareholders: $4.3 billion (+19.3% YoY)

Revenue came in slightly below expectations, falling short of the consensus revenue estimate of $18.3 billion. While top-line growth was solid, the company showed a notable weakness in operating cash flow.

Operating cash flow: negative $3.3 billion (down 128.2% YoY)

Capital expenditures (purchases of property, plant and equipment): $713 million (down 18.9% YoY)

Cash and cash equivalents: $103.7 billion (down 1.6% YoY)

Total liabilities: $1.25 trillion (up 13.0% YoY)

Key takeaways for Morgan Stanley (MS):

Profitability strengthened, with double-digit growth in gross profit, operating profit, and net income.

EPS outperformed the estimate, supporting earnings momentum.

Revenue missed the estimate, suggesting mixed top-line execution despite margin gains.

Operating cash flow swung deeply negative, representing a material cash-generation concern.

The firm maintains a large liquidity position of $103.7 billion while liabilities expanded to $1.25 trillion.

Note: This financials data is sourced from a third-party provider and has not been independently verified by Quiver.

Morgan Stanley Insider Trading Activity

Morgan Stanley insiders have traded $MS stock on the open market 8 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 8 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $MS stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

EDWARD PICK (Chairman and CEO) sold 100,000 shares for an estimated $16,434,440
ANDREW M SAPERSTEIN (Co-President) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 43,566 shares for an estimated $6,141,714.
DANIEL A SIMKOWITZ (Co-President) sold 29,000 shares for an estimated $4,092,627
SHARON YESHAYA (Chief Financial Officer) sold 25,583 shares for an estimated $3,576,705
CHARLES A SMITH (Chief Risk Officer) sold 20,000 shares for an estimated $2,805,918
MICHAEL A. PIZZI (Head Technology & Operations) sold 18,000 shares for an estimated $2,531,077
ERIC F GROSSMAN (Chief Legal/Admin Officer) sold 12,000 shares for an estimated $1,693,400

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

Morgan Stanley Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 1,063 institutional investors add shares of Morgan Stanley stock to their portfolio, and 921 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC added 6,985,642 shares (+62.4%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $1,110,437,652
FMR LLC added 3,971,617 shares (+19.1%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $631,328,238
MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT LLC added 3,011,234 shares (+589.3%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $478,665,756
KINGSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS TEXAS, LLC removed 2,436,717 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $387,340,534
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO removed 1,746,073 shares (-4.5%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $277,555,764
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA removed 1,542,442 shares (-16.5%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $245,186,580
BNP PARIBAS FINANCIAL MARKETS added 1,470,190 shares (+81.8%) to their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $233,701,402

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

Morgan Stanley Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $MS stock 7 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 4 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $MS stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR. has traded it 2 times. They made 2 purchases worth up to $30,000 on 11/18, 10/17 and 0 sales.
REPRESENTATIVE JULIE JOHNSON has traded it 2 times. They made 0 purchases and 2 sales worth up to $30,000 on 11/13, 08/14.
REPRESENTATIVE VAL T. HOYLE sold up to $15,000 on 09/23.
REPRESENTATIVE MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE has traded it 2 times. They made 2 purchases worth up to $30,000 on 09/11, 08/28 and 0 sales.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard.

Morgan Stanley Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $MS in the last several months. We have seen 6 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Barclays issued a "Overweight" rating on 01/05/2026
Wolfe Research issued a "Outperform" rating on 11/24/2025
Jefferies issued a "Buy" rating on 10/16/2025
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods issued a "Outperform" rating on 10/16/2025
Evercore ISI Group issued a "Outperform" rating on 10/16/2025
BMO Capital issued a "Outperform" rating on 10/03/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for Morgan Stanley, check out Quiver Quantitative's $MS forecast page.

Morgan Stanley Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $MS recently. We have seen 10 analysts offer price targets for $MS in the last 6 months, with a median target of $176.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Kian Abouhossein from JP Morgan set a target price of $162.0 on 01/08/2026
Jason Goldberg from Barclays set a target price of $219.0 on 01/05/2026
Christopher McGratty from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set a target price of $202.0 on 12/17/2025
Daniel Fannon from Jefferies set a target price of $186.0 on 10/16/2025
Mike Mayo from Wells Fargo set a target price of $177.0 on 10/16/2025
Keith Horowitz from Citigroup set a target price of $170.0 on 10/16/2025
Glenn Schorr from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $175.0 on 10/16/2025