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Morgan Stanley
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
Strong business, analysts more pessimistic than the record
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2 of 5 met · composite in line with peers
Business quality, valuation against the sector, and position in the 52-week range — whether they line up or not.
Weak fundamentals
2 signals unavailable
Profitability
2/4
Debt & liquidity
1/3
Efficiency
0/2
Revenue growth of 14.4% outpaces the sector median of 7.9% by +81%, and EPS growth of 28.4% runs +51% above the median 18.8% — two numbers that place Morgan Stanley well ahead of most Financials peers on the growth axis. The last reported quarter came in at EPS of $3.46, beating consensus by nearly 20%, and the beat rate over eight quarters has been strong, so the realized record sits above what analysts have tended to model. That is the unusual direction here: consensus has leaned pessimistic against a track record that keeps clearing the bar, and the three-year EPS CAGR per SEC filings confirms the pattern. Valuation sits near the sector median on both P/E at 17.4× versus 17.4× and P/B at 3.1× versus 2.9×, so the market is not pricing in a premium for that growth advantage. The F-Score of 3/9 is the one cautionary note — efficiency and leverage signals are weak even as the top-line momentum holds.
| Ticker | Name | F-Score | ROE | Revenue YoY | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXP | American Express | 4/9 | 34% |
Quarter-by-quarter classification · a retrospective read by the current logic · not a price forecast
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice. The method did not see these quarters in real time; this is the current logic applied to past reports.
The market prices in earnings growth; analyst sentiment is strengthening; has mostly beaten consensus.
Price against next year's expected earnings. The forward P/E already carries analyst optimism — read it alongside the “Versus consensus” line.
A forward P/E below the current one means the market expects earnings to grow; above it, to fall. The historical growth is realized figures from SEC filings, not a forecast.
The three-month change in the share of positive analyst ratings. This is sentiment, not an earnings-estimate revision, and not a call to act.
Revenue and margins in the next quarterly 10-Q will show whether the profitability signals in the F-Score hold. Re-run the MS analysis once it is published.
The full MS annual report on SEC EDGAR has the risk factors, the management discussion (MD&A), and the disclosures that numbers alone do not capture.
The same-sector table, where available, is an alphabetical sample with no ranking. Pick 2-3 companies yourself and line up P/E, margin, and F-Score: a single number only means something in its industry context.
Steps you can check yourself, based on the figures in this brief.
Piotroski F-Score: nine binary tests of financial strength from the annual report. A ✓ marks a test passed, a dot (·) a test failed.
Over 4 years: ——208.74—
Over 4 years: -10%+1%+14%+14%
The context on the right shows how each figure compares with the sector median. The trend below tracks the change over recent fiscal years.
Beat consensus in 8 of 8 recent quarters — the company clears estimates regularly (consensus is often set conservatively).
Last quarter's EPS against consensus, plus the estimated date of the next report.
| +6% |
| — |
| BAC | Bank of America | 5/9 | 10% | +7% | — |
| BLK | BlackRock | 3/9 | 11% | +19% | 29% |
| C | Citigroup | 3/9 | 7% | +6% | — |
| CB | Chubb | 6/9 | 15% | +7% | — |
| GS | Goldman Sachs | 5/9 | 14% | +9% | — |
| JPM | JPMorgan Chase | 3/9 | 16% | +3% | — |
| MA | Mastercard | 7/9 | 210% | +16% | 58% |
| MS | Morgan Stanley | 3/9 | 16% | +14% | — |
| PGR | Progressive | 6/9 | 40% | +16% | — |
| SCHW | Charles Schwab | 5/9 | 18% | +22% | — |
| SPGI | S&P Global | 7/9 | 14% | +8% | 42% |
| USB | U.S. Bancorp | 7/9 | 12% | +4% | — |
| V | Visa | 5/9 | 64% | +11% | 60% |
| WFC | Wells Fargo | 3/9 | 12% | +2% | — |
A sample of 15 companies in the sector including the target, alphabetical, unranked. Data from the latest SEC annual reports.
Rule-based classification of fundamentals against the sector. Not a price forecast and not investment advice.
A simplified retrospective read: no analyst forecast (not available historically); the source is the annual report as of the date, so neighbouring quarters can rest on the same data. Quarters with the same classification in a row are merged into one row — each row is one change in the read, not a separate quarter. One ticker is an illustration of the classification logic, not statistics. How we calculate →
The last few quarters are recent context, not a fixed rate. Consensus for near quarters is set low, so companies clear it routinely; over long horizons the forecasts run the other way, too high.
A description of what the market and analysts expect. Not a price forecast and not investment advice. Analyst forecasts run systematically optimistic over long horizons — read them with that discount.