Morgan Stanley on Wednesday posted record sales and profits in the second quarter, driven by a 69% jump in equity trading revenue.
Here’s what the company reported:
Earnings per share: $3.46 vs. LSEG forecast $2.94 Revenue: $21.35 billion vs. $19.64 billion forecast
The company said profit rose 58% from a year earlier to $5.58 billion. Sales increased 27% to $21.35 billion.
Like peers Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co., a big jump in stock trading led to a big boost to results in the quarter. JPMorgan and Goldman exceeded estimates for stock trading by a combined $4.4 billion, and their investment banking businesses exceeded estimates by a combined $1 billion, thanks to increased activity fueled by the global artificial intelligence boom.
Morgan Stanley’s equity trading revenue hit a record $6.3 billion, about $1.9 billion more than expected by analysts surveyed by Street Account. The firm cited the strength of its overall equity franchise and “notable strength in Asia,” another recurring theme on Wall Street as AI trade expands globally.
Fixed income trading, on the other hand, rose 13% to $2.46 billion on strong credit trading, roughly in line with consensus expectations.
“Active markets and consistent execution across all three regions have led to exceptional results for our combined company,” CEO Ted Pick said in a release.
Investment banking revenue rose 58% to $2.44 billion, about $270 million more than analysts expected, due to the completion of mergers, initial public offerings and related stock transactions, and increased debt issuance.
Revenue at the company’s massive wealth management division rose 14% to $8.86 billion, about $146 million more than expected, as a rise in the stock market and growth in deposits and loans boosted asset levels.
Revenue at the company’s investment management division, the company’s smallest division, rose about 6% to $1.65 billion, largely in line with expectations, due to higher asset values.
Morgan Stanley shares rose about 1% in premarket trading.
Analysts will be curious to see what Mr. Pick has to say about the outlook for the rest of the year as geopolitical tensions remain high. Morgan Stanley is scheduled to hold a conference call with analysts at 8:30 a.m. ET.
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