Morgan Stanley reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings as volatile markets drove a sharp increase in equity trading and helped lift firmwide revenue.
The bank generated $20.3 billion in net revenue and $4.9 billion in net income, equivalent to $3.03 per diluted share.
Return on tangible common equity reached 22.6%.
Equity-trading revenue climbed 41% from a year earlier to $5.8 billion, benefiting from elevated client activity during a volatile period for global markets.
Fixed-income trading moved in the opposite direction, falling 7.3% to about $2.01 billion.
Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management business also delivered record revenue and added $232 billion in net new assets, including $80 billion in fee-based flows.
Across wealth and investment management, client assets reached approximately $10.5 trillion.
Investment-banking revenue increased about 2% to $2.16 billion.
The results underline how market volatility can produce sharply different outcomes across Wall Street businesses.
Rapid moves in equities, interest rates and geopolitical risk increased trading opportunities, but the same environment weighed on portions of fixed income and dealmaking.
Morgan Stanley’s diversified model helped offset those differences, with wealth management providing another source of revenue and asset growth.
For investors, the next question is whether unusually strong equity-trading activity can persist and whether investment banking accelerates enough to provide additional growth as market conditions evolve.
