Electronic signs at Morgan Stanley's headquarters in New York, on March 4, 2021.Mark Lennihan/The Associated Press
Morgan Stanley’s MS-N second-quarter profit beat expectations on Tuesday, driven by a surge in investment banking and trading revenues that overcame muted results in wealth management.
The bank joined other Wall Street lenders, including Bank of America and JPMorgan in reporting higher investment banking revenue, fuelled by growing confidence in the U.S. economy that prompted companies to raise more money and strike deals.
Morgan Stanley shares rose almost 2 per cent, reversing earlier losses, as CEO Ted Pick expressed confidence in its dealmaking prospects. He said the bank is on track to reaching its goal of a 30 per cent pre-tax margin in the wealth business, a key performance target.
Institutional securities revenue grew 23 per cent in the quarter to $7 billion, buoyed by investment banking revenue, which soared 51 per cent to $1.62 billion.
“We’re in the early stages of a multiyear investment banking-led cycle,” Pick told analysts on a conference call.
Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya reinforced his view, saying “pipelines are healthy and diverse, dialogs are active, and markets are open.”
Equity underwriting revenue jumped 56 per cent to $352 million, driven by a rebound in initial public offerings and private stock sales, while fixed income underwriting surged 71 per cent to $675 million.
Advisory revenues climbed 30 per cent to $592 million as the company closed more deals.
Pick was optimistic about Morgan Stanley’s equity trading business, citing a key milestone of revenue exceeding $3 billion, growing 18 per cent from a year earlier.
The company is investing in trading in Asia and the U.K., he said, adding that macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties are creating opportunities for clients.
Revenue growth in wealth management slowed to 2 per cent in the second quarter, compared with a 16 per cent jump a year earlier. Net new assets came in at $36.4 billion, below last year’s $89.5 billion.
Net income rose to $3.1 billion, or $1.82 per share, in the three months ended June 30, from $2.2 billion, or $1.24 per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected $1.65, according to LSEG.
Morgan Stanley said it would raise its quarterly dividend to $0.925 per share, up 7.5 cents. Dividend payments were the bank’s highest-priority use of capital, Pick said.
Analysts were generally upbeat on the results, although some underscored weaker growth in wealth.
“Morgan Stanley’s strong Q2 results were primarily driven by an industry-wide rebound in investment banking activity, while wealth and asset management remained steady contributors on the back of a robust equities market,” said Mike Taiano, senior analyst at Moody’s Ratings. The earnings were a “tale of two segments,” with impressive results in institutional securities offset by a mixed performance in wealth, UBS analyst Brennan Hawken wrote.
Wealth management flourished under Morgan Stanley’s former CEO James Gorman, generating stable revenue from fees when markets were volatile. He set a target of managing $10 trillion in client assets, which stood at $7.2 trillion in the second quarter.
Morgan Stanley executives told analysts the wealth unit is growing within the bank’s expected range of 5 per cent to 7 per cent annually, even as net asset inflows slowed.
While the bank is not considering acquisitions in the short term, it could consider opportunities in two to four years, Pick said.
Goldman Sachs GS-N, JPMorgan Chase and Citi also reported robust investment banking revenue.