MMarketMath

MS

StalwartQuality: Medium (57/100)2 red flags

Morgan Stanley · Financials · Investment Banking & Brokerage

$214.08

52w 145.66 – 232.25

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$336.2B

P/E

19.9

P/FCF

FCF yield

-5.3%

ROE

15.1%

Shldr yield

2.0%

div 2.0% + bb 0.0%

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 1.7× across 11 years, MS would trade near $1/share (25th–75th percentile: $1–$8); it trades at 246.9× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+9.6%

Rev 5y

+7.7%

Rev 10y

+7.2%

EPS 5y

+9.6%

EPS 10y

+13.4%

FCF 5y

FCF 10y

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2007: $26.5B
2008: $22.1B
2009: $23.3B
2010: $31.2B
2011: $32.2B
2012: $26.2B
2013: $32.5B
2014: $34.3B
2015: $35.2B
2016: $34.6B
2017: $37.9B
2018: $40.1B
2019: $41.5B
2020: $48.8B
2021: $59.8B
2022: $53.7B
2023: $54.1B
2024: $61.8B
2025: $70.6B
$0$20.0B$40.0B$60.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Net income

2007: $3.2B
2008: $1.7B
2009: $1.3B
2010: $4.7B
2011: $4.1B
2012: $68.0M
2013: $2.9B
2014: $3.5B
2015: $6.1B
2016: $6.0B
2017: $6.1B
2018: $8.7B
2019: $9.0B
2020: $11.0B
2021: $15.0B
2022: $11.0B
2023: $9.1B
2024: $13.4B
2025: $16.9B
$0$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Free cash flow

2007: −$22.2B
2008: $73.4B
2009: −$46.0B
2010: $40.6B
2011: $15.9B
2012: $24.5B
2013: $35.0B
2014: $1.1B
2015: −$4.5B
2016: $5.4B
2017: −$4.5B
2018: $7.3B
2019: $40.8B
2020: −$25.2B
2021: $34.0B
2022: −$6.4B
2023: −$33.5B
2024: $1.4B
2025: −$17.9B
$0$50.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2007: 1.0B
2008: 1.1B
2009: 1.2B
2010: 1.4B
2011: 1.7B
2012: 1.9B
2013: 2.0B
2014: 2.0B
2015: 2.0B
2016: 1.9B
2017: 1.8B
2018: 1.7B
2019: 1.6B
2020: 1.6B
2021: 1.8B
2022: 1.7B
2023: 1.6B
2024: 1.6B
2025: 1.6B
0500.0M1.0B1.5B
07
11
15
19
23

Margins

-200%0%200%07101316192225
Net marginFCF margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2007: $1.7B
2008: $2.3B
2009: $1.8B
2010: $1.5B
2011: $1.2B
2012: $696.0M
2013: $1.2B
2014: $904.0M
2015: $1.5B
2016: $1.7B
2017: $2.1B
2018: $2.4B
2019: $2.6B
2020: $2.7B
2021: $4.2B
2022: $5.4B
2023: $5.8B
2024: $6.1B
2025: $6.6B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$100.0B$200.0B$300.0B07101316192225
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q2'23: $13.5B
Q3'23: $13.3B
Q4'23: $12.9B
Q1'24: $15.1B
Q2'24: $15.0B
Q3'24: $15.4B
Q4'24: $16.2B
Q1'25: $17.7B
Q2'25: $16.8B
Q3'25: $18.2B
Q4'25: $17.9B
Q1'26: $20.6B
Q2'26: $21.3B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
23
24
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q2'23: $2.2B
Q3'23: $2.4B
Q4'23: $1.5B
Q1'24: $3.4B
Q2'24: $3.1B
Q3'24: $3.2B
Q4'24: $3.7B
Q1'25: $4.3B
Q2'25: $3.5B
Q3'25: $4.6B
Q4'25: $4.4B
Q1'26: $5.6B
Q2'26: $5.6B
$0$2.0B$4.0B
23
24
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q2'26$21.3B+27.1%$5.6B+57.7%3.46−$2.7B
Q1'26$20.6B+16.0%$5.6B+29.0%3.43−$7.1B
Q4'25 *$17.9B+10.3%$4.4B+18.4%2.68−$2.4B
Q3'25$18.2B+18.5%$4.6B+44.6%2.80−$3.3B
Q2'25$16.8B+11.8%$3.5B+15.1%2.13$11.8B
Q1'25$17.7B+17.2%$4.3B+26.5%2.60−$24.0B
Q4'24 *$16.2B+25.8%$3.7B+144.8%2.23$11.8B
Q3'24$15.4B+15.9%$3.2B+32.4%1.88−$17.3B
Q2'24$15.0B+11.6%$3.1B+41.0%1.82$2.5B
Q1'24$15.1B+4.3%$3.4B+14.5%2.02$4.4B
Q4'23 *$12.9B+1.2%$1.5B−32.2%0.86−$17.8B
Q3'23$13.3B+2.2%$2.4B−8.5%1.38$3.7B
Q2'23$13.5B+2.5%$2.2B−12.5%1.24−$9.7B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+9.6%+7.7%+7.2%+5.6%
Operating cash flow−65.8%−49.3%+2.3%−22.1%
Free cash flow−65.8%−49.3%+2.3%−22.1%
EPS (diluted)+18.4%+9.6%+13.4%+9.5%
Equity+3.7%+1.9%+4.0%+4.6%
LT debt+13.5%+9.9%+8.3%+3.9%
Diluted shares−2.4%−0.4%−2.0%+0.8%
Stock price+40.2%+19.2%+24.4%+21.0%

$100, 3 years ago

$276vs $176 in SPY

40.2% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$240vs $181 in SPY

19.2% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$885vs $412 in SPY

24.4% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$1,735vs $813 in SPY

21.0% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$5.25

$196.1B created / $37.3B retained

Last 10 years

$3.75

$250.2B created / $66.6B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

-3.9%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

MC vs 10× OCF

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

SBC / FCF

Owner earnings

−$19.8B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

-5.9%

Share count 5y

+2.5%

per year; negative = buybacks

Checklist

8 of 19 checks pass · 42%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

4/6

  • Revenue growth

    7.7% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    9.6% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • FCF growth

    · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    na
  • Revenue rises consistently

    8 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    pass
  • FCF consistently positive

    5 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    fail
  • Profitable every year

    10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    -49.3% vs 7.7% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

2/5

  • Net margin

    23.9% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    · ≥ 10%

    na
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    15.1% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    -3.9% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • FCF margin

    -25.3% · ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF −$17.9B vs NI $16.9B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    fail

Balance Sheet

1/3

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    na
  • Cash cushion

    33% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    3.06 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    fail
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $111.6B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

0/2

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    2.5% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    fail
  • Stock comp restrained

    · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    na
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    na
  • Repurchases are a habit

    0 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    fail

Valuation Discipline

1/3

  • FCF yield

    -5.3% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    19.9 · P/E ≤ 25

    pass
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    na
  • Shareholder yield

    2.0% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    fail

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Negative free cash flow

Operating cash flow did not cover capital expenditures in the latest fiscal year.

Shareholder dilution

Diluted share count has grown by more than 2% per year over ~5 years.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
202570,64516,86110.21-17,889-17,8896,5931,926111,695341,681111,6321,592
202461,76113,3907.951,3621,3626,1381,622105,386284,307104,5111,611
202354,1439,0875.18-33,536-33,5365,7631,70989,232260,54499,0381,646
202253,66811,0296.15-6,397-6,3975,4011,875128,127233,867100,1411,713
202159,75515,0348.0333,97133,9714,1712,085127,725227,363105,4411,814
202048,75710,9966.46-25,231-25,2312,7391,312105,654213,388101,7811,624
201941,5389,0425.1940,77340,7732,6271,15382,171190,06081,5491,640
201840,1078,7484.737,3057,3052,37592087,196188,11780,2461,738
201737,9456,1113.07-4,505-4,5052,0851,02680,395191,06377,3911,821
201634,6315,9792.925,3835,3831,7461,13677,360164,77576,0501,887
201535,1556,1272.90-4,463-4,4631,4551,10485,552153,76875,1821,953
201434,2753,4671.601,0861,0869041,26087,591152,77270,9001,971
201332,4932,9321.3635,00935,0094756911,18059,883153,57565,9211,957
201226,17868-0.0224,54824,54846922789146,904169,57162,1091,919
201132,2274,1101.2315,89215,8928343171,30047,312184,23462,0491,675
201031,2304,7032.6340,61440,6141,1563171,26047,615192,45757,2111,411
200923,2801,346-0.77-45,951-45,9511,732501,26531,991193,37446,6881,185
200822,1401,7071.3973,41773,4171,2271,1171,83878,65451,5361,073
200726,4783,2092.90-22,249-22,2491,2194381,92725,59832,8971,025

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.