(Reuters) -Morgan Stanley’s profit increased in the fourth quarter, fueled by a wave of dealmaking and stock sales that drove its revenue to a full-year record.
Investment banking fees gained from a surge in mergers and acquisitions as sentiment was boosted by a strong U.S. economy, interest-rate cuts and expectations of lighter regulation under incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We are executing against four pillars – strategy, culture, financial strength and growth – that support our integrated firm, creating long-term value for our shareholders,” CEO Ted Pick said, citing growth in investment banking and wealth management.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) garnered record net revenue of $61.8 billion for 2024. Busier activity across geographies, notably in Asia and the Americas, lifted its equity trading revenue by 22% to a record.
Its quarterly investment banking revenue rose 25% to $1.64 billion, echoing results at rivals Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, which also reported stronger profit on Wednesday.
Its earnings grew to $3.7 billion, or $2.22 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $1.5 billion, or 85 cents per share, a year earlier.
The bank also benefited from easier comparisons with last year, when it took certain one-time charges to refill a government deposit insurance fund and to settle a government probe.
Shares of the investment bank were up 1.1% before the bell.
Globally, investment banking revenue jumped 26% to $86.80 billion in 2024, according to data from Dealogic. Wall Street CEOs and dealmakers expect more large deals to be approved under the Trump administration than his predecessor Joe Biden.
Investment banks also cashed in on rallying equities, which encouraged initial public offerings and follow-on stock sales, while lower borrowing costs led companies to issue bonds.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
