MORGAN STANLEY
For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Feb 21, 2025.
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FY2024 · Filed Feb 21, 2025
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Executive Summary
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Executive Summary
Overview of Financial Results
Consolidated Results—Full Year Ended December 31, 2024
The Firm reported net revenues of $61.8 billion and net income of $13.4 billion, reflecting strong results across our business segments.
The Firm delivered ROE of 14.0% and ROTCE of 18.8% (see “Selected Non-GAAP Financial Information” herein).
The Firm expense efficiency ratio was 71% compared to 77% in the prior year, reflecting higher revenues and expense discipline. In the prior year, the ratio was negatively impacted by specific severance costs of $353 million, integration-related expenses of $293 million, an FDIC special assessment of $286 million and higher legal expenses related to a $249 million settlement in connection with resolutions of investigations into the Firm’s blocks business. (See “Expenses” herein for more information).
The Firm accreted $5.6 billion of Common Equity Tier 1 capital while supporting clients and returning capital to shareholders. At December 31, 2024, the Firm’s Standardized Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 15.9%.
Institutional Securities net revenues of $28.1 billion reflect higher results across businesses and regions on higher client activity and improved market conditions.
Wealth Management delivered net revenues of $28.4 billion, reflecting higher Asset management and Transactional revenues. The pre-tax margin was 27.2%. Fee-based asset flows were $123 billion and the business added net new assets of$252 billion.
Investment Management reported net revenues of $5.9 billion, primarily driven by asset management revenueson higher average AUM.
Net Income Applicable to Morgan Stanley
Earnings per Diluted Common Share
2024 Compared with 2023
We reported net revenues of $61.8 billion in 2024, which increased by 14% compared with $54.1 billion in 2023. Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley was $13.4 billion in 2024, which increased by 47% compared with $9.1 billion in 2023. Diluted earnings per common share was $7.95 in 2024, which increased by 53% compared with $5.18 in 2023.
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Compensation and benefits expenses of $26,178 million in 2024 increased 7% from the prior year, primarily due to an increase in the formulaic payout to Wealth Management representatives and higher discretionary incentive compensation, both on higher revenues, partially offset by lower severance costs.
In 2023, Compensation and benefits expenses included severance costs of $353 million, primarily associated with a specific Firmwide reduction in workforce during the second quarter of 2023. We recorded severance costs of $220 million in the Institutional Securities business segment, $105 million in the Wealth Management business segment, and $28 million in the Investment Management business segment for 2023.
In 2022, Compensation and benefits expenses included severance costs of $133 million, associated with a specific Firmwide reduction in workforce during the fourth quarter of 2022. We recorded severance costs of $88 million in the Institutional Securities business segment, $30 million in the Wealth Management business segment, and $15 million in the Investment Management business segment for 2022. These specific reductions in workforce occurred across the Firm’s business segments and geographic regions, impacted approximately 4% and 1% of the Firm’s global workforce in 2023 and 2022, respectively, and resulted from the Firm’s review of its global workforce, operating expenses and the business environment following the acquisitions of ETRADE Financial Corporation (“ETRADE”) and Eaton Vance Corp. (“Eaton Vance”), rather than a change in strategy or exit of businesses. These costs were primarily incurred in the Americas and EMEA, with the majority in the Americas.
Non-compensation expenses of $17,723 million in 2024 increased 3% from the prior year, primarily driven by higher execution-related expenses and increased technology spend, partially offset by lower legal expenses and lower FDIC special assessment cost.
In 2023, integration-related expenses were $293 million, of which $201 million related to the integration of ETRADE within the Wealth Management business segment and $92 million related to the integration of Eaton Vance within the Investment Management business segment. In 2022, integration-related expenses were $470 million, of which $357 million related to the integration of ETRADE within the Wealth Management business segment and $113 million related to the integration of Eaton Vance within the Investment Management business segment. Integration-related expenses primarily included non-compensation expenses such as information technology expense related to the consolidation of platforms, and professional fees related to changes in legal entity structures and the integration of clients, within both Wealth Management and Investment Management business segments. Integration-related activities were substantially completed as of December 31, 2023.
The Provision for credit losses on loans and lending commitments of $264 million in 2024 was primarily related to certain specific commercial real estate loans and growth in the corporate loan portfolio, partially offset by improvements in the macroeconomic outlook. The Provision for credit losses on loans and lending commitments of $532 million in 2023 was primarily related to credit deterioration in the commercial real estate sector, including provisions for certain specific loans, mainly in the office portfolio, and modest growth in certain other loan portfolios.
Business Segment Results
Net Revenues by Segment 1
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Net Income Applicable to Morgan Stanley by Segment 1
- The amounts in the charts represent the contribution of each business segment to the total of the applicable financial category and may not sum to the total presented on top of the bars due to intersegment eliminations. See Note 22 to the financial statements for details of intersegment eliminations.
Institutional Securities net revenues of $28,080 million in 2024 increased 22% from the prior year, reflecting higher results across businesses, particularly in Equity and underwriting results within Investment Banking.
Wealth Management net revenues of $28,420 million in 2024 increased 8% from the prior year, primarily reflecting higher Asset management revenues and Transactional revenues, partially offset by lower Net interest income.
Investment Management net revenues of $5,861 million in 2024 increased 9% from the prior year, primarily reflecting higher Asset management and related fees and higher Performance-based income and other revenues.
Net Revenues by Region 1
- For a discussion of how the geographic breakdown of net revenues is determined, see Note 22 to the financial statements.
Americas net revenues in 2024 increased 13% from the prior year, primarily driven by higher Asset management revenues within the Wealth Management business segment and higher results across businesses within the Institutional Securities business segment.
EMEA net revenues in 2024 increased 19% from the prior year, primarily driven by higher results across businesses within the Institutional Securities business segment.
Asia net revenues in 2024 increased 19% from the prior year, primarily driven by higher results from Equity and Investment Banking within the Institutional Securities business segment.
Selected Financial Information and Other Statistical Data
| $ in millions, except per share data | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated results | |||
| Net revenues | $61,761 | $54,143 | $53,668 |
| Earnings applicable to Morgan Stanley common shareholders | $12,800 | $8,530 | $10,540 |
| Earnings per diluted common share | $7.95 | $5.18 | $6.15 |
| Consolidated financial measures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense efficiency ratio1 | 71% | 77% | 73% |
| ROE2 | 14.0% | 9.4% | 11.2% |
| ROTCE2,3 | 18.8% | 12.8% | 15.3% |
| Pre-tax margin4 | 28% | 22% | 26% |
| Effective tax rate | 23.1% | 21.9% | 20.7% |
| Pre-tax margin by segment4 | |||
| Institutional Securities | 31% | 19% | 28% |
| Wealth Management | 27% | 25% | 27% |
| Investment Management | 19% | 16% | 15% |
| $ in millions, except per share data, worldwide employees and client assets | AtDecember 31,2024 | AtDecember 31,2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Average liquidity resources for three months ended5 | $345,440 | $314,504 |
| Loans6 | $246,814 | $226,828 |
| Total assets | $1,215,071 | $1,193,693 |
| Deposits | $376,007 | $351,804 |
| Borrowings | $288,819 | $263,732 |
| Common equity | $94,761 | $90,288 |
| Tangible common equity3 | $71,604 | $66,527 |
| Common shares outstanding | 1,607 | 1,627 |
| Book value per common share7 | $58.98 | $55.50 |
| Tangible book value per common share3,7 | $44.57 | $40.89 |
| Worldwide employees (in thousands) | 80 | 80 |
| Client assets8 (in billions) | $7,860 | $6,588 |
| Common Equity Tier 1 capital—Standardized | 15.9% | 15.2% |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 capital—Standardized | 18.0% | 17.1% |
| Common Equity Tier 1 capital—Advanced | 15.7% | 15.5% |
| Tier 1 capital—Advanced | 17.8% | 17.4% |
| Tier 1 leverage | 6.9% | 6.7% |
| SLR | 5.6% | 5.5% |
The expense efficiency ratio represents total non-interest expenses as a percentage of net revenues.
ROE and ROTCE represent earnings applicable to Morgan Stanley common shareholders as a percentage of average common equity and average tangible common equity, respectively.
Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Selected Non-GAAP Financial Information” herein.
Pre-tax margin represents income before provision for income taxes as a percentage of net revenues.
For a discussion of Liquidity resources, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources— Balance Sheet—Liquidity Risk Management Framework—Liquidity Resources” herein.
Includes loans held for investment, net of ACL, loans held for sale and also includes loans at fair value, which are included in Trading assets in the balance sheet.
Book value per common share and tangible book value per common share equal common equity and tangible common equity, respectively, divided by common shares outstanding.
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Client assets represent the sum of Wealth Management client assets and Investment Management AUM. Certain Wealth Management client assets are invested in Investment Management products and are therefore also included in Investment Management’s AUM.
For a discussion of our capital ratios, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Regulatory Requirements” herein.
Economic and Market Conditions
The economic environment, client and investor confidence and overall market sentiment improved in 2024. While interest rates declined in recent months, elevated inflation, geopolitical risks including ongoing tensions in the Middle East, uncertainties surrounding government and policy developments in the markets we operate in and the timing and pace of further interest rate actions present ongoing risks to the economic environment. These factors have impacted, and could continue to impact capital markets and our businesses, as discussed further in “Business Segments” herein.
For more information on economic and market conditions, and the potential effects of geopolitical events and acts of war or aggression on our future results, refer to “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements.”
Selected Non-GAAP Financial Information
We prepare our financial statements using U.S. GAAP. From time to time, we may disclose certain “non-GAAP financial measures” in this document or in the course of our earnings releases, earnings and other conference calls, financial presentations, definitive proxy statements and other public disclosures. A “non-GAAP financial measure” excludes, or includes, amounts from the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We consider the non-GAAP financial measures we disclose to be useful to us, investors, analysts and other stakeholders by providing further transparency about, or an alternate means of assessing or comparing our financial condition, operating results and capital adequacy.
These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, U.S. GAAP and may be different from or inconsistent with non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Whenever we refer to a non-GAAP financial measure, we will also generally define it or present the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, along with a reconciliation of the differences between the U.S. GAAP financial measure and the non-GAAP financial measure.
We present certain non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of mark-to-market gains and losses, net of financing costs on DCP investments from net revenues. We also exclude the impact of mark-to-market gains and losses on DCP from compensation expenses. The impact of DCP investments and DCP are primarily reflected in our Wealth Management business segment results. These measures allow for better comparability of period-to-period underlying operating performance and revenue trends. By excluding the impact of these items, we are better able to describe the business drivers and resulting impact to net revenues and
corresponding change to the associated compensation expenses. For additional information on DCP, refer to “Other Matters” herein.
Tangible common equity is a non-GAAP financial measure that we believe analysts, investors and other stakeholders consider useful to allow for comparability to peers and of the period-to-period use of our equity. The calculation of tangible common equity represents common shareholders’ equity less goodwill and intangible assets net of allowable mortgage servicing rights deduction. In addition, we believe that certain ratios that utilize tangible common equity, such as return on average tangible common equity (“ROTCE”) and tangible book value per common share, also non-GAAP financial measures, are useful for evaluating the operating performance and capital adequacy of the business period-to-period, respectively. The calculation of ROTCE represents annualized earnings applicable to Morgan Stanley common shareholders as a percentage of average tangible common equity. The calculation of tangible book value per common share represents tangible common equity divided by common shares outstanding.
The principal non-GAAP financial measures presented in this document are set forth in the following tables.
Reconciliations from U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Consolidated Financial Measures
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenues | $61,761 | $54,143 | $53,668 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market losses (gains) on DCP1 | (363) | (434) | 1,198 |
| Adjusted Net revenues—non-GAAP | $61,398 | $53,709 | $54,866 |
| Compensation expense | $26,178 | $24,558 | $23,053 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market losses (gains) on DCP1 | (672) | (668) | 716 |
| Adjusted Compensation expense—non-GAAP | $25,506 | $23,890 | $23,769 |
| Wealth Management Net revenues | $28,420 | $26,268 | $24,417 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market losses (gains) on DCP1 | (239) | (282) | 858 |
| Adjusted Wealth Management Net revenues—non-GAAP | $28,181 | $25,986 | $25,275 |
| Wealth Management Compensation expense | $15,207 | $13,972 | $12,534 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market losses (gains) on DCP1 | (431) | (412) | 530 |
| Adjusted Wealth Management Compensation expense—non-GAAP | $14,776 | $13,560 | $13,064 |
- Net revenues and compensation expense are adjusted for DCP for both Firm and Wealth Management business segment. See “Other Matters” herein for more information.
| At December 31, | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| Tangible equity | |||
| Common equity | $94,761 | $90,288 | $91,391 |
| Less: Goodwill and net intangible assets | (23,157) | (23,761) | (24,268) |
| Tangible common equity—non-GAAP | $71,604 | $66,527 | $67,123 |
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
| Average Monthly Balance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| Tangible equity | |||
| Common equity | $91,699 | $90,819 | $93,873 |
| Less: Goodwill and net intangible assets | (23,482) | (24,013) | (24,789) |
| Tangible common equity—non-GAAP | $68,217 | $66,806 | $69,084 |
Non-GAAP Financial Measures by Business Segment
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institutional Securities | $45.0 | $45.6 | $48.8 |
| Wealth Management | 29.1 | 28.8 | 31.0 |
| Investment Management | 10.8 | 10.4 | 10.6 |
| Institutional Securities | 14% | 7% | 10% |
| Wealth Management | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| Investment Management | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Institutional Securities | $44.6 | $45.2 | $48.3 |
| Wealth Management | 15.5 | 14.8 | 16.3 |
| Investment Management | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Institutional Securities | 14% | 7% | 10% |
| Wealth Management | 37% | 33% | 31% |
| Investment Management | 76% | 88% | 86% |
Average common equity and average tangible common equity for each business segment is determined using our Required Capital framework (see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Regulatory Requirements—Attribution of Average Common Equity According to the Required Capital Framework” herein). The sums of the segments’ Average common equity and Average tangible common equity do not equal the Consolidated measures due to Parent Company equity.
The calculation of ROE and ROTCE by segment uses net income applicable to Morgan Stanley by segment less preferred dividends allocated to each segment, annualized as a percentage of average common equity and average tangible common equity, respectively, allocated to each segment.
Return on Tangible Common Equity Goal
We have an ROTCE goal of 20%. Our ROTCE goal is a forward-looking statement that is based on a normal market environment and may be materially affected by many factors.
See “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” herein for further information on market and economic conditions and their potential effects on our future operating results.
ROTCE represents a non-GAAP financial measure. For further information on non-GAAP measures, see “Selected Non-GAAP Financial Information” herein.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.