MORGAN STANLEY
For the period ended Dec 31, 2025. Filed Feb 19, 2026.
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FY2025 · Filed Feb 19, 2026
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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, 2025
The Firm reported net revenues of $70.6 billion and net income applicable to Morgan Stanley of $16.9 billion reflecting strong results across our business segments and demonstrating the strength of our Integrated Firm.
The Firm delivered ROE of 16.6% and ROTCE of 21.6% (see “Selected Non-GAAP Financial Information” herein).
The Firm expense efficiency ratio was 68% compared to 71% in the prior year, demonstrating operating leverage while continuing to invest in our businesses.
At December 31, 2025, the Firm’s Standardized Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 15.0%, and its Supplementary Leverage Ratio was 5.4%.
Institutional Securities net revenues of $33.1 billion, primarily reflecting strong performance in Equity on higher client activity and higher underwriting and Advisory revenues within Investment Banking.
Wealth Management delivered net revenues of $31.8 billion, primarily reflecting higher Asset management revenues on higher market levels and the cumulative impact of strong fee-based flows. The pre-tax margin was 29.3%. Fee-based asset flows were $160 billion and the business added net new assets of$356 billion.
Investment Management reported net revenues of $6.5 billion, primarily reflecting higher asset management fees driven by higher average AUM on higher market levels.
Net Income Applicable to Morgan Stanley
Earnings per Diluted Common Share
2025 Compared with 2024
We reported net revenues of $70.6 billion in 2025, which increased by 14% compared with $61.8 billion in 2024. Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley was $16.9 billion in 2025, which increased by 26% compared with $13.4 billion in 2024. Diluted earnings per common share was $10.21 in 2025, which increased by 28% compared with $7.95 in 2024.
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Compensation and benefits expenses of $29,216 million in 2025 increased 12% from the prior year, primarily due to an increase in the formulaic payout to Wealth Management advisors and higher discretionary incentive compensation within Institutional Securities, both on higher revenues, and higher salary expenses.
In 2025, as a result of a March workforce management action, we recognized severance costs of $144 million, included in Compensation and benefits expense. The workforce management action was related to performance management and the alignment of our workforce to our business needs, rather than a change in strategy or exit of businesses. The workforce management action occurred across our business segments and geographic regions and impacted approximately 2% of our global workforce at that time. We recorded severance costs of $78 million in the Institutional Securities business segment, $50 million in the Wealth Management business segment, and $16 million in the Investment Management business segment. These costs were incurred across all regions, with the majority in the Americas.
Non-compensation expenses of $19,126 million in 2025 increased 8% from the prior year, primarily due to higher execution-related expenses and increased technology spend.
The Provision for credit losses on loans and lending commitments of $349 million in 2025 was primarily related to portfolio growth in corporate loans and secured lending facilities and provisions for certain specific commercial real estate loans. 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.
Business Segment Results
Net Revenues by Segment 1
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 $33,080 million in 2025 increased 18% from the prior year, primarily reflecting higher results in Equity driven by increased client activity and higher average client balances, and higher underwriting and Advisory revenues within Investment Banking.
Wealth Management net revenues of $31,754 million in 2025 increased 12% from the prior year, primarily reflecting higher Asset management revenues on higher market levels and the cumulative impact of positive fee-based flows, and higher Transactional revenues on higher client activity.
Investment Management net revenues of $6,525 million in 2025 increased 11% from the prior year, primarily reflecting higher Asset management and related fees driven by higher AUM on higher market levels and higher Performance-based income and other revenues.
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
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 2025 increased 13% from the prior year, driven by higher results across all business segments.
EMEA net revenues in 2025 increased 16% from the prior year, primarily driven by higher Equity revenues within the Institutional Securities business segment.
Asia net revenues in 2025 increased 23% from the prior year, primarily driven by higher results in Equity and Investment Banking within the Institutional Securities business segment.
Selected Financial Information and Other Statistical Data
| $ in millions, except per share data | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated results | |||
| Net revenues | $70,645 | $61,761 | $54,143 |
| Earnings applicable to Morgan Stanley common shareholders | $16,249 | $12,800 | $8,530 |
| Earnings per diluted common share | $10.21 | $7.95 | $5.18 |
| Consolidated financial measures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense efficiency ratio1 | 68% | 71% | 77% |
| ROE2 | 16.6% | 14.0% | 9.4% |
| ROTCE2,3 | 21.6% | 18.8% | 12.8% |
| Pre-tax margin4 | 31% | 28% | 22% |
| Effective tax rate | 22.5% | 23.1% | 21.9% |
| Pre-tax margin by segment4 | |||
| Institutional Securities | 34% | 31% | 19% |
| Wealth Management | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| Investment Management | 23% | 19% | 16% |
| $ in millions, except per share data, worldwide employees and client assets | AtDecember 31,2025 | AtDecember 31,2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Average liquidity resources for three months ended5 | $385,884 | $345,440 |
| Loans6 | $289,038 | $246,814 |
| Total assets | $1,420,270 | $1,215,071 |
| Deposits | $415,523 | $376,007 |
| Borrowings | $348,935 | $288,819 |
| Common equity | $101,882 | $94,761 |
| Tangible common equity3 | $79,147 | $71,604 |
| Common shares outstanding | 1,583 | 1,607 |
| Book value per common share7 | $64.37 | $58.98 |
| Tangible book value per common share3,7 | $50.00 | $44.57 |
| Worldwide employees (in thousands) | 83 | 80 |
| Client assets8 (in billions) | $9,276 | $7,860 |
| Common Equity Tier 1 capital—Standardized | 15.0% | 15.9% |
| Tier 1 capital—Standardized | 16.8% | 18.0% |
| Common Equity Tier 1 capital—Advanced | 16.2% | 15.7% |
| Tier 1 capital—Advanced | 18.0% | 17.8% |
| Tier 1 leverage | 6.7% | 6.9% |
| SLR | 5.4% | 5.6% |
The expense efficiency ratio represents total non-interest expenses as a percentage of net revenues.
ROE and ROTCE represent annualized 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.
Client assets represents the sum of Wealth Management client assets and Investment Management AUM. Certain Wealth Management client assets, totaling $350 billion as of December 31, 2025, 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 was resilient in 2025, as client and investor confidence and market sentiment improved and markets rebounded from early-year uncertainty. The year was characterized by increased momentum in capital markets activity and lower interest rates. The rate of economic growth, ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, as well as the timing and pace of any further central bank actions 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 on our future results, refer to “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” herein.
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
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 on DCP investments from net revenues and compensation expenses. The impact of DCP is 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, especially in our Wealth Management business segment. 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 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenues | $70,645 | $61,761 | $54,143 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market losses (gains) on DCP1 | (471) | (363) | (434) |
| Adjusted Net revenues—non-GAAP | $70,174 | $61,398 | $53,709 |
| Compensation expense | $29,216 | $26,178 | $24,558 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market gains (losses) on DCP1 | (764) | (672) | (668) |
| Adjusted Compensation expense—non-GAAP | $28,452 | $25,506 | $23,890 |
| Wealth Management Net revenues | $31,754 | $28,420 | $26,268 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market losses (gains) on DCP1 | (348) | (239) | (282) |
| Adjusted Wealth Management Net revenues—non-GAAP | $31,406 | $28,181 | $25,986 |
| Wealth Management Compensation expense | $16,950 | $15,207 | $13,972 |
| Adjustment for mark-to-market gains (losses) on DCP1 | (535) | (431) | (412) |
| Adjusted Wealth Management Compensation expense—non-GAAP | $16,415 | $14,776 | $13,560 |
- 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 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
| Tangible equity | |||
| Common equity | $101,882 | $94,761 | $90,288 |
| Less: Goodwill and net intangible assets | (22,735) | (23,157) | (23,761) |
| Tangible common equity—non-GAAP | $79,147 | $71,604 | $66,527 |
| Average Monthly Balance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
| Tangible equity | |||
| Common equity | $98,046 | $91,699 | $90,819 |
| Less: Goodwill and net intangible assets | (22,922) | (23,482) | (24,013) |
| Tangible common equity—non-GAAP | $75,124 | $68,217 | $66,806 |
Non-GAAP Financial Measures by Business Segment
| $ in billions | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institutional Securities | $48.4 | $45.0 | $45.6 |
| Wealth Management | 29.4 | 29.1 | 28.8 |
| Investment Management | 10.6 | 10.8 | 10.4 |
| Institutional Securities | 17% | 14% | 7% |
| Wealth Management | 24% | 20% | 17% |
| Investment Management | 11% | 8% | 6% |
| Institutional Securities | $48.0 | $44.6 | $45.2 |
| Wealth Management | 16.3 | 15.5 | 14.8 |
| Investment Management | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| Institutional Securities | 17% | 14% | 7% |
| Wealth Management | 43% | 37% | 33% |
| Investment Management | 111% | 76% | 88% |
- 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.
Table of Contents
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
- 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.