Catenaa, April 11, Friday, 2025- Morgan Stanley reported a net profit increase of 26% year on year in first-quarter (Q1) profit with outperformance in prime brokerage and strong client activity amid market volatility.
The bank posted a profit of $4.3 billion, or a $2.60 per share, for Q1 on Friday. That compares with a profit of $3.4 billion, or $2.02 per share, a year ago.
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose heavy tariffs on major economies and the launch of China’s generative AI model, DeepSeek, triggered a broad selloff in global markets.
The potential for a recession and the uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate trajectory have kept investors on edge.
“The Integrated Firm delivered a very strong quarter with record net revenues of $17.7 billion and EPS of $2.60, and an ROTCE of 23.0%. Institutional Securities’ strong performance was led by our Markets business with Equity reporting a record $4.1 billion in revenues, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ted Pick said.
He said total client assets of $7.7 trillion across Wealth and Investment Management were supported by $94 billion in net new assets.
“These results demonstrate the consistent execution of our clear strategy to drive durable growth across our global footprint,” Pick said.
The bank’s net revenue from equity rose by 45%, reflecting increases across business lines and regions, particularly in Asia, with outperformance in prime brokerage and derivatives.
The bank advised on several marquee transactions in the quarter, including Walgreens’ $24 billion take-private deal with Sycamore Partners. It also served as lead underwriter for AI cloud firm CoreWeave’s $1.5 billion U.S. initial public offering.
The firm repurchased $1 billion of its outstanding common stock during the quarter as part of its Share Repurchase Program.
