Morgan Stanley's Q1 2025 Earnings Beat Expectations: EPS $2.60, Revenue $17.74 Billion

Morgan Stanley (MS) announced strong first-quarter 2025 results on Friday, with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.60, up from $2.02 year-over-year and exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.21. Net revenue reached a record $17.74 billion, a 17% increase year-over-year, surpassing expectations of $16.57 billion. The Institutional Securities division reported net revenues of $9.0 billion, driven by record equity performance of $4.13 billion. Wealth Management reported $7.3 billion in net revenues, with $94 billion in net new assets. Investment Management reported net revenues of $1.6 billion. However, the provision for credit losses increased to $135 million due to growth in secured lending facilities and a weakening macroeconomic forecast. The firm's expense efficiency ratio was 68% in Q1 2025, compared to 71% a year ago. Severance costs related to employee actions in March totaled $144 million. Morgan Stanley's stock initially rose but then fell by 1.3% before the open.