Morgan Stanley Q4 earnings beat expectations

Financial services company Morgan Stanley posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations on Tuesday, driven by record revenues in its wealth management unit.

Morgan Stanley said quarterly revenues came to $12.64bn, ahead of estimates for a reading of $12.75bn, while earnings per share came in at $1.31 after adjustments. Net income fell from $3.59bn to $2.11bn.

The New York-based firm's wealth management unit reported record net revenues of $6.63bn, up 6% year-on-year, driven by an increase in net interest income on higher interest rates and bank lending growth.

However, Morgan Stanley's investment banking division suffered a marked slowdown amid a collapse in IPOs, as well as debt and equity issuance, with revenues from investment banking down 49% at $1.25bn. Investment management revenues slipped 15% to $1.46bn and assets under management declined from $1.57trn to $1.30trn.

"We reported solid fourth-quarter results amidst a difficult market environment," said chairman James Gorman.

"Overall, 2022 was a strong year for the firm as our clear strategy and balanced business model enabled us to deliver an ROTCE of 16% despite the complex macro backdrop."

As of 1400 GMT, Morgan Stanley shares were up 2.14% in pre-market trading at $93.62 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com