“Morgan Stanley’s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled on a flurry of deals and share sales that delivered record revenue for the year.”, — write: epravda.com.ua
Morgan Stanley’s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled on a flurry of deals and share sales that delivered record revenue for the year. This is reported by the Reuters agency. The financial results capped a strong quarter for Wall Street banks, which benefited from a surge in mergers and acquisitions on the back of a strong U.S. economy, lower interest rates and expectations of easing regulations under incoming President Donald Trump. It also marked a successful end to CEO Ted Peek’s first year at the helm, after a long run of competition. Peek called 2024 “one of the strongest in the firm’s history” as Morgan Stanley posted record revenue of $61.8 billion.Advertisement: The outlook for 2025 is positive, Peek said during a call with analysts. “Deal volumes in the M&A pipeline are the highest in the last seven years, and this is very encouraging. Partly this will depend on the first months of the new administration’s work and on the international situation, but we are already seeing an increase in activity,” he said. Peek also expressed optimism about opportunities for share sales, particularly IPOs. Investment banking revenue rose 25% to $1.64 billion in the quarter, helped by the collection of commissions on share sales, mirroring similar results from rivals such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.Advertisement: Global investment banking revenue to grow 26% in 2024 , up to $86.8 billion, according to Dealogic. Wall Street expects more big deals under the Trump administration than under his predecessor, Joe Biden. Net income more than doubled from a year ago to $3.7 billion, or $2.22 per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $1.5 billion, or 85 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts had expected an average of $1.7 per share, according to LSEG estimates. Shares of Morgan Stanley rose 2.2% in morning trading. Last year, they were among the leaders in the large bank category, adding nearly 50% of value.