Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today reported net revenues of $13.6 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020 compared with $10.9 billion a year ago. Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley was $3.4 billion, or $1.81 per diluted share, compared with $2.2 billion, or $1.30 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago.
Full-year net revenues were a record $48.2 billion compared with $41.4 billion a year ago. Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley for the current year was $11.0 billion, or $6.46 per diluted share, compared with $9.0 billion, or $5.19 per diluted share, a year ago.
Said CEO James P. Gorman, "The Firm produced a very strong quarter and record full-year results, with excellent performance across all three businesses and geographies. I am extremely proud of how our employees came together to support each other and our communities and deliver for our clients in an incredibly challenging year.
"Our unique business model continues to serve us well as we further execute on our long-term strategy with the acquisitions of E*TRADE and Eaton Vance. We enter 2021 with significant momentum, and I am very confident in our competitive position and our opportunities for continued growth."
Morgan Stanley also has the biggest wealth management business among the six largest U.S. banks, operations that typically benefit from rising markets. That business is being bolstered by the bank’s $13 billion E-Trade acquisition announced a year ago, and the fourth quarter is the first period E-Trade is integrated into the larger enterprise.
Shares of New York-based Morgan Stanley climbed 33% in 2020. They began Wednesday ahead $1.85, or 2.5%, to $76.84.
