MS vs WFC vs AXP Stock Comparison

Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Company and American Express Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MS Morgan Stanley
$186.98 -4.7% 1M +12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$295.97B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$80.16B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
5 wins
WFC Wells Fargo & Company/Mn
$82.68 -0.3% 1M -5.0% 1Y
Market cap
$255.94B
P/E
12.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$87.23B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
3 wins
AXP American Express Co
$312.92 +1.4% 1M -13.5% 1Y
Market cap
$214.36B
P/E
17.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.59B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Morgan Stanley leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Morgan Stanley 5, Wells Fargo & Company 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMSWFCAXPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $295.97B $255.94B $214.36B MS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.9x 12.6x 17.5x WFC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.7x 10.6x 17.8x WFC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.2% +5.4% +10.2% MS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 15.8% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 19.6% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 0.5x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.6% -5.0% -13.5% MS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.8%/yr +10.0%/yr +12.4%/yr MS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.4% 25.5% 26.1% WFC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 40/100 46/100 MS

Percentile Scorecard

MSWFCAXP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisMSWFCAXP
Valuation 31 #248 of 360 63 #135 of 360 22 #282 of 360
Growth 94 #13 of 191 22 #149 of 191 39 #117 of 191
Profitability – – 67 #56 of 168
Financial Health – – 39 #107 of 175
Shareholder Returns 34 #225 of 341 35 #222 of 341 61 #134 of 341
Overall 53 40 46
  • MS ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • WFC ranked among 368 companies in Banking
  • AXP ranked among 368 companies in Banking

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodMSWFCAXPSPY
1 month -4.7%-0.3%+1.4% -0.2%
3 months -11.6%-4.9%-7.0% +3.9%
6 months -1.8%+1.4%-0.9% +8.2%
Year to date +5.3%-11.3%-15.4% +12.9%
1 year +12.6%-5.0%-13.5% +12.3%
3 years +165.6%+113.3%+121.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +38.5%+28.8%+30.4% +23.3%
5 years +82.4%+61.0%+79.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +12.8%+10.0%+12.4% +10.9%
10 years +452.9%+78.2%+367.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +18.7%+5.9%+16.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMSWFCAXPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.4%25.5%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.8%29.0%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.420.670.93 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.44-0.19-0.52 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.3%-38.7%-32.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.2%-14.2%-18.7% -1.2%
52-week high $228.55$96.39$384.89 $779.14
52-week low $154.37$73.42$292.27 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleMSWFCAXP
P/E now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 12.1x 12.4xmedian 12.1x 17.2xmedian 12.1x
P/S now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 3.4x 2.9xmedian 3.4x 2.7xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 5.0x —median 5.0x 8.8xmedian 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -16.3xmedian 10.9x 12.7xmedian 10.9x 15.1xmedian 10.9x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.2x —median 1.2x 5.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.47median 1.34 1.10median 1.34 0.93median 1.34

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsMSWFCAXP
Revenue $80.16B $87.23B $77.59B
Net income – – $12.26B
Free cash flow – – $13.91B
EPS (diluted) $12.65 $6.62 $18.18
Cash & equivalents – – $43.20B
Total debt – – $59.95B
Shares (diluted) 1.57B 3.07B 674.00M
Enterprise value $295.97B $255.94B $13.85B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricMSWFCAXP
P/E 14.6x 12.4x 17.2x
P/FCF -16.3x 12.7x 15.1x
P/Operating cash flow – – 11.9x
P/S 3.7x 2.9x 2.7x
P/B – – 5.9x
P/Tangible book – – 5.9x
EV/EBITDA – – 8.8x
EV/EBIT – – 9.5x
EV/Revenue 3.7x 2.9x 2.9x
EV/FCF – – 15.9x
EV/Operating cash flow – – 12.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.47 1.10 0.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSWFCAXP
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.2% 5.4% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.1% 2.0% 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) – – 16.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – – 15.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 29.2% 6.8% 19.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 30.9% 11.2% 18.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – – -16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – -4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – -26.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – -9.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSWFCAXP
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – – 32.6%
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin – – 19.9%
Net margin – – 15.8%
FCF margin – – 17.9%
Operating cash flow margin – – 22.7%
Return on equity – – 35.0%
Return on assets 1.2% – 4.0%
Return on invested capital – – 19.6%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.0x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSWFCAXP
Debt / assets – – 19.3%
Debt / equity – – 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 0.5x
Debt / FCF – – 4.3x
Liabilities / assets – 92.1% 88.5%
Equity / assets – – 11.5%
Interest coverage – – 3.0x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSWFCAXP
Dividend yield 2.2% 2.2% 1.2%
Net buyback yield – – 3.2%
Shareholder yield 2.2% 2.2% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusMSWFCAXP
Forward P/E 13.7xFY2026 10.6xFY2026 17.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $13.66FY2026 $7.82FY2026 $17.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +33.8%FY2026 +24.9%FY2026 +14.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -4.2% +7.3% +21.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $80.05BFY2026 $94.32BFY2026 $82.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.3%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.3% +4.3% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSWFCAXP
Held by institutions 85.7% 76.8% 84.9%
Institutions holding 2,742 2,877 3,009
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% +1.1% -0.3%
Institutions buying 1,468 1,292 1,473
Institutions selling 939 1,134 1,051
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.14 1.40

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

MSWFCAXP
MS 1.00 0.53 0.54
WFC 0.53 1.00 0.53
AXP 0.54 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MS, WFC and AXP?

Morgan Stanley (MS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Morgan Stanley (MS) $295.97B, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) $255.94B, American Express (AXP) $214.36B.

Which stock is cheaper, MS, WFC and AXP?

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Morgan Stanley (MS) 14.9x, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 12.6x, American Express (AXP) 17.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) is cheapest (Morgan Stanley (MS) 13.7x, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 10.6x, American Express (AXP) 17.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Morgan Stanley (MS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Morgan Stanley (MS) +16.2%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) +5.4%, American Express (AXP) +10.2%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Morgan Stanley (MS) returned the most: Morgan Stanley (MS) +12.6%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) -5.0%, American Express (AXP) -13.5%. Over five years, Morgan Stanley (MS) compounded fastest (Morgan Stanley (MS) +12.8%/yr, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) +10.0%/yr, American Express (AXP) +12.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) has been the steadiest (Morgan Stanley (MS) 28.4%, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 25.5%, American Express (AXP) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MS, WFC and AXP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Morgan Stanley (MS) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.