SAN vs MS Stock Comparison

Banco Santander and Morgan Stanley Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SAN Banco Santander, S.A.
$12.38 -14.1% 1M +28.0% 1Y
Market cap
$185.53B
P/E
9.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$70.35B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins
MS Morgan Stanley
$183.50 -6.5% 1M +12.0% 1Y
Market cap
$291.22B
P/E
14.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$80.16B
Div. yield
–
Money Center Banks Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Morgan Stanley leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Morgan Stanley 4, Banco Santander 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSANMSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $185.53B $291.22B MS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.8x 14.7x SAN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.4x 13.4x SAN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.4% +16.2% MS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 26.9% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -103.6x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +28.0% +12.0% SAN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +26.7%/yr +12.5%/yr SAN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.3% 28.4% MS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 14/100 54/100 MS

Percentile Scorecard

SANMS

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

AxisSANMS
Valuation 8 #335 of 362 36 #231 of 362
Growth 18 #181 of 221 93 #17 of 221
Profitability 12 #176 of 200 –
Financial Health 0 #203 of 203 –
Shareholder Returns 34 #226 of 342 33 #228 of 342
Overall 14 54
  • SAN ranked among 370 companies in Banking
  • MS ranked among 370 companies in Banking

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSANMSSPY
1 month -14.1%-6.5% -0.8%
3 months -11.5%-14.5% +3.5%
6 months +3.2%-3.5% +7.0%
Year to date +5.5%+3.4% +12.2%
1 year +28.0%+12.0% +13.0%
3 years +242.9%+160.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +50.8%+37.7% +23.1%
5 years +226.6%+80.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +26.7%+12.5% +11.0%
10 years +169.7%+446.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +10.4%+18.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSANMSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.3%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.9%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.711.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.820.42 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.0%-35.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.6%-19.7% -1.8%
52-week high $15.03$228.55 $779.14
52-week low $9.87$154.37 $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.

MultipleSANMS
P/E now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 12.1x 14.4xmedian 12.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 3.4x 3.6xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -107.0xmedian 5.0x —median 5.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -4.2xmedian 11.0x -16.3xmedian 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 1.2x —median 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.36median 1.36 0.46median 1.36

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 monthsSANMS
Revenue $70.35B $80.16B
Gross profit -$52.97B –
Operating income -$95.63B –
Net income $20.36B –
Free cash flow -$42.89B –
EPS (diluted) $1.27 $12.65
Cash & equivalents $157.63B –
Total debt $27.02T –
Shares (diluted) 14.98B 1.57B
Enterprise value -$496.47B $291.22B

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
MetricSANMS
P/E 9.7x 14.4x
P/FCF -4.2x -16.3x
P/Operating cash flow -4.2x –
P/S 2.6x 3.6x
P/B 17.7x –
P/Tangible book 47.6x –
EV/EBITDA -107.0x –
EV/EBIT -99.9x –
EV/Revenue 80.5x 3.6x
EV/FCF -132.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow -132.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.36 0.46

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSANMS
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.4% 16.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – –
Net income growth (1Y) 28.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 20.7% –
EPS growth (1Y) -83.3% 29.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 30.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -199.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -96.9% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -199.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -96.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSANMS
Gross margin -75.3% –
EBITDA margin -75.2% –
Operating margin -135.9% –
Pretax margin 32.4% –
Net margin 26.9% –
FCF margin -61.0% –
Operating cash flow margin -61.0% –
Return on equity 246.8% –
Return on assets 0.9% 1.2%
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.1x –
Stock comp / revenue – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSANMS
Debt / assets 256.5% –
Debt / equity 558.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA -103.6x –
Debt / FCF -133.5x –
Liabilities / assets 99.5% –
Equity / assets 0.5% –
Interest coverage -0.8x –
Current ratio – –
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSANMS
Dividend yield 2.3% 2.3%
Net buyback yield – –
Shareholder yield 2.3% 2.3%
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.

ConsensusSANMS
Forward P/E 11.4xFY2026 13.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.09FY2026 $13.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.8%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.9% -4.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $76.20BFY2026 $80.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.5%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.8% +13.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSANMS
Held by institutions 3.4% 85.7%
Institutions holding 659 2,740
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +1.5%
Institutions buying 402 1,466
Institutions selling 149 939
Buyers to sellers 2.70 1.56

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.

SANMS
SAN 1.00 0.51
MS 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SAN and MS?

Morgan Stanley (MS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Banco Santander (SAN) $185.53B, Morgan Stanley (MS) $291.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, SAN and MS?

Banco Santander (SAN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Banco Santander (SAN) 9.8x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 14.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Banco Santander (SAN) is cheapest (Banco Santander (SAN) 11.4x, Morgan Stanley (MS) 13.4x). 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: Banco Santander (SAN) +7.4%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +16.2%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Banco Santander (SAN) returned the most: Banco Santander (SAN) +28.0%, Morgan Stanley (MS) +12.0%. Over five years, Banco Santander (SAN) compounded fastest (Banco Santander (SAN) +26.7%/yr, Morgan Stanley (MS) +12.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Morgan Stanley (MS) has been the steadiest (Banco Santander (SAN) 34.3%, Morgan Stanley (MS) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do SAN and MS move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.51, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, SAN and MS?

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 4. 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.