MS vs WFC Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are both major U.S. financial institutions, but Morgan Stanley is weighted toward wealth management and investment banking fee income, while Wells Fargo operates as a more traditional diversified bank reliant on net interest income from a large retail deposit base.
Morgan Stanley offers exposure to fee-based wealth management and investment banking revenue, while Wells Fargo offers exposure to a large, traditional retail and commercial banking franchise working past its regulatory history. Consider whether you prefer Morgan Stanley's fee income model or Wells Fargo's traditional banking scale and improving regulatory standing.
MS holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. MS has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+15.01% vs -2.41%), though WFC has the better forward P/E setup (10.28x vs 15.75x for MS). MS leads on both revenue growth (28.00%) and operating margin (41.57%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for WFC (+17.76%) than for MS (+10.17%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to a leading wealth management and investment banking franchise
- Believe fee-based revenue provides more stability than traditional interest income
- Value the strategic shift toward recurring wealth and investment management fees
- Are comfortable with cyclical investment banking and trading revenue
- Want exposure to a large, diversified traditional retail and commercial banking franchise
- Believe resolution of past regulatory consent orders supports renewed balance sheet growth
- Value a stable, low-cost deposit funding base
- Are comfortable with net interest income sensitivity to rate movements
| Metric | MS | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 64.3 | 42.3 |
| AI ranki | #78 | #961 |
| Latest closei | $190.00 | $84.81 |
| 1M returni | -1.43% | +5.38% |
| 3M returni | -9.55% | -0.73% |
| 6M returni | -0.31% | +3.14% |
| 1Y returni | +15.01% | -2.41% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | MS | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.58K (+15.8%) started 2025-10-29 | $9.86K (-1.4%) started 2025-10-29 |
| 5Y ago | $23.51K (+135.1%) started 2021-11-01 | $19.9K (+99.0%) started 2021-11-01 |
| 10Y ago | $95.39K (+853.9%) started 2016-10-31 | $31.24K (+212.4%) started 2016-10-31 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | MS | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $337.31B | $247.31B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 17.36 | 11.62 |
| Forward P/Ei | 15.75 | 10.28 |
| Price/Salesi | 3.31 | 3.22 |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.78 | 1.29 |
| Analyst targeti | $236.62 | $97.02 |
| Target upsidei | +10.17% | +17.76% |
| Metric | MS | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 28.00% | 0.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 62.40% | 12.70% |
| EPS growthi | +62.40% | +12.70% |
| FCF margini | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margini | 41.57% | 34.06% |
| Profit margini | 25.90% | 27.64% |
| ROIC proxyi | 17.97% | 12.91% |
| Return on equityi | 17.97% | 12.91% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.14% | 2.43% |
| Payout ratioi | 32.91% | 26.09% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.21 | 0.95 |
| Debt/equityi | 517.28 | N/A |
| Current ratioi | 2.00 | N/A |
| Quick ratioi | 1.60 | N/A |
Over the past year, MS and WFC have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.53), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | MS | WFC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +15.83% | -1.38% |
| CAGRi | +15.86% | -1.39% | |
| Volatilityi | 28.27% | 25.46% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.50 | -0.10 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.71 | -0.14 | |
| Max drawdowni | 21.91% | 23.83% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.87% | 12.01% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.43% | 10.78% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.88% | 12.55% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.19% | 5.70% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 8.42% | 8.74% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +106.60% | +80.24% |
| CAGRi | +15.64% | +12.53% | |
| Volatilityi | 28.91% | 29.52% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.49 | 0.40 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.71 | 0.57 | |
| Max drawdowni | 32.38% | 37.10% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.87% | 12.01% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 10.95% | 13.82% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.82% | 17.21% | |
| Max daily dropi | 9.51% | 9.12% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.51% | 17.68% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +623.85% | +136.18% |
| CAGRi | +21.90% | +8.98% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.46% | 32.41% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.65 | 0.29 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.95 | 0.41 | |
| Max drawdowni | 51.33% | 64.46% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.87% | 12.01% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.21% | 18.82% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 14.72% | 24.01% | |
| Max daily dropi | 15.60% | 15.87% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 26.49% | 30.08% |
| Category | MS | WFC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Morgan Stanley | Wells Fargo & Company |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Capital Markets | Banks - Diversified |
| Core business | A global financial services firm with leading wealth management, investment banking, and institutional securities businesses serving both individual and institutional clients. | A diversified U.S. bank holding company providing consumer banking, commercial banking, and wealth management services through a large retail branch network. |
| Investor focus | Wealth management fee-based asset growth, investment banking and trading revenue trends, and progress toward more stable, recurring fee income mix. | Net interest income trends, progress on resolving past regulatory consent orders, and expense management relative to revenue growth. |
- Leading wealth management franchise generates substantial recurring fee-based revenue less tied to market cycles
- Investment banking and institutional securities business provides exposure to capital markets activity
- Strategic shift toward fee-based wealth and investment management has reduced earnings volatility over time
- Large retail branch network and deposit base provide a stable, low-cost funding source
- Diversified business mix across consumer, commercial, and wealth management balances revenue sources
- Resolution of past regulatory consent orders has removed constraints on balance sheet growth over time
- Investment banking and trading revenue remains cyclical and sensitive to capital markets activity levels
- Wealth management asset growth is affected by broader equity and fixed income market performance
- Faces competition from other large wealth management and investment banking firms for advisor talent and client assets
- Net interest income is sensitive to interest rate movements and deposit competition
- Historical regulatory issues have required sustained investment in risk management and compliance infrastructure
- Faces competition from other large regional and national banks across its retail and commercial banking footprint
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