LIVE
SCHW
The Charles Schwab Corporation · Financial Services / Retail Brokerage & Banking
$91.70
-0.12% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
MS
Morgan Stanley · Financial Services / Investment Banking & Wealth Management
$223.17
+17.72% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
SCHW
3
MS
2
Comparison scoreboard
SCHW LEADS 3/5AI Score
SCHW 51.4
MS ✓59.6
1Y Return
SCHW +3.08%
MS ✓+71.55%
Fwd P/E
SCHW ✓12.56
MS 16.84
Target Up.
SCHW ✓+27.39%
MS -4.85%
Op. Margin
SCHW ✓49.35%
MS 40.62%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
SCHW vs MS Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
SCHW and MS are financial services companies serving different market segments with different revenue structures. Schwab is the dominant retail self-directed investor platform — revenue from NII on client cash balances and asset management fees, highly sensitive to rate environment. Morgan Stanley is a diversified investment bank and wealth management firm — institutional services plus $5T+ in advisory AUM providing stability across cycles. Schwab is more interest rate sensitive; Morgan Stanley has more investment banking cycle exposure.
SCHW vs MS — Charles Schwab ($9T+ retail brokerage platform with NII-dominant revenue model, TD Ameritrade integration, and secular retail investor growth tailwind) versus Morgan Stanley (top investment bank with $5T+ wealth management AUM providing stable fee income alongside institutional securities trading and M&A advisory).
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
SCHW holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. MS has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+71.55% vs +3.08%), though SCHW trades at the lower forward P/E (12.56x vs 16.84x). On fundamentals, MS is growing revenue faster (16.30%), while SCHW maintains the higher operating margin (49.35%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for SCHW (+27.39%) than for MS (-4.85%).
Normalized 1Y performance
SCHW
MS
Recent returns
SCHW
MS
Analyst price targets & sentiment
SCHW
Price target range
analyst mean$116.05
current price$91.70
+27.4% upside to analyst mean
MS · 19 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Hold (2.6/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$101.00
analyst mean$203.67
current price$223.17
-4.8% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
SCHW may suit investors who:
- →believe client cash sorting headwinds are abating and Schwab's NII will recover as the rate environment normalizes and clients reduce money market allocations back to Schwab sweeps
- →want exposure to retail investing growth — Schwab's $9T+ client asset base benefits from the long-term structural growth in retail investor participation and retirement savings
- →value Schwab's dominant self-directed retail platform with significant switching costs — once investors build their brokerage at Schwab, moving accounts is complex and infrequent
- →are comfortable with rate sensitivity and the TD Ameritrade integration execution risk as near-term headwinds abate and long-term scale advantages compound
MS may suit investors who:
- →want diversified financial services exposure — Morgan Stanley's combination of wealth management stability and investment banking cycle upside provides different risk characteristics than pure brokerages or pure investment banks
- →value Morgan Stanley's wealth management transformation — $5T+ in advisory AUM provides recurring fee income that smooths the volatility of investment banking cycles
- →are positive on M&A recovery in 2024-2025 as rate cuts and improving deal conditions restore investment banking revenue after 2022-2023's drought
- →prefer Morgan Stanley's institutional investor relationships and global reach vs Schwab's primarily US retail investor focus
Performance & AI score
| Metric | SCHW | MS |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 51.4 | 59.6 |
| AI rank | #376 | #172 |
| Latest close | $91.70 | $223.17 |
| 1M return | -0.12% | +17.72% |
| 6M return | -5.08% | +27.67% |
| 1Y return | +3.08% | +71.55% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SCHW | MS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.2K (+2.0%) started 2025-06-18 | $16.84K (+68.4%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $14.06K (+40.6%) started 2021-06-21 | $34.44K (+244.4%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $40.55K (+305.5%) started 2016-06-20 | $149.52K (+1395.2%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | SCHW | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $158.44B | $337.6B |
| Trailing P/E | 18.11 | 19.39 |
| Forward P/E | 12.56 | 16.84 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | 3.31 |
| EV/Revenue | 5.17 | 3.62 |
| Analyst target | $116.05 | $203.67 |
| Target upside | +27.39% | -4.85% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | SCHW | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 15.80% | 16.30% |
| Earnings growth | 38.60% | 31.90% |
| EPS growth | +38.60% | +31.90% |
| FCF margin | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margin | 49.35% | 40.62% |
| Profit margin | 37.99% | 24.75% |
| ROIC proxy | 19.08% | 16.39% |
| Return on equity | 19.08% | 16.39% |
| Dividend yield | 1.41% | 1.87% |
| Beta | 0.77 | 1.22 |
| Debt/equity | 120.77 | 502.25 |
| Current ratio | 0.63 | 1.96 |
| Quick ratio | 0.63 | 1.53 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
SCHW max drawdown20.39%
MS max drawdown19.28%
SCHW max wkly drop13.18%
MS max wkly drop8.42%
5Y risk snapshot
SCHW max drawdown49.70%
MS max drawdown32.38%
SCHW max wkly drop32.23%
MS max wkly drop13.51%
10Y risk snapshot
SCHW max drawdown51.08%
MS max drawdown51.33%
SCHW max wkly drop32.23%
MS max wkly drop26.49%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | SCHW | MS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +1.99% | +68.40% |
| CAGR | +1.99% | +68.53% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.02 | 1.98 | |
| Max drawdown | 20.39% | 19.28% | |
| Max daily drop | 7.63% | 6.19% | |
| Max wkly drop | 13.18% | 8.42% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +33.03% | +197.87% |
| CAGR | +5.88% | +24.44% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.20 | 0.75 | |
| Max drawdown | 49.70% | 32.38% | |
| Max daily drop | 12.77% | 9.51% | |
| Max wkly drop | 32.23% | 13.51% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +259.05% | +1016.24% |
| CAGR | +13.64% | +27.30% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.42 | 0.78 | |
| Max drawdown | 51.08% | 51.33% | |
| Max daily drop | 12.77% | 15.60% | |
| Max wkly drop | 32.23% | 26.49% |
Business comparison
| Category | SCHW | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The Charles Schwab Corporation | Morgan Stanley |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | N/A | Capital Markets |
| Core business | Charles Schwab is the largest US retail brokerage by client assets ($9T+), offering self-directed investing, robo-advisory (Schwab Intelligent Portfolios), financial planning, banking (checking, savings, mortgages), and third-party investment advisory access. Schwab's acquisition of TD Ameritrade (2020) dramatically expanded scale. Schwab's revenue model is unique: zero-commission trades make trading revenue minimal — revenue comes from net interest income (earning spread on client cash balances), asset management fees (mutual funds, ETFs, advisory accounts), and service fees. Schwab's significant exposure to client cash sweep revenue makes it highly sensitive to Fed funds rates. | Morgan Stanley is a leading global investment bank and wealth management firm. Core businesses: Institutional Securities (investment banking, sales and trading, M&A advisory — Morgan Stanley's traditional core), Wealth Management (retail and high-net-worth financial advisory services with $5T+ in client assets, significantly expanded through E*Trade acquisition in 2020 and Eaton Vance acquisition in 2021), and Investment Management (institutional asset management). Morgan Stanley's strategic transformation under CEO James Gorman has successfully shifted toward the more stable fee-based wealth management business — reducing dependence on volatile trading revenue. |
| Investor focus | Investors focus on Schwab's net interest income (NII) sensitivity to Federal Reserve rate changes, client cash sorting (clients moving cash to higher-yielding alternatives reduces Schwab's NII), TD Ameritrade integration cost savings, and long-term retail investor AUM growth. | Investors focus on Morgan Stanley's wealth management fee revenue growth, investment banking activity (M&A, IPO, equity and debt issuance cycles), trading revenue from institutional securities, and the structural shift toward higher-quality fee earnings from $5T+ in wealth management client assets. |
SCHW strengths
- →$9T+ in client assets provides enormous economic moat: Schwab's scale in retail brokerage creates switching cost advantages and enormous NII generation potential as the largest custodian of retail investor assets
- →Retail investing secular tailwind: growing retail investor participation and retirement savings industry creates structural AUM growth regardless of market performance
- →Cost structure advantages from TD Ameritrade integration: merger synergies and operational scale create cost advantages vs smaller retail brokerages
MS strengths
- →$5T+ wealth management client assets: Morgan Stanley's E*Trade and Eaton Vance acquisitions created the largest wireframe wealth management platform — recurring fee revenue from $5T+ AUM provides earnings stability absent from investment banking cycles
- →Investment banking brand and deal flow access: Morgan Stanley is a top 3 global investment bank for M&A advisory and equity underwriting — premier client relationships and deal origination capabilities
- →Balanced institutional and retail revenue: Morgan Stanley's combination of investment banking, trading, and wealth management diversifies across financial cycles vs pure-play brokerages or pure investment banks
Risks to watch — SCHW
- →Rate sensitivity and client cash sorting: when interest rates are high, clients sweep cash from Schwab's low-yielding accounts to money market funds — reducing Schwab's NII significantly (core earnings headwind experienced 2022-2024)
- →TD Ameritrade integration completion: integrating TD's technology platform and client accounts is complex and ongoing — integration disruptions can affect client retention
- →Zero commission competitive landscape: zero-commission trading makes Schwab dependent on non-trade revenue — business model change from trading fees requires successful asset management and NII execution
Risks to watch — MS
- →Investment banking cycle dependency: M&A advisory and underwriting fees are highly cyclical — deal activity slows dramatically in rising rate environments (2022-2023 saw significant IB revenue declines)
- →Trading revenue volatility: institutional securities trading revenue can vary 20-30% year-over-year based on market volatility and positioning — creates earnings uncertainty despite wealth management stability
- →Competition from Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, UBS in wealth: high-net-worth wealth management is competitive — client retention and advisor quality are ongoing competitive concerns
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