Brokers and exchanges · 17/36 against 16/36 checks · to 2026-09-08
GS vs MS.
Goldman SachsAn investment bank: advising on deals, trading in markets and managing money for institutions.
Morgan StanleyAn investment bank and, increasingly, a wealth manager after buying E*Trade and Eaton Vance.→Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are within reach of each other at $301.8B and $339.6B, and on the filings Goldman Sachs passes more, 17 checks of 36 against 16.
Which passes more checks?
widest gap first→No axis separates them by more than 1 of six checks, and the widest is Health. They score identically on 3 of the six, so the difference between them is narrower than a headline suggests.
| GS | MS | |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 1/6 | 0/6 |
| Shareholder returns | 5/6 | 4/6 |
| Trend analysis | 3/6 | 4/6 |
| Value | 2/6 | 2/6 |
| Growth | 4/6 | 4/6 |
| Quality | 2/6 | 2/6 |
| All checks | 17/36 | 16/36 |
→Morgan Stanley turns over $78.0B to Goldman Sachs's $66.2B, 1.2 times as much. Goldman Sachs keeps 31.7% of revenue as profit against 25.8% at Morgan Stanley.
Which balance sheet is stronger?
| GS | MS | |
|---|---|---|
| Debt / equity | - | 3.29x |
| Interest coverage | - | - |
| Cash and short-term investments | $187.3B | $160.1B |
Which hands more back to owners?
→Both pay: Morgan Stanley yields the more at 1.9% against 1.7%. A yield rises when a price falls, so read it beside the payout checks in each report.
| GS | MS | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 1.7% | 1.9% |
| Payout ratio | 25.2% | 32.7% |
| Years of unbroken dividend | - | - |
Which is cheaper?
→Goldman Sachs is the cheaper of the two on earnings, 15.7x against 17.1x. Against their own histories, Goldman Sachs is above its 9.6x median and Morgan Stanley is above its 9.3x.
| GS | MS | |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $1036.53 | $216.24 |
| Market cap | $301.8B | $339.6B |
| P/E | 15.7x | 17.1x |
| P/E, own median own 11-year median / own 11-year median | 9.6x | 9.3x |
| P/S | 4.6x | 4.4x |
| Free cash flow yield | -13.8% | - |
Which is growing faster, GS or MS?
→Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley grew revenue at much the same rate last year, +17.8% against +18.0%. Over three years the order is reversed: Morgan Stanley compounds at +9.6% against +7.2%.
| GS | MS | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $66.2B | $78.0B |
| Revenue growth, 1 year | +17.8% | +18.0% |
| Revenue CAGR, 3 years | +7.2% | +9.6% |
| Net income (TTM) | $21.0B | $20.2B |
| Free cash flow (TTM) | $-41.5B | - |
Which keeps more of each sale?
| GS | MS | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | - | - |
| Operating margin | - | - |
| Return on equity | 17.1% | 17.3% |
Where they differ most
the checks behind the gapHealth: Goldman Sachs 1 ahead
- Self-funding 4.51 years of cash at current burn
- Leverage is under control 0.93 vs 0.60
- Debt isn't dominating 3.29 vs 1.00
- Debt trending the right way debt/equity 3.29 now vs 2.16 five years ago
Shareholder returns: Goldman Sachs 1 ahead
- Share count isn't climbing shares down 11.3% over 3 years
- Buybacks outpace the stock issued to staff $14.0B bought back vs $3.5B of stock compensation
- Meaningful yield to owners (dividends and buybacks) $20.1B returned, 6.7% of market value
- Buybacks outpace the stock issued to staff $691M bought back vs $2.1B of stock compensation