Morgan Stanley’s stock outpaced gains in other financial stocks Thursday, after the bank and broker forecast a robust flow of deals as it beat both profit and revenue expectations for the latest quarter.

Morgan Stanley easily beat fourth-quarter profit and revenue estimates on strong equity trading and IPO activity.

Morgan Stanley's profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter, fueled by a wave of dealmaking and stock sales that drove its revenue to a full-year record.

Morgan Stanley turned in $3.7 billion of profit in the fourth quarter, up 147% from a year earlier and exceeding analysts’ estimates of $2.7 billion. The New York-based investment bank posted per-share earnings of $2.

Morgan Stanley’s traders beat analysts’ estimates in the fourth quarter, joining their other Wall Street rivals in reporting a strong end to the year on volatility tied to the US elections and economic data in the final months of 2024.

Morgan Stanley said its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter, fueled by its investment banking and trading businesses. Profit surged 145% to $3.71 billion. That amounted to $2.22 per share,

Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities group, which houses its investment banking and trading businesses, reported revenue of $7.3 billion in the fourth quarter, a 49% jump from $4.9 billion a year earlier.

Investment banking fees gained from a surge in mergers and acquisitions as sentiment was boosted by a strong U.S. economy, interest-rate cuts and expectations of lighter regulation under incoming U.S.

The bank's massive wealth management business will be helped by high stock market values in the fourth quarter, which inflates the management fees it collects.