Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 7.7% to hit US$15b. Morgan Stanley reported statutory earnings per share (EPS) US$1.88, which was a notable 19% above what the analysts had forecast. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

Following the latest results, Morgan Stanley's 18 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$62.2b in 2025. This would be a satisfactory 6.8% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to step up 19% to US$7.84. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$61.3b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$7.60 in 2025. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

The consensus price target rose 7.6% to US$116, suggesting that higher earnings estimates flow through to the stock's valuation as well. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. There are some variant perceptions on Morgan Stanley, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$135 and the most bearish at US$95.00 per share. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Morgan Stanley's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Morgan Stanley'shistorical trends, as the 5.4% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 5.6% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 3.4% annually. So it's pretty clear that Morgan Stanley is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Morgan Stanley's earnings potential next year. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Morgan Stanley going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Morgan Stanley that you should be aware of.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.