LIVE
GS
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. · Financials
$1,096.56
+18.07% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
MS
Morgan Stanley · Financials
$223.17
+17.72% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
GS
3
MS
2
Comparison scoreboard
GS LEADS 3/5AI Score
GS ✓59.7
MS 59.6
1Y Return
GS ✓+75.55%
MS +71.55%
Fwd P/E
GS ✓16.20
MS 16.84
Target Up.
GS -10.49%
MS ✓-4.85%
Op. Margin
GS 38.60%
MS ✓40.62%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
GS vs MS Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are both elite Wall Street investment banks, but with diverging business strategies. Goldman is more concentrated in institutional investment banking and trading — higher cyclicality but stronger brand for the largest deals. Morgan Stanley diversified into wealth management at scale — reducing earnings cyclicality with $4T+ AUM providing stable fee income. Goldman offers more upside in strong M&A cycles; Morgan Stanley offers more earnings stability through cycles.
GS vs MS is the world's preeminent M&A advisory and institutional trading franchise without consumer banking distraction (Goldman Sachs) versus the elite investment bank transformed into a diversified wealth management and investment banking platform with $4T+ AUM providing stable fee income across market cycles (Morgan Stanley) — concentrated banking excellence vs diversified wealth and banking stability.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
GS holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. GS leads on both 1-year return (+75.55%) and forward P/E (16.20x vs 16.84x for MS), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. MS leads on both revenue growth (16.30%) and operating margin (40.62%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for MS (-4.85%) than for GS (-10.49%).
Normalized 1Y performance
GS
MS
Recent returns
GS
MS
Analyst price targets & sentiment
GS · 19 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (2.5/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$490.00
analyst mean$951.30
current price$1,096.56
-10.5% 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?
GS may suit investors who:
- →prefer the most prestigious global M&A advisory brand with the strongest institutional trading franchise — Goldman's deal brand attracts the most complex global M&A transactions
- →value Goldman's focus on institutional strengths after exiting consumer banking — returning to best-in-class investment banking and trading without distraction
- →want maximum upside in strong M&A and capital markets cycles — Goldman's operating leverage creates exceptional earnings growth in deal-heavy environments like 2021
- →are comfortable with investment banking cyclicality creating volatile earnings through deal market freezes, Goldman's higher ROE volatility, and refocusing execution risk
MS may suit investors who:
- →prefer the wealth management-transformed bank with $4T+ AUM providing stable fee income that smooths traditional investment banking cycle volatility
- →value Morgan Stanley's diversification creating more predictable earnings through interest rate and deal market cycles vs Goldman's more concentrated banking revenue
- →want the premium investment bank with stability — Morgan Stanley can compete for Goldman's M&A mandates while generating wealth management fees between deals
- →are comfortable with wealth management fee compression risk from ETF shift and robo-advisors, investment banking brand secondary to Goldman in pure advisory, and net interest income rate sensitivity
Performance & AI score
| Metric | GS | MS |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 59.7 | 59.6 |
| AI rank | #169 | #172 |
| Latest close | $1,096.56 | $223.17 |
| 1M return | +18.07% | +17.72% |
| 6M return | +25.70% | +27.67% |
| 1Y return | +75.55% | +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 | GS | MS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $17.26K (+72.6%) started 2025-06-18 | $16.84K (+68.4%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $37.34K (+273.4%) started 2021-06-21 | $34.44K (+244.4%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $108.37K (+983.7%) started 2016-06-20 | $149.52K (+1395.2%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | GS | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $313.52B | $337.6B |
| Trailing P/E | 19.42 | 19.39 |
| Forward P/E | 16.20 | 16.84 |
| Price/Sales | 3.55 | 3.31 |
| EV/Revenue | 0.62 | 3.62 |
| Analyst target | $951.30 | $203.67 |
| Target upside | -10.49% | -4.85% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | GS | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 14.50% | 16.30% |
| Earnings growth | 24.20% | 31.90% |
| EPS growth | +24.20% | +31.90% |
| FCF margin | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margin | 38.60% | 40.62% |
| Profit margin | 29.36% | 24.75% |
| ROIC proxy | 14.55% | 16.39% |
| Return on equity | 14.55% | 16.39% |
| Dividend yield | 1.69% | 1.87% |
| Beta | 1.29 | 1.22 |
| Debt/equity | 678.60 | 502.25 |
| Current ratio | 1.50 | 1.96 |
| Quick ratio | 1.35 | 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
GS max drawdown19.84%
MS max drawdown19.28%
GS max wkly drop10.07%
MS max wkly drop8.42%
5Y risk snapshot
GS max drawdown32.84%
MS max drawdown32.38%
GS max wkly drop15.72%
MS max wkly drop13.51%
10Y risk snapshot
GS max drawdown48.75%
MS max drawdown51.33%
GS max wkly drop24.20%
MS max wkly drop26.49%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | GS | MS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +72.62% | +68.40% |
| CAGR | +72.76% | +68.53% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.92 | 1.98 | |
| Max drawdown | 19.84% | 19.28% | |
| Max daily drop | 7.47% | 6.19% | |
| Max wkly drop | 10.07% | 8.42% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +237.68% | +197.87% |
| CAGR | +27.60% | +24.44% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.85 | 0.75 | |
| Max drawdown | 32.84% | 32.38% | |
| Max daily drop | 9.21% | 9.51% | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.72% | 13.51% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +789.37% | +1016.24% |
| CAGR | +24.44% | +27.30% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.73 | 0.78 | |
| Max drawdown | 48.75% | 51.33% | |
| Max daily drop | 12.71% | 15.60% | |
| Max wkly drop | 24.20% | 26.49% |
Business comparison
| Category | GS | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | Morgan Stanley |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Capital Markets | Capital Markets |
| Core business | Goldman Sachs is Wall Street's preeminent investment bank — with the strongest global franchise in M&A advisory, equity and debt capital markets, and securities trading. Goldman Sachs' Global Banking & Markets division generates the majority of revenue from trading (fixed income, equity) and investment banking fees. Goldman Sachs Asset Management manages money for institutional clients. Goldman's consumer banking experiment (Marcus) has been substantially wound down after significant losses. Under CEO David Solomon, Goldman is refocusing on its institutional and investment banking strengths. | Morgan Stanley transformed from a pure investment bank into a balanced wealth management + investment banking firm under CEO James Gorman (2010-2023). Morgan Stanley Wealth Management manages $4T+ in client assets with 15,000+ financial advisors — acquired E*Trade and Eaton Vance to expand. Investment Banking provides M&A advisory, capital markets, and trading. Morgan Stanley's wealth management transformation has significantly reduced earnings cyclicality — wealth management fees are more stable than volatile trading and advisory revenues. |
| Investor focus | Investors track investment banking revenue (M&A advisory, IPO underwriting), trading revenues (FICC and Equities), and ROE vs Goldman's cost of equity as a management efficiency metric. | Investors track Wealth Management fee-based flows and AUM, Investment Management revenue, and the percentage of total revenues from more stable fee-based segments vs volatile transaction-driven revenues. |
GS strengths
- →#1 or #2 position in global M&A advisory: Goldman's advisory brand is the strongest in investment banking — CEOs of the world's largest companies retain Goldman for the most complex transactions
- →Trading revenue diversification: Goldman's fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) plus equities trading generates consistent institutional revenue even between M&A cycles
- →Asset management with $2T+ AUM provides fee-based revenue independent of market activity levels
MS strengths
- →Wealth management transformation: Morgan Stanley's $4T+ wealth AUM creates recurring fee income that smooths the cyclicality of investment banking — a structural business model improvement vs peers
- →E*Trade and Eaton Vance acquisitions strategically built retail investor and institutional asset management scale — complementing the traditional HNW advisor-based business
- →Morgan Stanley's institutional securities franchise remains strong — capable of competing with Goldman for top M&A mandates while having wealth management as a revenue ballast
Risks to watch — GS
- →Consumer banking retreat: Goldman's Marcus consumer banking failure destroyed hundreds of millions in capital and management credibility — refocusing on institutional strengths is the right move but demonstrated strategic risk
- →Investment banking cyclicality: when deal markets freeze (2022-2023 rate spike environment), Goldman's advisory revenue falls dramatically — high operating leverage magnifies the swing
- →Return on equity vs cost of equity: Goldman must consistently generate ROE above its 12–13%+ cost of equity to justify book value premium
Risks to watch — MS
- →Wealth management margin pressure: fee compression in wealth management from roboadvisors and ETF shift could pressure Morgan Stanley's AUM fee revenue over time
- →Investment banking competition: in pure M&A advisory and capital markets, Goldman remains the more prestigious franchise — Morgan Stanley must work harder for the same mandates
- →Interest rate sensitivity: Morgan Stanley's wealth management business benefits from higher rates on client cash but faces net interest income headwinds when rates fall
Frequently asked questions
Free public comparison
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Related comparisons
More comparisons
Browse all 1,000 comparisons →