Sifting through countless of stocks in the Capital Markets industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Stifel Financial Corp. or Morgan Stanley because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley

Stifel Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated that provides retail and institutional wealth management, and investment banking services to individual, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other. The company provides private client services, including securities transaction and financial planning services; securities brokerage services, such as the sale of equities, mutual funds, fixed income products, and insurance; institutional equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, and municipal finance services; investment banking services, such as mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements; and retail and commercial banking services comprising personal and commercial lending programs, as well as deposit accounts. It participates in and manages underwritings for corporate and public finance; and offers financial advisory and securities brokerage services. The company was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The company offers capital raising and financial advisory services, including services related to the underwriting of debt, equity securities, and other products, as well as advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and project finance. It also provides equity and fixed income products comprising sales, financing, prime brokerage, and market-making services; Asia wealth management; business-related investments services; originating corporate and commercial real estate loans, secured lending facilities, and extending securities-based and other financing; and research activities. In addition, the company offers financial advisor-led brokerage, investment advisory, custody, cash management, and administrative services; self-directed brokerage services; financial and wealth planning services; stock plan administration; securities-based lending, residential real estate loans, and other lending products; banking; and retirement plan services. Further, it provides equity, fixed income, alternatives and solutions, and liquidity and overlay services to benefit/defined contribution plans, foundations, endowments, government entities, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, third-party fund sponsors, corporations, and individuals. Morgan Stanley was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Latest Capital Markets and Stifel Financial Corp., Morgan Stanley Stock News

As of July 24, 2026, Stifel Financial Corp. had a $12.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Capital Markets median of $2.9 million. Stifel Financial Corp.’s stock is down 3.2% in 2026, up 4.7% in the previous five trading days and up 9.6% in the past year.

Currently, Stifel Financial Corp.’s price-earnings ratio is 15.7. Stifel Financial Corp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $5.7 billion with a 16.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 14.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.434 per share for the current fiscal year. Stifel Financial Corp. currently has a 1.7% dividend yield.

As of July 24, 2026, Morgan Stanley had a $337.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 99th percentile of all stocks. Morgan Stanley’s stock is up 20.8% in 2026, down 0.5% in the previous five trading days and up 50.82% in the past year.

Currently, Morgan Stanley’s price-earnings ratio is 19.4. Morgan Stanley’s trailing 12-month revenue is $73.2 billion with a 25.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 16.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.961 per share for the current fiscal year. Morgan Stanley currently has a 2.1% dividend yield.

How We Compare Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Stifel Financial Corp.	SF	B
Morgan Stanley	MS	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Stifel Financial Corp. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong. Morgan Stanley has a Growth Score of 49, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Stifel Financial Corp.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Stifel Financial Corp. has a more attractive growth grade than Morgan Stanley. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Stifel Financial Corp. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Stifel Financial Corp.	SF	C
Morgan Stanley	MS	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Stifel Financial Corp. has a Quality Score of 43, which is Average. Morgan Stanley has a Quality Score of 31, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Stifel Financial Corp. or Morgan Stanley has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Stifel Financial Corp. or Morgan Stanley is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Stifel Financial Corp.	SF	C
Morgan Stanley	MS	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Stifel Financial Corp. has a Momentum Score of 52, which is Average. Morgan Stanley has a Momentum Score of 78, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Morgan Stanley

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Morgan Stanley is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Stifel Financial Corp.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Morgan Stanley could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley Grades

In addition to Growth, Momentum and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Stifel Financial Corp. or Morgan Stanley Stock?

Overall, Stifel Financial Corp. stock has a Growth Score of 77, Momentum Score of 52 and Quality Score of 43.

Morgan Stanley stock has a Growth Score of 49, Momentum Score of 78 and Quality Score of 31.

Comparing Stifel Financial Corp. and Morgan Stanley’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.