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 The Charles Schwab Corporation 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 The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services. It offers brokerage accounts with equity and fixed income trading, margin lending, options trading, futures and forex trading, and cash management capabilities, including money market funds, and certificates of deposit; third-party mutual funds through the Mutual Fund Marketplace and Mutual Fund OneSource service, as well as mutual fund trading and clearing services to broker-dealers; exchange-traded funds; advisory solutions for managed portfolios, separately managed accounts, customized personal advice for tailored portfolios, specialized planning, and full-time portfolio management; banking products comprising checking and savings accounts, first lien residential real estate mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, and pledged asset lines; and trust custody services, personal trust reporting services, and administrative trustee services. It provides digital and software based trading platforms; research tools, and multichannel support, real-time market data, options trading; equity compensation plan sponsors full-service recordkeeping for stock plans, stock options, restricted stock, performance shares, and stock appreciation rights; retirement plan services; mutual fund clearing services; and advisor services, including interactive tools and educational content. The Company operates through branch offices. The Charles Schwab Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas.

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 The Charles Schwab Corporation, Morgan Stanley Stock News

As of April 22, 2026, The Charles Schwab Corporation had a $159.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Capital Markets median of $3.6 million. The Charles Schwab Corporation’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 22.36% in the past year.

Currently, The Charles Schwab Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 19.7. The Charles Schwab Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $23.9 billion with a 38.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 18.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.019 per share for the current fiscal year. The Charles Schwab Corporation currently has a 1.4% dividend yield.

Currently, Morgan Stanley’s price-earnings ratio is 18.7. Morgan Stanley’s trailing 12-month revenue is $70.3 billion with a 24.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 11.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.806 per share for the current fiscal year. Morgan Stanley currently has a 2.1% dividend yield.

How We Compare The Charles Schwab Corporation 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 The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
The Charles Schwab Corporation	SCHW	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.

The Charles Schwab Corporation has a Quality Score of 44, which is Average. Morgan Stanley has a Quality Score of 26, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither The Charles Schwab Corporation 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 The Charles Schwab Corporation or Morgan Stanley is the better investment when it comes to quality.

The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
The Charles Schwab Corporation	SCHW	D
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%.

The Charles Schwab Corporation has a Momentum Score of 38, which is Weak. Morgan Stanley has a Momentum Score of 72, 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 The Charles Schwab Corporation. 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.

The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
The Charles Schwab Corporation	SCHW	C
Morgan Stanley	MS	B

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

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

The Charles Schwab Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 59, which is Neutral. Morgan Stanley has a Earnings Estimate Score of 77, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Morgan Stanley

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Morgan Stanley has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than The Charles Schwab Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Morgan Stanley could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley Grades

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

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

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 The Charles Schwab Corporation and Morgan Stanley pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, The Charles Schwab Corporation or Morgan Stanley Stock?

Overall, The Charles Schwab Corporation stock has a Momentum Score of 38, Estimate Revisions Score of 59 and Quality Score of 44.

Morgan Stanley stock has a Momentum Score of 72, Estimate Revisions Score of 77 and Quality Score of 26.

Comparing The Charles Schwab Corporation 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.