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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley

Ameriprise Financial, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company in the United States and internationally. The company offers financial planning and advice services to individual and institutional clients. It operates through Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, Corporate & Other segments. The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides financial planning and advice; brokerage products and services for retail and institutional clients; discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts; mutual funds; insurance and annuities products; cash management and banking products; and face-amount certificates. The Asset Management segment offers investment management, advice, and products to retail, high net worth, and institutional clients through third-party financial institutions, advisor network, direct retail, and its institutional sales force under the Columbia Threadneedle Investments brand name. Its products include U.S. mutual funds and their non-U.S. equivalents, exchange-traded funds, variable product funds underlying insurance, and annuity separate accounts; and institutional asset management products, such as traditional asset classes, separately managed accounts, individually managed accounts, collateralized loan obligations, hedge funds, collective funds, and property and infrastructure funds. The Retirement & Protection Solutions segment provides variable annuity products, as well as life and disability income insurance products to retail clients. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. was formerly known as American Express Financial Corporation and changed its name to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. in September 2005. The company was founded in 1894 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., Morgan Stanley Stock News

As of September 25, 2026, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. had a $43.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Capital Markets median of $3.3 million. Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s stock is up 0.5% in 2026, down 9.4% in the previous five trading days and up 0.23% in the past year.

Currently, Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.9. Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $19.8 billion with a 19.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 11.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $46.527 per share for the current fiscal year. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. currently has a 1.4% dividend yield.

As of September 25, 2026, Morgan Stanley had a $308.3 billion market cap, putting it in the 99th percentile of all stocks. Morgan Stanley’s stock is up 10.6% in 2026, down 3.1% in the previous five trading days and up 24.34% in the past year.

Currently, Morgan Stanley’s price-earnings ratio is 15.9. Morgan Stanley’s trailing 12-month revenue is $77.8 billion with a 25.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 28.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.942 per share for the current fiscal year. Morgan Stanley currently has a 2.3% dividend yield.

How We Compare Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	AMP	B
Morgan Stanley	MS	C

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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Value Score of 76, which is Value. Morgan Stanley has a Value Score of 45, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. is considered to have better value than Morgan Stanley. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 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.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	AMP	A
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.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. Morgan Stanley has a Growth Score of 49, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 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, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 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.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.	AMP	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.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 57, which is Neutral. Morgan Stanley has a Earnings Estimate Score of 63, 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc.. 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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley Grades

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

Momentum grades help 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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite 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 F-Score.

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 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and Morgan Stanley pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. or Morgan Stanley Stock?

Overall, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 76, Growth Score of 100 and Estimate Revisions Score of 57.

Morgan Stanley stock has a Value Score of 45, Growth Score of 49 and Estimate Revisions Score of 63.

Comparing Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 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.