Morgan Stanley management check
MS · Financials · Investment Banking & Brokerage · CEO Edward Pick
Filings as of
4 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $304, against $203 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.66 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- n/a
What does the CEO cost owners?
Not enough dataNo pay or net income figure for the latest year.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are selling3 insiders sold $8.9m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: James P. Gorman, Edward Pick. 0 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2025.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Financials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 83 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | — | — | 67 |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 51 |
| Dilution | 71 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Investment Banking & Brokerage, by management score. Morgan Stanley is 9th of 72 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 2, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Edward Pick | $37.2m | $92.9m | $23.8m | $304 | $203 | — |
| 2024 | Edward Pick | $24.9m | $64.5m | $25.9m | $289 | $173 | — |
| 2023 | James P. Gorman | $33.0m | $41.9m | $33.8m | $207 | $133 | — |
| 2022 | James P. Gorman | $39.4m | $31.4m | $20.4m | $181 | $118 | — |
| 2021 | James P. Gorman | $34.9m | $81.9m | $17.6m | $202 | $132 | — |
The board says pay is tied most to Return on average tangible common equity. Its other key measures: Return on Tangible Common Equity, Total Shareholder Return, Efficiency Ratio.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
3 insiders sold $8.9m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldMichael A. PizziHead Technology & Operations$5.2mJul 17, 2026
- SoldSharon YeshayaChief Financial Officer$3.5mJul 16, 2026
- SoldMary L SchapiroDirector$212kJul 28, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
No leadership changes or red-flag filings since 2025.
Latest shareholder vote results: May 15, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $28.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 43% of net income, and $9.2bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net income | $15.0bn | $11.0bn | $9.1bn | $13.4bn | $16.9bn |
| Stock-based pay | $2.1bn | $1.9bn | $1.7bn | $1.6bn | $1.9bn |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | $4.2bn | $5.4bn | $5.8bn | $6.1bn | $6.6bn |
| Diluted shares | 1814m | 1713m | 1646m | 1611m | 1592m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.