GS vs. MS: Goldman Sachs vs. Morgan Stanley Stock Comparison

August 16, 2026

How do Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are both classified in the Investment Banking & Brokerage sub-industry within the broader Capital Markets industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Profile Item	GS	MS
Name	The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.	Morgan Stanley
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Investment Banking & Brokerage	Investment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization	302.65 billion USD	341.69 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	May 4, 1999	February 23, 1993
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GSPC

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
Total Return (1Y)	41.91%	49.68%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	48.90%	39.74%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	23.36%	19.65%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GSPC

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.46%	27.83%
Beta (5Y)	1.29	1.22
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.84%	-32.38%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.14M	5.83M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GS and MS are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.21	1.64
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.83	2.43

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 16.90% and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 17.97% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

GS

Financial Services industry group

16.90%

Max: 48.53%
Q3: 22.22%
GS: 16.90%
Median: 12.75%
Q1: 4.09%
Min: -22.61%

MS

Financial Services industry group

17.97%

Max: 48.53%
Q3: 22.22%
MS: 17.97%
Median: 12.75%
Q1: 4.09%
Min: -22.61%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Goldman Sachs (GS) at 31.04% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Morgan Stanley (MS) at 25.90%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

GS

Financial Services industry group

31.04%

Max: 66.61%
GS: 31.04%
Q3: 29.41%
Median: 16.08%
Q1: 4.44%
Min: -30.54%

MS

Financial Services industry group

25.90%

Max: 66.61%
Q3: 29.41%
MS: 25.90%
Median: 16.08%
Q1: 4.44%
Min: -30.54%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 42.18% and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 41.57% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

GS

Financial Services industry group

42.18%

Max: 96.23%
Q3: 53.97%
GS: 42.18%
Median: 28.94%
Q1: 11.79%
Min: -46.79%

MS

Financial Services industry group

41.57%

Max: 96.23%
Q3: 53.97%
MS: 41.57%
Median: 28.94%
Q1: 11.79%
Min: -46.79%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
ROE (TTM)	16.90%	17.97%
ROA (TTM)	1.07%	1.35%
Net Margin (TTM)	31.04%	25.90%
Operating Margin (TTM)	42.18%	41.57%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 8.92% and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 14.48% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 26.59% and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 28.43% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.92%	14.48%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.16%	9.52%
EPS Growth (YoY)	26.59%	28.43%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.52%	18.41%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Goldman Sachs (GS) in Financial Services and Morgan Stanley (MS) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Goldman Sachs (GS) in Financial Services and Morgan Stanley (MS) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 1.63% and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 1.90% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

GS

Financial Services industry group

1.63%

Max: 17.41%
Q3: 7.19%
GS: 1.63%
Median: 1.49%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MS

Financial Services industry group

1.90%

Max: 17.41%
Q3: 7.19%
MS: 1.90%
Median: 1.49%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 26.25% and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 32.31% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

GS

Financial Services industry group

26.25%

Max: 223.44%
Q3: 89.87%
GS: 26.25%
Median: 25.19%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MS

Financial Services industry group

32.31%

Max: 223.44%
Q3: 89.87%
MS: 32.31%
Median: 25.19%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.63%	1.90%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.25%	32.31%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 16.05 and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 17.54 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

GS

Financial Services industry group

16.05

Max: 50.93
Q3: 26.65
Median: 16.33
GS: 16.05
Q1: 10.01
Min: 2.15

MS

Financial Services industry group

17.54

Max: 50.93
Q3: 26.65
MS: 17.54
Median: 16.33
Q1: 10.01
Min: 2.15

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 4.48 and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 4.39 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

GS

Financial Services industry group

4.48

Max: 9.98
Q3: 4.93
GS: 4.48
Median: 2.98
Q1: 1.55
Min: -1.13

MS

Financial Services industry group

4.39

Max: 9.98
Q3: 4.93
MS: 4.39
Median: 2.98
Q1: 1.55
Min: -1.13

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Goldman Sachs (GS) at 2.84 and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 3.21 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

GS

Financial Services industry group

2.84

Max: 7.91
Q3: 3.71
GS: 2.84
Median: 1.60
Q1: 0.85
Min: -0.34

MS

Financial Services industry group

3.21

Max: 7.91
Q3: 3.71
MS: 3.21
Median: 1.60
Q1: 0.85
Min: -0.34

Goldman Sachs (GS) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	GS	MS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	16.05	17.54
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.48	4.39
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.84	3.21
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--