HSBC vs. MS: HSBC vs. Morgan Stanley Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do HSBC (HSBC) 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

HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) share the Financials sector but sit in different industry groups — HSBC in Banks and MS in Financial Services.

Morgan Stanley (MS) trades as ordinary local shares, while HSBC (HSBC) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Profile Item	HSBC	MS
Name	HSBC Holdings plc Sponsored ADR	Morgan Stanley Common Stock
Country/Region	United Kingdom	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Banks	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Banks	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Diversified Banks	Investment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization	297.66 billion USD	283.60 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	July 16, 1999	February 23, 1993
Security Type	ADR	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HSBC

GSPC

HSBC (HSBC) 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 HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
Total Return (1Y)	32.02%	19.44%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	43.61%	40.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	33.35%	17.38%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HSBC

GSPC

HSBC (HSBC) 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 HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	28.54%	29.73%
Beta (5Y)	0.54	1.21
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-31.80%	-32.38%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.58M	5.37M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

HSBC and MS are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. Each dashed Capital Allocation Line uses that stock's own industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.97	0.51
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.52	0.73

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

HSBC (HSBC) at 14.22% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Morgan Stanley (MS) at 18.04% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for HSBC.

HSBC

Banks industry group

14.22%

Max: 19.84%
HSBC: 14.22%
Q3: 13.67%
Median: 11.49%
Q1: 9.50%
Min: 3.64%

MS

Financial Services industry group

18.04%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
MS: 18.04%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their ROE against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Net Margin (TTM)

HSBC (HSBC) at 41.16% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Morgan Stanley (MS) at 25.63%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

HSBC

Banks industry group

41.16%

Max: 47.19%
HSBC: 41.16%
Q3: 35.25%
Median: 31.21%
Q1: 27.11%
Min: 14.93%

MS

Financial Services industry group

25.63%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
MS: 25.63%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their net margin against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Morgan Stanley (MS) reports operating margin of 39.00%; HSBC (HSBC) doesn’t report a comparable line — in Banks, funding costs sit inside the core business rather than below an operating line, so profitability is better judged on net margin or ROE.

HSBC

Banks industry group

HSBC: --
Max: --
Q3: --
Median: --
Q1: --
Min: --

MS

Financial Services industry group

39.00%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
MS: 39.00%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): HSBC’s operating margin is not assessed under the Banks industry convention, so the chart shows available visual context for MS only.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
ROE (TTM)	14.22%	18.04%
ROA (TTM)	0.84%	1.35%
Net Margin (TTM)	41.16%	25.63%
Operating Margin (TTM)	--	39.00%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Morgan Stanley (MS) at 14.48% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while HSBC (HSBC) at 5.38% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

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

EPS Growth

Morgan Stanley (MS) at 28.43% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while HSBC (HSBC) at -3.23% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.38%	14.48%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.75%	9.52%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-3.23%	28.43%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	17.49%	18.41%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: HSBC (HSBC) in Banks 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: HSBC (HSBC) in Banks 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 HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Morgan Stanley (MS) at 2.40% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while HSBC (HSBC) at 0.86% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

HSBC

Banks industry group

0.86%

Max: 5.79%
Q3: 3.18%
Median: 2.39%
Q1: 1.20%
HSBC: 0.86%
Min: 0.00%

MS

Financial Services industry group

2.40%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
MS: 2.40%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their dividend yield against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Morgan Stanley (MS) at 32.91% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while HSBC (HSBC) at 53.57% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

HSBC

Banks industry group

53.57%

Max: 70.75%
HSBC: 53.57%
Q3: 41.28%
Median: 29.26%
Q1: 18.98%
Min: 0.00%

MS

Financial Services industry group

32.91%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
MS: 32.91%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their payout ratio against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.86%	2.40%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	53.57%	32.91%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both HSBC (HSBC) at 11.38 and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 14.39 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

HSBC

Banks industry group

11.38

Max: 18.16
Q3: 13.75
Median: 11.81
HSBC: 11.38
Q1: 10.64
Min: 6.49

MS

Financial Services industry group

14.39

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
MS: 14.39
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Morgan Stanley (MS) shows P/S ratio of 3.55; for HSBC (HSBC) the multiple is skipped — in Banks, income is dominated by interest spread rather than a conventional revenue line, so pricing per dollar of sales loses meaning and book- or earnings-based multiples carry the comparison.

HSBC

Banks industry group

HSBC: --
Max: --
Q3: --
Median: --
Q1: --
Min: --

MS

Financial Services industry group

3.55

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
MS: 3.55
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): HSBC’s P/S ratio is not assessed under the Banks industry convention, so the chart shows available visual context for MS only.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Morgan Stanley (MS) at 2.65 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while HSBC (HSBC) at 6.87 prices above its benchmark range — HSBC looks rich relative to book.

HSBC

Banks industry group

6.87

HSBC: 6.87
Max: 2.28
Q3: 1.58
Median: 1.32
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.59

MS

Financial Services industry group

2.65

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
MS: 2.65
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

HSBC (HSBC) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for HSBC (HSBC) and Morgan Stanley (MS)
Metric	HSBC	MS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	11.38	14.39
P/S Ratio (TTM)	--	3.55
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.87	2.65
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--