Investment Banking: A Share Gained, a Fee Pool SwungNarrow moat

Morgan Stanley (MS) — moat facet

Morgan Stanley gained about a point of banking wallet share in five years while the fees it sells halved and came back.

Investment banking is where reputation is sold. Morgan Stanley's share of the fee wallet against its chosen peers, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS, rose from 14.3% in 2020 to about 15.5% in 2025, by its own estimate1.

Investment banking revenue ($M)10,27220215,23520224,57820236,17020247,6192025Morgan Stanley Forms 10-K FY2023 and FY2025
Halved in two years, still below 2021.

The fees themselves swing far more than the share. Investment banking revenue was $10,272 million in 2021, $5,235 million in 2022, $4,578 million in 2023 and $7,619 million in 202523. Equity underwriting alone went from $4,437 million in 2021 to $851 million in 20224. Advisory was $2,888 million in 20255.

The volume behind it recovered. The firm reports completed mergers of $756 billion in 2025 against $677 billion in 2023, and equity offerings of $79 billion against $32 billion, using LSEG data6.

The moat here is the relationship with chief executives and boards, built over decades and tested each time a large company chooses an adviser. A gain of about a point of wallet share over five years is modest but real.

Advisory revenue was $2,888 million in 2025 against $2,378 million in 2024, and fixed income underwriting $2,766 million against $2,193 million7. In the second quarter of 2026 advisory was $798 million against $508 million a year earlier8, a sign that the merger pipeline was converting into completed deals.

The second quarter of 2026 brought investment banking revenue of $2,437 million, up 58%9. The fee total will rise and fall with deal markets; the test of the franchise is the share, and a return toward 14% would mean the gains of the past five years had been given back.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Wallet share 14.3% (2020) to ~15.5% (2025E).

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Investment banking revenue, latest quarter
$2,437M (Q2 2026) vs $1,540M a year earlier

The fee pool in the latest quarter; watch the share of the wallet, not only the fees.

Source: Morgan Stanley Q2 2026 earnings release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Underwriting Fell 81% in One Year
Morgan Stanley's equity underwriting fees fell 81% in 2022, which is what a closed IPO window does to the best franchise.
References
  1. ReportedMorgan Stanley's share of the fee wallet against its chosen peers, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS, rose from 14.3% in 2020 to about 15.5% in 2025, by its own estimate.
    Morgan Stanley strategic update, The Integrated Firm: Executing on a Higher Plane, Form 8-K exhibit 99.3 - ROTCE 2016-2025, firmwide goals, five-year Wealth Management aggregates and wallet share. — 2016-2025 · publ. 15 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedInvestment banking revenue was $10,272 million in 2021, $5,235 million in 2022, $4,578 million in 2023 and $7,619 million in 2025.
    Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - financial highlights, income statement, balance sheet and business description. — FY2025 · publ. 19 February 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedInvestment banking revenue was $10,272 million in 2021, $5,235 million in 2022, $4,578 million in 2023 and $7,619 million in 2025.
    Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - segment results for 2021-2023, Wealth Management metrics for 2021-2023, the block-trading settlements, and 2023 charges. — FY2023 · publ. February 2024 · source ↗
  4. ReportedEquity underwriting alone went from $4,437 million in 2021 to $851 million in 2022.
    Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - segment results for 2021-2023, Wealth Management metrics for 2021-2023, the block-trading settlements, and 2023 charges. — FY2023 · publ. February 2024 · source ↗
  5. ReportedAdvisory was $2,888 million in 2025.
    Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - segment results, revenue lines and regional net revenues. — FY2025 · publ. 19 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe firm reports completed mergers of $756 billion in 2025 against $677 billion in 2023, and equity offerings of $79 billion against $32 billion, using LSEG data.
    Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - financial highlights, income statement, balance sheet and business description. — FY2025 · publ. 19 February 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedAdvisory revenue was $2,888 million in 2025 against $2,378 million in 2024, and fixed income underwriting $2,766 million against $2,193 million.
    Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - segment results, revenue lines and regional net revenues. — FY2025 · publ. 19 February 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedIn the second quarter of 2026 advisory was $798 million against $508 million a year earlier, a sign that the merger pipeline was converting into completed deals.
    Morgan Stanley second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment results for Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management. — Q2 2026 · publ. 15 July 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe second quarter of 2026 brought investment banking revenue of $2,437 million, up 58%.
    Morgan Stanley second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment results for Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management. — Q2 2026 · publ. 15 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 26, 2026