Morgan Stanley beats estimates

Morgan Stanley’s secondquarter results topped Wall Street’s expectations as the investment bank’s trading and wealth management businesses helped lift revenue.

Although Morgan Stanley’s profit fell 8.5%, that drop was largely because of a tough comparison with the year before, when the bank had a one- time tax benefit. Excluding that year- earlier boost, the bank saw growth in all three of its core businesses.

Overall, Morgan Stanley earned $ 1.67 billion in the quarter, down from $ 1.82 billion a year earlier. On a pershare basis, that amounted to 85 cents.

Revenue rose to $ 9.74 billion, up from $ 8.61 billion. Wall Street had expected revenue of $ 9.19 billion in the latest quarter.

Morgan Stanley’s results also included a 6- cent per share adjustment that is tied to the value of the firm’s underlying debt. Excluding that adjustment, Morgan earned 79 cents per share, which was well ahead of the 74 cents that analysts were expecting.