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IBKR vs MS
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR) vs. Morgan Stanley (MS) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Business models differ sharply: IBKR is an automated global electronic broker, while MS is a diversified bank spanning wealth management, institutional securities, and investment management.
- Momentum favors IBKR: IBKR has outpaced MS on a year-to-date and 52-week basis, reflecting faster client and revenue growth.
- Valuation gap is wide: IBKR trades near a 35x trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple versus roughly 15x for MS, which also carries a higher dividend yield.
- Scale and diversification favor MS: MS surpassed $10 trillion in total client assets and posted record institutional securities revenue in recent quarters.
- Different risk profiles: IBKR is more sensitive to interest rates and retail trading volumes, while MS is more exposed to trading and deal-making cycles.
Introduction
Investors comparing IBKR and MS are essentially weighing two very different ways to profit from capital-markets activity. Interactive Brokers Group is a technology-driven electronic broker that has been gaining market share through rapid account growth and global expansion. Morgan Stanley is a full-service financial institution whose earnings are anchored by wealth management while still benefiting from trading and investment banking. This stock comparison is relevant for growth-oriented traders drawn to IBKR's momentum and for income- and stability-focused investors evaluating MS's scale, diversification, and capital returns. Understanding their relative performance and market positioning helps clarify which profile fits a given portfolio.
IBKR Overview and Recent Performance
IBKR operates a highly automated brokerage platform that gives clients access to stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, and digital assets across more than 170 market centers worldwide. The firm's technology-led model generates unusually high margins; its pretax profit margin has held near 77% in recent quarters.
Recent market activity has favored the stock. IBKR's shares have climbed roughly 50% on a year-to-date basis through mid-2026, well ahead of the broader market and peers such as Charles Schwab. The catalyst has been sustained operating momentum: customer accounts rose 31% year over year to about 4.75 million, customer equity increased 38% to roughly $789 billion, and daily average revenue trades (DARTs), a measure of trading activity, grew 24%. Commission revenue and net interest income both posted double-digit gains, supported by expanding margin lending and client credit balances. The company also continued raising its dividend and broadening its product suite, including new market access and expanded AI integrations. This combination of client growth and operating leverage has reinforced positive sentiment, even as its premium valuation leaves less room for error.
MS Overview and Recent Performance
MS is a global financial services firm organized around three segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management. The firm has spent years shifting its revenue mix toward more stable, fee-based businesses, which now contribute more than half of net revenues.
Recent results have been strong. In the first half of 2026, Morgan Stanley grew net revenues about 21% year over year and net income roughly 42%, with return on tangible common equity (ROTCE, a measure of profitability on shareholder capital) reaching the high-20% range. Investment banking fees jumped as merger-and-acquisition (M&A) advisory and underwriting activity recovered, while trading revenues also climbed on elevated client engagement. Wealth Management reached a milestone of $10 trillion in total client assets, aided by strong net new asset inflows. The firm's capital position remains solid, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio in the mid-teens, and it raised its dividend for a twelfth consecutive year. MS shares have gained more than 20% year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 and several large-bank peers.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron's Trending AI Robots page curates a focused selection from a marketplace of hundreds of AI trading bots. The platform offers more than 350 bots overall, but only a small group — typically around 25 — earns placement in this trending section, where the most suitable strategies for current market conditions are highlighted. These bots trade thousands of different tickers and differ widely in trading style, strategy, timeframe, win rate, profit factor, and average trade duration, with some spanning 5-minute, 15-minute, and 60-minute models and others taking multi-day swing approaches. Notably, several bots focus on the investment-bank and broker sector, including tickers such as MS and IBKR. Because each bot publishes its own performance statistics and ticker coverage, traders can compare strategies before selecting one. Visit the Trending AI Robots page to explore the current leaders.
Head-to-Head Comparison
The most visible contrast is momentum versus scale. IBKR's growth is defined by account and volume expansion, producing rapid revenue increases and a high-teens-to-20% revenue growth profile, while MS generates far larger absolute revenue (tens of billions per quarter) from a diversified base. On valuation, the trade-off is clear: IBKR's premium P/E near 35x reflects expectations for continued growth, whereas MS's roughly 15x multiple and higher dividend yield reflect a more mature, capital-return-focused profile.
Growth drivers also differ. IBKR leans on global account acquisition, margin lending, and net interest income, making it somewhat rate-sensitive. MS benefits from a recovering investment-banking cycle, record trading activity, and recurring wealth-management fees, though trading and M&A revenues are inherently cyclical. Risk factors diverge accordingly: IBKR faces execution and valuation risk, while MS is exposed to market volatility, elevated balance-sheet leverage typical of a capital-markets firm, and expense growth. Sector exposure overlaps, but IBKR behaves more like a high-growth fintech, whereas MS behaves like a diversified bank.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable factors, Tickeron's AI would likely favor IBKR on a trend-consistency and momentum basis. The stock's sustained uptrend, accelerating account and volume growth, and near-record operating margins represent the kind of persistent, high-momentum profile that trend-following models tend to rank highly. That said, the verdict is probabilistic rather than definitive: MS offers greater scale, a more diversified and recurring revenue base, stronger capital returns, and a meaningfully lower valuation, which could appeal to models prioritizing stability and relative value. The balance of catalysts currently leans toward IBKR's growth trajectory, but MS's steadier, fee-based earnings and cheaper multiple present a credible counterweight depending on the strategy's timeframe and risk tolerance.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is IBKR is a Hold and MS is a Hold.
IBKR | MS | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 50 | 50 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 93 Overvalued | 83 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 7 | 13 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 45 | 5 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 46 | 58 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 42 | 56 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 85 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
MS's Valuation (83) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as IBKR (93). This means that MS’s stock grew similarly to IBKR’s over the last 12 months.
IBKR's Profit vs Risk Rating (7) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as MS (13). This means that IBKR’s stock grew similarly to MS’s over the last 12 months.
MS's SMR Rating (5) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is somewhat better than the same rating for IBKR (45). This means that MS’s stock grew somewhat faster than IBKR’s over the last 12 months.
IBKR's Price Growth Rating (46) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as MS (58). This means that IBKR’s stock grew similarly to MS’s over the last 12 months.
IBKR's P/E Growth Rating (42) in the Investment Banks Or Brokers industry is in the same range as MS (56). This means that IBKR’s stock grew similarly to MS’s over the last 12 months.
| IBKR | MS | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | N/A | 4 days ago 74% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 78% | 4 days ago 78% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 55% | 4 days ago 56% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 65% | 4 days ago 60% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 59% | 4 days ago 57% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 61% | 4 days ago 56% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 7 days ago 78% | N/A |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 5 days ago 55% | 5 days ago 60% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | N/A | 4 days ago 69% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 61% | 4 days ago 53% |
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is overvalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
IBKR’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green while MS’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s).
- IBKR’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- MS’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
IBKR’s TA Score shows that 2 TA indicator(s) are bullish while MS’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- IBKR’s TA Score: 2 bullish, 6 bearish.
- MS’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
IBKR (@Investment Banks/Brokers) experienced а -0.49% price change this week, while MS (@Investment Banks/Brokers) price change was -0.15% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Investment Banks/Brokers industry was -4.61%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -3.63%, and the average quarterly price growth was -9.14%.
Reported Earning Dates
IBKR is expected to report earnings on Oct 15, 2026.
MS is expected to report earnings on Oct 14, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Investment Banks/Brokers (-4.61% weekly)These banks specialize in underwriting (helping companies with debt financing or equity issuances), IPOs, facilitating mergers and other corporate reorganizations and acting as a broker or financial advisor for institutions. They might also trade securities on their own accounts. Investment banks potentially thrive on expanding its network of clients, since that could help them increase profits. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and CME Group Inc are some of the largest investment banking companies.
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IBKR and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, IBKR has been closely correlated with HOOD. These tickers have moved in lockstep 68% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if IBKR jumps, then HOOD could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To IBKR | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBKR | 100% | +1.62% | ||
| HOOD - IBKR | 68% Closely correlated | +1.88% | ||
| RJF - IBKR | 66% Loosely correlated | -0.14% | ||
| MS - IBKR | 65% Loosely correlated | +1.38% | ||
| GS - IBKR | 65% Loosely correlated | +1.44% | ||
| GLXY - IBKR | 59% Loosely correlated | +1.22% | ||
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MS and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, MS has been closely correlated with GS. These tickers have moved in lockstep 85% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if MS jumps, then GS could also see price increases.