Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) today reported its second-quarter financial results. The New York City-based company reported a sharp decline in second-quarter profit. MS’s revenue for the quarter also fell sharply, sending the stock down sharply in trading today.
Morgan Stanley’s results highlight the challenging macro environment big banks are facing. Sales and trading revenue at major Wall Street firms, including Morgan Stanley, have been negatively impacted by economic uncertainty and the euro zone debt crisis.
Morgan Stanley’s fixed-income trading revenue dropped 60% on a year-over-year basis. This is far worse than what MS’s competitors reported in the second quarter.
CEO James P. Gorman said that Morgan Stanley continues to be focused on taking the required steps to deliver solid returns for its shareholders.
For the second quarter of 2012, Morgan Stanley reported a profit of $591 million, compared to a profit of $1.19 billion reported for the same period last year. The company’s earnings per share for the quarter were $0.29, compared to a loss of $0.38 reported last year. Previous year’s results included a $1.02 per share related to the conversion of preferred stock held by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
Analysts had forecast MS’s second-quarter earnings at $0.43 per share.
Revenue for the quarter dropped 24% to $6.95 billion. Excluding debt-valuation charges, revenue for the second quarter dropped 26% to $6.6 billion. The consensus forecast for second-quarter revenue was $7.7 billion.
MS stock fell more than 5% in trading today.