Business Segments · Compensation and benefits

Institutional Securities1 — Compensation and benefits

Morgan Stanley Institutional Securities1 — Compensation and benefits increased by 57.0% to $3.26B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 14.4%, from $2.85B to $3.26B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Institutional Securities1 — Compensation and benefits shows relatively stable performance with a 1.6% CAGR. This increase may warrant attention — for this metric, lower values are generally preferred.

Analysis

StatementSegment
CategoryEfficiency
SignalLower is better
VolatilityModerate
First reportedQ1 2019
Last reportedQ1 2026

How to read this metric

An increase relative to revenue may signal rising talent costs or higher performance-based payouts, while a decrease may indicate cost-cutting or lower variable compensation due to weaker performance.

Detailed definition

The total cost of employee salaries, bonuses, stock-based compensation, and related benefits for the Institutional Secur...

Peer comparison

Highly comparable to compensation expense ratios in the investment banking sector.

Metric ID: ms_segment_is_compensation_and_benefits

Historical Data

20 periods
 Q2 '21Q3 '21Q4 '21Q1 '22Q2 '22Q3 '22Q4 '22Q1 '23Q2 '23Q3 '23Q4 '23Q1 '24Q2 '24Q3 '24Q4 '24Q1 '25Q2 '25Q3 '25Q4 '25Q1 '26
Value$2.43B$2.25B$1.37B$2.60B$2.05B$1.95B$1.64B$2.37B$2.22B$2.06B$1.73B$2.34B$2.29B$2.27B$1.76B$2.85B$2.43B$2.42B$2.08B$3.26B
QoQ Change-7.6%-39.1%+90.1%-21.3%-5.0%-15.6%+43.9%-6.3%-7.1%-15.8%+35.3%-2.2%-0.9%-22.3%+61.8%-14.9%-0.3%-14.2%+57.0%
YoY Change-15.7%-13.3%+20.0%-9.2%+8.0%+5.6%+5.4%-0.9%+3.4%+10.4%+1.8%+21.8%+6.1%+6.6%+17.9%+14.4%
Range$1.37B$3.26B
CAGR+6.4%
Avg YoY Growth+5.1%
Median YoY Growth+5.8%

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Morgan Stanley's institutional securities1 — compensation and benefits?
Morgan Stanley (MS) reported institutional securities1 — compensation and benefits of $3.26B in Q1 2026.
How has Morgan Stanley's institutional securities1 — compensation and benefits changed year-over-year?
Morgan Stanley's institutional securities1 — compensation and benefits increased by 14.4% year-over-year, from $2.85B to $3.26B.
What is the long-term trend for Morgan Stanley's institutional securities1 — compensation and benefits?
Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Morgan Stanley's institutional securities1 — compensation and benefits has grown at a 1.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $9.17B to $9.79B.
What does institutional securities1 — compensation and benefits mean?
The total cost of paying and providing benefits to the employees of the Institutional Securities segment.