Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Earnings Up 60 Percent in Q4

Led by a strong performance in their brokerage segment, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) enjoyed a 60 percent gain in earnings over last year in the same quarter.

James Gorman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Despite this year’s challenging markets, we delivered strong results in Investment Banking enhancing our leadership positions in M&A, global equity and IPOs based on the strength of our banking, capital markets and equities teams. While we made progress in building out our Fixed income business through investments in both people and technology, there is more to be done to drive revenue and market share growth."

Earnings from continued operations in the fourth quarter reached 43 cents a share, beating analysts' estimates of 35 cents a share. Last year in the same period Morgan Stanley reported earnings of 18 cents a share.

Morgan generated revenue of $7.8 billion in the quarter, an increase of 14 percent over the $6.8 billion last year. The market had been looking for $7.35 billion.

Morgan Stanley was trading up modestly at $28.26, gaining $0.51, or 1.84 percent, as of 11:52 AM EST.