Morgan Stanley vs Volkswagen: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Morgan Stanley reported $70.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $16.9B of net income. Volkswagen reported ~$363.8B of revenue in FY2025 and ~$7.5B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Morgan Stanley
- Latest revenue
- $70.6B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $16.9B
- Net margin
- 23.9%
- Revenue growth
- +8.2% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Volkswagen
- Latest revenue
- ~$363.8B (FY2025)
- Net income
- ~$7.5B
- Net margin
- 2.1%
- Revenue growth
- +6.5% a year, FY2021–FY2025
Financial summary
Morgan Stanley
Net revenues rose from $34.6B in 2016 to $70.6B in 2025, with net income reaching $16.9B in 2025. Under James Gorman (CEO 2010-2023) the firm added Smith Barney, E*TRADE, and Eaton Vance to build recurring fee revenue. Under Ted Pick, results accelerated: Q2 2026 net revenue of $21.35B was up 27% year over year, net income of $5.58B was up 58%, and first-half 2026 revenue was about $42B with ROTCE near 27%.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Group reported ~$364 billion (EUR 321.9 billion) in 2025 sales revenue, slightly below ~$367 billion (EUR 324.7 billion) in 2024, and an operating result of ~$10.1 billion (EUR 8.9 billion), a 2.8% margin. Earnings were held down by U.S. tariffs, restructuring provisions, the cost of Porsche's product strategy change, and weaker results from the Chinese joint ventures. Deliveries were broadly stable at 8.984 million vehicles. The December 2024 agreement with IG Metall for the Volkswagen brand in Germany avoids compulsory redundancies but plans to cut more than 35,000 jobs by 2030 through attrition and early retirement, and to reduce German plant capacity. In the first half of 2026 sales revenue was about $179 billion (EUR 158.1 billion), roughly flat, while the operating result fell 11.6% to about $6.67 billion (EUR 5.9 billion) (3.8% margin). In September 2026 Volkswagen cut its full-year forecast to about $356 billion (EUR 315 billion) in sales revenue and an operating margin of up to 1%, citing China, a faster shift to EVs, a roughly $6.78 billion (EUR 6 billion) goodwill impairment on the Porsche segment, and extra restructuring and China impairments.
Revenue and profit by year
Morgan Stanley
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $70.6B | $16.9B | 23.9% | +14.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | $61.8B | $13.4B | 21.7% | +14.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $54.1B | $9.1B | 16.8% | +0.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $53.7B | $11B | 20.6% | -10.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $59.8B | $15B | 25.2% | +22.6% | Source |
| FY2020 | $48.8B | $11B | 22.6% | +17.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $41.5B | $9B | 21.8% | +3.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $40.1B | $8.7B | 21.8% | +5.7% | Source |
| FY2017 | $37.9B | $6.1B | 16.1% | +9.6% | Source |
| FY2016 | $34.6B | $6B | 17.3% | — | Source |
Volkswagen
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$363.8B | ~$7.5B | 2.1% | -0.8% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$366.9B | ~$12.1B | 3.3% | +0.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$364.2B | ~$18B | 4.9% | +15.5% | Source |
| FY2022 | ~$315.3B | ~$16.8B | 5.3% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | ~$282.7B | ~$16.8B | 5.9% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Morgan Stanley
- Institutional Securities
Not formally reported
Advisory, underwriting, sales and trading, prime brokerage, lending, and capital markets services.
- Wealth Management
Not formally reported
Advisor fees, brokerage commissions, net interest income, lending, deposits, E*TRADE, and workplace services.
- Investment Management
Not formally reported
Asset-management fees from institutional and individual investors, including Eaton Vance and Parametric products.
- Banking and lending
Not formally reported
Net interest income and lending products connected to wealth and institutional clients.
Volkswagen
- Passenger vehicle sales
- Premium and luxury vehicle sales
- Commercial vehicles
- Parts and aftersales
- Financial services
- Leasing and fleet services
- Software and mobility services
Business model and strategy
Morgan Stanley
How it makes money
Morgan Stanley reports three segments. Institutional Securities earns advisory and underwriting fees, equity and fixed-income trading revenue, prime brokerage financing, and corporate lending income. Wealth Management earns asset-based advisory fees, brokerage commissions, and net interest income on client deposits and loans across its advisor network, E*TRADE, and Morgan Stanley at Work.
Growth strategy
The strategy is to grow client assets across the wealth and investment management franchise, use Morgan Stanley at Work and E*TRADE as feeders into advisor-led accounts, and keep share in equities, advisory, and underwriting. The firm also deploys AI tools for advisors, including assistants built with OpenAI.
Competitive advantage
Morgan Stanley's edge is the combination of a leading equities and advisory franchise with one of the largest wealth platforms in the US. Workplace stock plans and E*TRADE bring in employees and self-directed investors early, and advisor-led wealth management retains them as their assets grow. That mix of fee-based wealth revenue and cyclical Wall Street revenue gives it steadier earnings than a pure investment bank.
Volkswagen
How it makes money
Volkswagen earns most of its revenue by selling new cars, vans, trucks and buses through brand groups: Core (Volkswagen, Skoda, SEAT/CUPRA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles), Progressive (Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Ducati), Sport Luxury (Porsche) and TRATON (Scania, MAN, International, Volkswagen Truck & Bus).
Growth strategy
Volkswagen's growth strategy centers on cost reduction, platform simplification, brand accountability, premium profitability, China-specific EV development, battery and software investment, hybrid and combustion optimization where demand remains strong, and selective partnerships such as Rivian and XPeng.
Competitive advantage
Volkswagen's advantage is industrial scale plus brand breadth. Few competitors can cover entry-level European cars, global volume SUVs, Audi premium vehicles, Porsche sports cars, Lamborghini supercars, Bentley luxury cars, Ducati motorcycles, Scania and MAN trucks, and a major financial services arm. The purchasing leverage and installed dealer base are hard to replicate.
Questions about Morgan Stanley vs Volkswagen
Which company has higher revenue — Morgan Stanley or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Morgan Stanley reported $70.6B (FY2025), while Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft reported ~$363.8B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is the larger business, with Morgan Stanley reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Morgan Stanley vs Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Morgan Stanley's market capitalisation stands at $330.9B, while Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft's is $35.5B. Morgan Stanley carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.
Which is more financially efficient — Morgan Stanley or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Morgan Stanley generates $851k / employee in revenue per employee, while Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft generates $549k / employee. Morgan Stanley shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Morgan Stanley and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft make money?
Morgan Stanley and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley reports three segments. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft: Volkswagen earns most of its revenue by selling new cars, vans, trucks and buses through brand groups: Core (Volkswagen, Skoda, SEAT/CUPRA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles), Progressive (Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Ducati), Sport Luxury (Porsche) and TRATON (Scania, MAN, International, Volkswagen Truck & Bus).
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Morgan Stanley or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Morgan Stanley trades at 4.7x P/S and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft at 0.1x P/S. Morgan Stanley commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Morgan Stanley bigger than Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
By last reported revenue, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (~$363.8B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Morgan Stanley ($70.6B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Morgan Stanley vs Volkswagen overview