Morgan Stanley's Q1 profit up 18%
![A view of the Morgan Stanley offices in New York, New York on Oct. 18, 2013. Morgan Stanley's first quarter earnings were $1.4 billion, or 68 cents a share, which was above expectations.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/0f53d8419aca20024c71db4da1542b54d3d05ae3/c=0-82-2547-1518/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2014/04/17//1397736725000-EPA-USA-MORGAN-STANLEY.jpg?width=660&height=373&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
NEW YORK (AP) — Investment bank Morgan Stanley says its first-quarter income rose 18 percent from a year ago, helped by its trading and merger and acquisitions advisory businesses.
Morgan Stanley earned $1.4 billion, up from $1.2 billion in the same period a year ago. Earnings per share, excluding one-time items, were 68 cents per share. That easily beat the 61 cents per share analysts were expecting.
Revenue from continuing operations was $8.8 billion, ahead of the $8.5 billion analysts had expected.
All major segments of Morgan Stanley's business increased.
Institutional securities, Morgan Stanley's trading, M&A advisory and stock sales division, grew the most. That division earned $1.2 billion versus $1.1 billion a year ago.
Morgan Stanley's stock rose $1.01, or 3.4 percent, to $30.80 in pre-market trading.