Financial services giant Morgan Stanley
The first-quarter results Morgan reported yesterday saw net revenue jump 32%. Reported diluted earnings continued their impressive run, improving 41%. Return on average common equity came in at 27.5%, up from last year's 23.7%, marking the seventh straight quarter it's topped 20%. CEO John Mack stated that the firm is on its way to doubling 2005 earnings within the next five years.
Nearly every division reported solid results for the quarter. Morgan Stanley operates in the three key areas of the securities business: underwriting securities, managing brokerage assets, and managing portfolios.
The company's Discover unit, however, posted another drop in net revenue and pre-tax income. Morgan will spin off Discover to shareholders within the next couple of weeks, letting the unit compete on its own against MasterCard
It's surprising how fast Morgan continues to grow, given that it just posted $11.5 billion in quarterly revenue and manages hundreds of billions of dollars in client assets. It also appears to be unharmed by subprime mortgages that are denting results at Bear Stearns
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Fool contributor Ryan Fuhrmann has no financial interest in any company mentioned. Feel free to email him with feedback or to discuss any companies mentioned further. The Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy.