Morgan Stanley tops estimates as equities trading revenue beats expectations by $909 million

Morgan Stanley posted third-quarter results that beat expectations on blockbuster results in its equities trading franchise. Here's what the company reported:Earnings per share: $3.03 vs. $2.91 LSEG estimateRevenue: $20.34 billion vs. $19.95 billion LSEG estimate The company said profit climbed 6.5% to $4.91 billion, or $3.03 a share. Revenue climbed 12% to $20.34 billion.The firm's equities trading division, long a marquee business for Morgan Stanley, posted a 41% increase in revenue to $5.8 billion, exceeding the StreetAccount estimate by about $909 million.Morgan Stanley cited widespread strength across its equities products and regions, but cited Asia as a source of particular strength in the quarter. The gains in that business helped offset disappointments elsewhere.Fixed income trading revenue fell 7% to $2.01 billion, driven by declines in credit and commodities, which is roughly $260 million below expectations. Investment banking revenue edged 2% higher to $2.16 billion, about $110 million below expectations. The bank cited an increase in advisory revenue on more completed mergers, but declines in equity underwriting on lower IPOs and a decline in fixed income underwriting....