Short answer
Morgan Stanley had 83,728 employees worldwide on September 30, 2026, according to its third-quarter 2026 earnings release, filed with the SEC on October 14, 2026. Its latest 10-K says it had approximately 83 thousand employees across 42 countries on December 31, 2025; the fourth-quarter release gives the exact year-end count as 82,992. Headcount jumped in 2020 and 2021, the years the firm bought E*TRADE and Eaton Vance, and has been between 80,000 and 84,000 since 2022.
- Latest figure: 83,728 worldwide employees on September 30, 2026, from Morgan Stanley's Q3 2026 earnings release.
- The 2025 10-K gives approximately 83 thousand employees across 42 countries at December 31, 2025 (82,992 exactly, per the Q4 release).
- Headcount rose from 60,431 at the end of 2019 to 82,427 at the end of 2022, across the E*TRADE and Eaton Vance deals.
- March workforce actions in 2025 and 2026 each affected about 2% of the global workforce.
- Net revenues per employee were about $851,000 in 2025 (our calculation).
On this page
This page is for sellers, analysts and anyone who needs a Morgan Stanley headcount they can cite: the latest number, what it counts and how it has moved. Morgan Stanley reports its workforce in two places: the 10-K, which since 2020 rounds it to the nearest thousand, and the quarterly earnings release, filed with the SEC on Form 8-K, which gives the exact "Worldwide employees" count. Every number here comes from one of those filings.
Morgan Stanley employees by year
| Year end | 10-K figure | Exact count (Q4 release) | Change on prior year | 10-K source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | approximately 83 thousand, across 42 countries | 82,992 | +2,514 (+3.1%) | 2025 10-K, filed February 19, 2026 |
| December 31, 2024 | approximately 80 thousand | 80,478 | +472 (+0.6%) | 2024 10-K, filed February 21, 2025 |
| December 31, 2023 | approximately 80 thousand | 80,006 | -2,421 (-2.9%) | 2023 10-K, filed February 22, 2024 |
| December 31, 2022 | approximately 82 thousand | 82,427 | +7,613 (+10.2%) | 2022 10-K, filed February 24, 2023 |
| December 31, 2021 | approximately 75 thousand | 74,814 | +6,717 (+9.9%) | 2021 10-K, filed February 24, 2022 |
| December 31, 2020 | approximately 68 thousand, in 39 countries | 68,097 | +7,666 (+12.7%) | 2020 10-K, filed February 26, 2021 |
| December 31, 2019 | 60,431 | 60,431 | +83 (+0.1%) | 2019 10-K, filed February 27, 2020 |
| December 31, 2018 | 60,348 | 60,348 | 2018 10-K, filed February 26, 2019 |
The 2018 and 2019 10-Ks gave the exact count ("As of December 31, 2019, we had 60,431 employees worldwide"). From 2020 the 10-K rounds to thousands; the exact year-end counts in the third column come from each year's fourth-quarter earnings release, or the following year's release where it shows the prior year. The changes are our arithmetic on the exact counts.
Morgan Stanley headcount by quarter
Each quarterly earnings release shows "Worldwide employees" at quarter end.
| Quarter end | Worldwide employees | Source |
|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2025 | 81,023 | Q1 2025 release |
| September 30, 2025 | 82,398 | Q3 2026 release |
| December 31, 2025 | 82,992 | Q4 2025 release, filed January 15, 2026 |
| March 31, 2026 | 83,922 | Q1 2026 release, filed April 15, 2026 |
| June 30, 2026 | 82,944 | Q2 2026 release, filed July 15, 2026 |
| September 30, 2026 | 83,728 | Q3 2026 release, filed October 14, 2026 |
The September 2026 count is 1,330 (1.6%) higher than a year earlier, and second only to the 83,922 at March 31, 2026 among the counts shown here.
What the number includes
- One worldwide figure. The 10-K and the releases give a single worldwide count. The releases label it "Worldwide employees" and don't define it further, for example by full-time or part-time status.
- Across 42 countries. The 2025 10-K says the firm had approximately 83 thousand employees across 42 countries. In 2020 it was 39 countries.
- No headcount by segment. Morgan Stanley reports three business segments, Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management, and allocates severance costs to each, but doesn't publish employees by segment.
- A point-in-time count at the end of each quarter or year.
What changed and why
2020 and 2021: two acquisitions
"On October 2, 2020, the Firm completed the acquisition of E*TRADE," according to the 2020 10-K, and "On March 1, 2021, the Firm completed the acquisition of Eaton Vance," according to the 2021 10-K. Headcount rose 7,666 in 2020 and 6,717 in 2021. The filings don't say how many people each deal brought, so the rises mix the acquisitions with the firm's own hiring.
2022 and 2023: growth, then employee actions
Headcount rose 7,613 in 2022. In December 2022 the firm took an "employee action" with $133 million of severance costs, and in the second quarter of 2023 another, with "severance costs of $308 million." Year-end 2023 headcount was 2,421 lower.
2025 and 2026: annual reductions in force
The Q1 2025 release records $144 million of severance for "a March employee action," a reduction in force that "impacted approximately 2% of our global workforce at that time" and was "related to performance management and the alignment of our workforce to our business needs." The Q1 2026 release records $178 million of severance for "a March workforce management action" that again "impacted approximately 2% of our global workforce at that time," with most of the cost in the Americas. Headcount still rose in both years, so hiring more than replaced the people who left.
Revenue per employee
Morgan Stanley's 2025 net revenues were $70,645 million. Divided by the exact year-end headcount, that's $70,645 million ÷ 82,992 = about $851,000 per employee (our calculation). For 2024, $61,761 million ÷ 80,478 gives about $767,000.
| 2025 segment | Net revenues | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional Securities | $33,080 million | 47% |
| Wealth Management | $31,754 million | 45% |
| Investment Management | $6,525 million | 9% |
The segments add to slightly more than the total because of $714 million of intersegment eliminations. Because headcount isn't reported by segment, there is no per-segment ratio from the filings. Banks' revenue per employee varies with business mix (trading and advisory against branch networks), so compare only like with like. For how other large US employers compare, see the largest employers in the US.
Selling to a company this size
General guidance on how financial firms of 80,000 people buy, not a description of Morgan Stanley's internal processes.
- Pick the segment. A trading desk, a wealth management field force and an asset manager buy different things through different leaders.
- Plan for third-party risk review. Regulated financial firms assess vendors on information security, resilience and data handling before a contract. That review can take longer than the sale.
- Speak to efficiency. A firm that cut about 2% of staff in two successive springs while revenue grew values tools that raise output per person.
- Land with one team. Win where the problem is sharpest and use the result to reach the next team: the land and expand motion.
- Name the people. Work out who signs, who uses and who can block. Our guide to finding decision makers shows how.
Finding the team that owns your problem is the slow part with an account this large. Bebop researches each account and suggests who to talk to and the angle to open with; check what it finds against the company's filings.
How to check Morgan Stanley's headcount yourself
- Search SEC EDGAR for Morgan Stanley (CIK 895421) and open the latest 8-K that lists Item 2.02, Results of Operations.
- In the earnings release exhibit, find "Worldwide employees" in the table of consolidated financial metrics. It shows the quarter end, the prior quarter and the same quarter a year earlier.
- For the annual figure and the number of countries, open the latest 10-K and search for "thousand employees".
- Before comparing with another bank, check that the other figure is also a worldwide year-end count.
Next step: see how Morgan Stanley compares with other big US employers in the largest employers in the US.
Sources
- Morgan Stanley third quarter 2026 earnings release (exhibit to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 14 October 2026
- Morgan Stanley first quarter 2026 earnings release (exhibit to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 15 April 2026
- Morgan Stanley fourth quarter 2025 financial supplement (exhibit to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 15 January 2026
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 19 February 2026
- Morgan Stanley first quarter 2025 earnings release (exhibit to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 11 April 2025
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 21 February 2025
- Morgan Stanley fourth quarter 2023 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 16 January 2024
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 22 February 2024
- Morgan Stanley second quarter 2023 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 18 July 2023
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2023
- Morgan Stanley fourth quarter 2021 financial supplement (Exhibit 99.2 to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 19 January 2022
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 24 February 2022
- Morgan Stanley fourth quarter 2020 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K), Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 20 January 2021
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 26 February 2021
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 27 February 2020
- Morgan Stanley Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, Morgan Stanley, via SEC EDGAR, 26 February 2019
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many employees does Morgan Stanley have in 2026?
83,728 worldwide on September 30, 2026, according to Morgan Stanley's third-quarter 2026 earnings release filed with the SEC on October 14, 2026. That's up 1,330 (1.6%) from 82,398 a year earlier. The count was 83,922 at March 31, 2026 and 82,944 at June 30, 2026. The 2025 10-K gave approximately 83 thousand at December 31, 2025.
Did Morgan Stanley have layoffs in 2026?
Yes. Morgan Stanley's first-quarter 2026 earnings release records $178 million of severance costs for a March 2026 workforce management action that affected approximately 2% of its global workforce at that time, to improve operational efficiency and manage performance. It took a similar action in March 2025. Worldwide headcount was still 83,728 at September 30, 2026, up on a year earlier.
How many countries does Morgan Stanley have employees in?
42, according to its 2025 10-K, which says the firm had approximately 83 thousand employees across 42 countries at December 31, 2025. Its 2020 10-K said approximately 68 thousand employees in 39 countries. The filings don't break the headcount down by country or region, so there is no published US employee figure.
How many employees did Morgan Stanley get from E*TRADE?
The filings don't say. Morgan Stanley completed its acquisition of E*TRADE on October 2, 2020 and of Eaton Vance on March 1, 2021. Its worldwide headcount rose from 60,431 at the end of 2019 to 68,097 at the end of 2020 and 74,814 at the end of 2021, but those rises also include the firm's own hiring and departures.
What is Morgan Stanley's revenue per employee?
About $851,000 in 2025, by our calculation: net revenues of $70,645 million divided by 82,992 worldwide employees at December 31, 2025, the count in the fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release. The same calculation for 2024 gives about $767,000. It's a rough measure based on a year-end count, so compare it only with other firms measured the same way.