Morgan Stanley (MS) 424B2Prospectus for primary offering

Investment Summary

Market-Linked Notes

The Market-Linked Notes due December 24, 2029 Based on the Value of the Worst Performing of the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM and the S&P 500® Index (the “notes”) offer 150% participation in the positive performance of the worst performing underlying index, subject to the maximum payment at maturity. The notes provide investors:

￭an opportunity to gain exposure to the worst performing of two U.S. equity indices

￭the repayment of principal at maturity, subject to our creditworthiness

￭150% participation in any appreciation of the worst performing underlying index over the term of the notes, subject to the maximum payment at maturity of $1,430 per note (143% of the stated principal amount).

￭no exposure to any decline of one or both of the underlying indices if the notes are held to maturity

At maturity, if either underlying index has depreciated or has not appreciated at all, you will receive the stated principal amount of $1,000 per note, without any positive return on your investment. All payments on the notes, including the repayment of principal at maturity, are subject to our credit risk.

The original issue price of each note is $1,000. This price includes costs associated with issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the notes, which are borne by you, and, consequently, the estimated value of the notes on the pricing date is less than $1,000. We estimate that the value of each note on the pricing date is $955.80.

What goes into the estimated value on the pricing date?

In valuing the notes on the pricing date, we take into account that the notes comprise both a debt component and a performance-based component linked to the underlying indices. The estimated value of the notes is determined using our own pricing and valuation models, market inputs and assumptions relating to the underlying indices, instruments based on the underlying indices, volatility and other factors including current and expected interest rates, as well as an interest rate related to our secondary market credit spread, which is the implied interest rate at which our conventional fixed rate debt trades in the secondary market.

What determines the economic terms of the notes?

In determining the economic terms of the notes, including the maximum payment at maturity and the participation rate, we use an internal funding rate, which is likely to be lower than our secondary market credit spreads and therefore advantageous to us. If the issuing, selling, structuring and hedging costs borne by you were lower or if the internal funding rate were higher, one or more of the economic terms of the notes would be more favorable to you.

What is the relationship between the estimated value on the pricing date and the secondary market price of the notes?

The price at which MS & Co. purchases the notes in the secondary market, absent changes in market conditions, including those related to the underlying indices, may vary from, and be lower than, the estimated value on the pricing date, because the secondary market price takes into account our secondary market credit spread as well as the bid-offer spread that MS & Co. would charge in a secondary market transaction of this type and other factors. However, because the costs associated with issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the notes are not fully deducted upon issuance, for a period of up to 6 months following the issue date, to the extent that MS & Co. may buy or sell the notes in the secondary market, absent changes in market conditions, including those related to the underlying indices, and to our secondary market credit spreads, it would do so based on values higher than the estimated value. We expect that those higher values will also be reflected in your brokerage account statements.

MS & Co. may, but is not obligated to, make a market in the notes, and, if it once chooses to make a market, may cease doing so at any time.

Key Investment Rationale

Market-Linked Notes offer investors exposure to the performance of equities or equity indices and provide for the repayment of principal at maturity. They are for investors who are concerned about principal risk but seek an equity index-based return, and who are willing to forgo yield in exchange for the repayment of principal at maturity plus the potential to receive a supplemental redemption amount, if any, based on the performance of the worst performing underlying index, subject to the maximum payment at maturity.

Hypothetical Examples

The following hypothetical examples illustrate how to calculate the payment at maturity on the notes. The following examples are for illustrative purposes only. The actual initial index value for each underlying index is set forth on the cover of this document. Any payment at maturity on the notes is subject to our credit risk. The below examples are based on the following terms:

EXAMPLE 1: Both of the underlying indices appreciate significantly and so investors receive only the maximum payment at maturity.

In example 1, the final index value of each of the INDU Index and the SPX Index is greater than the respective initial index value. The INDU Index has appreciated by 55% and the SPX Index has appreciated by 60%. Therefore, investors receive at maturity the stated principal amount plus a return reflecting 150% of the appreciation of the worst performing underlying, subject to the maximum payment at maturity. Under the terms of the notes, investors will realize the maximum payment at maturity at a final index value of the worst performing underlying index of approximately 128.667% of its respective initial index value. Therefore, in this example, investors receive only the maximum payment at maturity of $1,430 per stated principal amount, even though both underlying indices have appreciated significantly.

EXAMPLE 2: The final index values of both underlying indices are greater than their respective initial index values, and investors receive the stated principal amount plus a supplemental redemption amount based on the performance of the worst performing underlying index.

In example 2, the final index values of the INDU Index and the SPX Index are greater than their respective initial index values. The INDU Index has appreciated by 10% and SPX Index has appreciated by 5%. Therefore, investors receive at maturity the stated principal amount plus a return reflecting 150% of the appreciation of the worst performing underlying index, which is the SPX Index in this example. Investors receive $1,075 per note at maturity.

EXAMPLE 3: The final index value of one underlying index is greater than its respective initial index value, while the final index value of the other underlying index is less than its respective initial index value. Therefore, investors receive only the stated principal amount at maturity.

In example 3, the final index value of the INDU Index is greater than its respective initial index value, while the final index value of the SPX Index is less than its initial index value. While the INDU Index has appreciated by 15%, the SPX Index has declined by 25%. Therefore, investors receive at maturity only the stated principal amount of $1,000 per note, without any positive return.

Risk Factors

This section describes the material risks relating to the notes. For further discussion of these and other risks, you should read the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the accompanying product supplement, index supplement and prospectus. We also urge you to consult your investment, legal, tax, accounting and other advisers in connection with your investment in the notes.

Risks Relating to an Investment in the Notes

◼The notes do not pay interest and may not pay more than the stated principal amount at maturity. If the index percent change of the worst performing underlying index is less than or equal to 0%, you will receive only the stated principal amount of $1,000 for each note you hold at maturity. As the notes do not pay any interest, if either of the underlying indices does not appreciate sufficiently over the term of the notes, the overall return on the notes (the effective yield to maturity) may be less than the amount that would be paid on a conventional debt security of ours of comparable maturity. The notes have been designed for investors who are willing to forgo market floating interest rates in exchange for a supplemental redemption amount, if any, based on the performance of the worst preforming underlying index, subject to the maximum payment at maturity.

◼The appreciation potential of the notes is limited by the maximum payment at maturity. The appreciation potential of the notes is limited by the maximum payment at maturity of $1,430 per note, or 143% of the stated principal amount. Because the payment at maturity will be limited to 143% of the stated principal amount for the notes, any increase in the level of the worst performing underlying index beyond approximately 128.667% of its initial index value will not further increase the return on the notes.

◼The market price of the notes will be influenced by many unpredictable factors. Several factors, many of which are beyond our control, will influence the value of the notes in the secondary market and the price at which MS & Co. may be willing to purchase or sell the notes in the secondary market, including the value, volatility and dividend yield of the underlying indices, interest and yield rates, time remaining to maturity, geopolitical conditions and economic, financial, political and regulatory or judicial events and any actual or anticipated changes in our credit ratings or credit spreads. Generally, the longer the time remaining to maturity, the more the market price of the notes will be affected by the other factors described above. The levels of the underlying indices may be, and have recently been, extremely volatile, and we can give you no assurance that the volatility will lessen. See “Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM Overview” and “S&P 500® Index Overview” below. You may receive less, and possibly significantly less, than the stated principal amount per note if you try to sell your notes prior to maturity.

◼The notes are subject to our credit risk, and any actual or anticipated changes to our credit ratings or credit spreads may adversely affect the market value of the notes. You are dependent on our ability to pay all amounts due on the notes at maturity and therefore you are subject to our credit risk. The notes are not guaranteed by any other entity. If we default on our obligations under the notes, your investment would be at risk and you could lose some or all of your investment. As a result, the market value of the notes prior to maturity will be affected by changes in the market’s view of our creditworthiness. Any actual or anticipated decline in our credit ratings or increase in the credit spreads charged by the market for taking our credit risk is likely to adversely affect the market value of the notes.

◼As a finance subsidiary, MSFL has no independent operations and will have no independent assets. As a finance subsidiary, MSFL has no independent operations beyond the issuance and administration of its securities and will have no independent assets available for distributions to holders of MSFL securities if they make claims in respect of such securities in a bankruptcy, resolution or similar proceeding. Accordingly, any recoveries by such holders will be limited to those available under the related guarantee by Morgan Stanley and that guarantee will rank pari passu with all other unsecured, unsubordinated obligations of Morgan Stanley. Holders will have recourse only to a single claim against Morgan Stanley and its assets under the guarantee. Holders of securities issued by MSFL should accordingly assume that in any such proceedings they would not have any priority over and should be

treated pari passu with the claims of other unsecured, unsubordinated creditors of Morgan Stanley, including holders of Morgan Stanley-issued securities.

◼The amount payable on the notes is not linked to the values of the underlying indices at any time other than the determination date. The final index value of each underlying index will be based on the index closing value of such underlying index on the determination date, subject to postponement for non-index business days and certain market disruption events. Even if both underlying indices appreciate prior to the determination date but the value of either underlying index drops by the determination date, the payment at maturity may be less, and may be significantly less, than it would have been had the payment at maturity been linked to the values of the underlying indices prior to such drop. Although the actual values of the underlying indices on the stated maturity date or at other times during the term of the notes may be higher than their respective final index values, the payment at maturity will be based solely on the index closing values on the determination date.

◼The rate we are willing to pay for securities of this type, maturity and issuance size is likely to be lower than the rate implied by our secondary market credit spreads and advantageous to us. Both the lower rate and the inclusion of costs associated with issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the notes in the original issue price reduce the economic terms of the notes, cause the estimated value of the notes to be less than the original issue price and will adversely affect secondary market prices. Assuming no change in market conditions or any other relevant factors, the prices, if any, at which dealers, including MS & Co., may be willing to purchase the notes in secondary market transactions will likely be significantly lower than the original issue price, because secondary market prices will exclude the issuing, selling, structuring and hedging-related costs that are included in the original issue price and borne by you and because the secondary market prices will reflect our secondary market credit spreads and the bid-offer spread that any dealer would charge in a secondary market transaction of this type as well as other factors.

The inclusion of the costs of issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the notes in the original issue price and the lower rate we are willing to pay as issuer make the economic terms of the notes less favorable to you than they otherwise would be.

However, because the costs associated with issuing, selling, structuring and hedging the notes are not fully deducted upon issuance, for a period of up to 6 months following the issue date, to the extent that MS & Co. may buy or sell the notes in the secondary market, absent changes in market conditions, including those related to the underlying indices, and to our secondary market credit spreads, it would do so based on values higher than the estimated value, and we expect that those higher values will also be reflected in your brokerage account statements.

￭The estimated value of the notes is determined by reference to our pricing and valuation models, which may differ from those of other dealers and is not a maximum or minimum secondary market price. These pricing and valuation models are proprietary and rely in part on subjective views of certain market inputs and certain assumptions about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. As a result, because there is no market-standard way to value these types of securities, our models may yield a higher estimated value of the notes than those generated by others, including other dealers in the market, if they attempted to value the notes. In addition, the estimated value on the pricing date does not represent a minimum or maximum price at which dealers, including MS & Co., would be willing to purchase your notes in the secondary market (if any exists) at any time. The value of your notes at any time after the date of this document will vary based on many factors that cannot be predicted with accuracy, including our creditworthiness and changes in market conditions. See also “The market price of the notes will be influenced by many unpredictable factors” above.

￭Investing in the notes is not equivalent to investing in the underlying indices. Investing in the notes is not equivalent to investing in either underlying index or the component stocks of either underlying index. Investors in the notes will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to stocks that constitute the underlying indices.

￭The notes will not be listed on any securities exchange and secondary trading may be limited. The notes will not be listed on any securities exchange. Therefore, there may be little or no secondary market

for the notes. MS & Co. may, but is not obligated to, make a market in the notes, and, if it once chooses to make a market, may cease doing so at any time. When it does make a market, it will generally do so for transactions of routine secondary market size at prices based on its estimate of the current value of the notes, taking into account its bid/offer spread, our credit spreads, market volatility, the notional size of the proposed sale, the cost of unwinding any related hedging positions, the time remaining to maturity and the likelihood that it will be able to resell the notes. Even if there is a secondary market, it may not provide enough liquidity to allow you to trade or sell the notes easily. Because we do not expect that other broker-dealers will participate significantly in the secondary market for the notes, the price at which you may be able to trade your notes is likely to depend on the price, if any, at which MS & Co. is willing to transact. If, at any time, MS & Co. were to cease making a market in the notes, it is likely that there would be no secondary market for the notes. Accordingly, you should be willing to hold your notes to maturity.

￭The calculation agent, which is a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley and an affiliate of MSFL, will make determinations with respect to the notes. As calculation agent, MS & Co. will determine the initial index values and the final index values, and will calculate the amount of cash you will receive at maturity. Moreover, certain determinations made by MS & Co., in its capacity as calculation agent, may require it to exercise discretion and make subjective judgments, such as with respect to the occurrence or non-occurrence of market disruption events and the selection of a successor index or calculation of the final index value in the event of a market disruption event or discontinuance of the underlying indices. For further information regarding these types of determinations, see “Description of Equity-Linked Notes—Supplemental Redemption Amount,” “—Calculation Agent and Calculations,” “—Alternate Exchange Calculation in the Case of an Event of Default” and “—Discontinuance of Any Underlying Index or Basket Index; Alteration of Method of Calculation” in the accompanying product supplement for equity-linked notes. In addition, MS & Co. has determined the estimated value of the notes on the pricing date.

◼Hedging and trading activity by our affiliates could potentially adversely affect the value of the notes. One or more of our affiliates and/or third-party dealers expect to carry out hedging activities related to the notes (and to other instruments linked to the underlying indices or their component stocks), including trading in the stocks that constitute the underlying indices as well as in other instruments related to the underlying indices. As a result, these entities may be unwinding or adjusting hedge positions during the term of the notes, and the hedging strategy may involve greater and more frequent dynamic adjustments to the hedge as the determination date approaches. MS & Co. and some of our affiliates also trade the stocks that constitute the underlying indices and other financial instruments related to the underlying indices on a regular basis as part of their general broker-dealer and other businesses. Any of these hedging or trading activities on or prior to the pricing date could potentially increase the initial index value of an underlying index, and, therefore, could increase the value at or above which such underlying index must close on the determination date before you would receive at maturity a payment that exceeds the stated principal amount of the notes (depending also on the performance of the other underlying index). Additionally, such hedging or trading activities during the term of the notes, including on the determination date, could adversely affect the value of an underlying index on the determination date, and, accordingly, the amount of cash an investor will receive at maturity (depending also on the performance of the other underlying index).

Risks Relating to the Underlying Indices

◼Any potential positive return on the notes is limited to the return of the worst performing underlying index. Your return on the notes is not linked to a basket consisting of both underlying indices. Rather, it will be based upon the independent performance of each underlying index. Unlike an instrument with a return linked to a basket of underlying assets, in which risk is mitigated and diversified among all the components of the basket, you will be exposed to the risks related to both underlying indices. Poor performance by either underlying index over the term of the notes will negatively affect your return and will not be offset or mitigated by any positive performance by the other underlying index. If either underlying index depreciates or does not appreciate over the term of the notes, you will receive only the $1,000 stated principal amount at maturity, without any positive return on your investment. Accordingly, your investment is subject to the price risk of both underlying indices.

◼Because the notes are linked to the performance of the worst performing underlying index, you are exposed to a greater risk of receiving no supplemental redemption amount than if the notes were linked to just one of the underlying indices. The risk that you will not receive any supplemental redemption amount is greater if you invest in the notes as opposed to substantially similar notes that are linked to just the performance of one underlying index. With two underlying indices, it is more likely that either underlying index will not appreciate above its initial index value as of the determination date than if the notes were linked to only one underlying index. Therefore it is more likely that you will not receive any supplemental redemption amount.

￭Adjustments to the underlying indices could adversely affect the value of the notes. The publisher of each underlying index may add, delete or substitute the stocks constituting such underlying index or make other methodological changes required by certain events relating to the underlying stocks, such as stock dividends, stock splits, spin-offs, rights offerings and extraordinary dividends, that could change the value of such underlying index. Any of these actions could adversely affect the value of the notes. The publisher of each underlying index may also discontinue or suspend calculation or publication of such underlying index at any time. In these circumstances, MS & Co., as the calculation agent, will have the sole discretion to substitute a successor index that is comparable to the discontinued underlying index and will be permitted to consider indices that are calculated and published by the calculation agent or any of its affiliates. If MS & Co. determines that there is no appropriate successor index on the determination date, the final index value of such underlying index will be an amount calculated based on the prices of the stocks underlying the discontinued index at the time of such discontinuance, without rebalancing or substitution, computed by MS & Co, as calculation agent, in accordance with the formula for calculating the index closing value last in effect prior to discontinuance of such index.

Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM Overview

The Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM is a price-weighted index composed of 30 common stocks that is published by S&P® Dow Jones Indices LLC, the marketing name and a licensed trademark of CME Group Inc., as representative of the broad market of U.S. industry. For additional information about the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM, see the information set forth under “Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM” in the accompanying index supplement.

Information as of market close on December 19, 2024:

The following graph sets forth the daily closing values of the INDU Index for the period from January 1, 2019 through December 19, 2024. The related table sets forth the published high and low closing values, as well as end-of-quarter closing values, of the INDU Index for each quarter in the same period. The closing value of the INDU Index on December 19, 2024 was 42,342.24. We obtained the information in the table and graph below from Bloomberg Financial Markets, without independent verification. The INDU Index has at times experienced periods of high volatility, and you should not take the historical values of the INDU Index as an indication of its future performance.

“Dow Jones,” “Dow Jones Industrial Average,” “Dow Jones Indexes” and “DJIA” are service marks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. For more information, see “Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM” in the accompanying index supplement.

S&P 500® Index Overview

The S&P 500® Index, which is calculated, maintained and published by S&P® Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P®”), is intended to provide a benchmark for performance measurement of the large capitalization segment of the U.S. equity markets by tracking the stock price movement of 500 companies with large market capitalizations. Component stocks of the S&P 500® Index are required to have a total company level market capitalization that reflects approximately the 85th percentile of the S&P® Total Market Index. The S&P 500® Index measures the relative performance of the common stocks of 500 companies as of a particular time as compared to the performance of the common stocks of 500 similar companies during the base period of the years 1941 through 1943. For additional information about the S&P 500® Index, see the information set forth under “S&P® U.S. Indices—S&P 500® Index” in the accompanying index supplement.

Information as of market close on December 19, 2024:

The following graph sets forth the daily closing values of the SPX Index for the period from January 1, 2019 through December 19, 2024. The related table sets forth the published high and low closing values, as well as end-of-quarter closing values, of the SPX Index for each quarter in the same period. The closing value of the SPX Index on December 19, 2024 was 5,867.08. We obtained the information in the table and graph below from Bloomberg Financial Markets, without independent verification. The SPX Index has at times experienced periods of high volatility, and you should not take the historical values of the SPX Index as an indication of its future performance.

“Standard & Poor’s®,” “S&P®,” “S&P 500®,” “Standard & Poor’s 500” and “500” are trademarks of Standard and Poor’s Financial Services LLC. For more information, see “S&P® U.S. Indices” in the accompanying index supplement.

Additional Terms of the Notes

Please read this information in conjunction with the terms on the front cover of this document.

Additional Information About the Notes