Morgan Stanley reported a 57 percent third-quarter profit increase as fixed-income trading revenue almost tripled, the biggest surge for that business on Wall Street.

Net income rose to $1.6 billion, or 81 cents a share, from $1.02 billion, or 48 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based company said Wednesday in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, 58, has sought to convince investors he can lower costs while steadying profit from bond trading, a business that weighed on returns in the past. Gorman said in June that the fixed-income and commodities business is capable of generating $4 billion in annual revenue even after being scaled back, which included a decision to cut 25 percent of the division’s staff last year.

“Our expense initiatives remain on track,” Gorman said in the statement. “Overall the results reflect steady progress against our long-term strategic goals.”

Fixed-income trading revenue rose to $1.5 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $1 billion. Equity trading climbed 5.6 percent to $1.9 billion, compared with the estimate of $1.83 billion.

Companywide revenue rose 15 percent to $8.91 billion, exceeding the $8.14 billion estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Morgan Stanley has climbed 1.6 percent this year, compared with a 0.6 percent gain for the 64-company S&P 500 Financials Index.

Morgan Stanley is the last of the six biggest U.S. banks to report results. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Tuesday posted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates on a 49 percent surge in fixed-income trading revenue. JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Friday topped estimates on a 48 percent jump in revenue from the same business. Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. surpassed predictions, too, as fixed-income revenue increased 35 percent and 39 percent, respectively. Wells Fargo & Co., contending with a scandal in its consumer business, also beat estimates.