Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), X-ray reflection diffraction (XRD) and cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (XHRTEM) are applied to characterize the stresses of the d.c. biased plasma-sputter-deposited Ni97Cu3 films grown epitaxially on a MgO(001) substrate. The FMR study indicates that a homogeneously compressive intrinsic stress and an anisotropic planar stress are simultaneously induced in the film, The latter consists of the part induced during the film formation and the part originated from the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the Ni-Cu crystal. The compressive stress in the film is also confirmed by the XRD study. The XHRTEM study reveals misfit dislocations generated in the Ni-Cu crystal at the MgO interface relaxing the strain energy due to the lattice mismatch between Ni97Cu3 and MgO crystals and locally induced lattice distortions. In conclusion the stress inside the film is compressive as a whole.