[NEW YORK] Jefferies Financial Group’s fiscal first-quarter earnings declined amid a drop in investment-banking and capital-markets revenue, with activity hurt by uncertainty around US policy and geopolitics.
Total revenue slipped 8.4 per cent to US$1.59 billion in the three months to February, the New York-based firm said on Wednesday (Mar 26). The results mark a reversal from a year ago, when momentum in trading and deals was starting to build.
Asset-management revenue fell 30 per cent to US$191.7 million, Jefferies said, pointing to a difficult environment for a variety of investment strategies, including long equity bias. That dragged on Jefferies’ first-quarter earnings, which totalled US$127.8 million, or 57 US cents a share, down almost 15 per cent from a year earlier.
The results indicate that the anticipated uptick in investment returns and turnaround for deals, fuelled by demand for investment-banking services, may be further away than projected. Firms were expecting a friendlier regulatory environment and focus on economic growth under US President Donald Trump would bring more deal activity.
“People came out of 2024 with reasonable confidence and visibility, which caused us to think 2025 would have a strong upturn in IPO and M&A activity,” Jefferies president Brian Friedman said. “The uncertainties that crept in in the last eight to 10 weeks have dissipated that visibility. It has not eliminated it, but blurred it a bit.”
The results offer a glimpse into how Wall Street navigated the first three months of the year amid a new US presidential administration and ongoing geopolitical concerns. The numbers signal that the nation’s biggest banks, scheduled to report their first-quarter results next month, may struggle to meet their original projections for investment-banking and trading revenue.
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The bank’s shares fell as much as 8.8 per cent in post-market trading after the results were announced. They have declined 23 per cent since the start of the year.
Jefferies’ investment-banking revenue fell 3.6 per cent to US$700.7 million. Advisory revenue was a bright spot for the quarter, rising 17 per cent to US$397.8 million. The firm attributed that strength to market-share gains and an increase in transactions across sectors. Debt underwriting was up 54 per cent, countered by a 39 per cent drop in equity underwriting as overall industry opportunity slowed, Jefferies said.
The bank’s capital-markets unit provided US$698.3 million of revenue for the quarter, down 3.6 per cent from a year earlier. Jefferies said the decline was due to decreased volumes in the debt business, which fell 18 per cent to US$289.2 million on lower volatility. The firm’s equity capital markets business countered that decline, with revenue rising 10 per cent to US$409.1 million on “strong global performance” across various products, Jefferies said.
While the firm does not give earnings guidance, executives pointed to positive momentum, including a backlog of activity and “strong” dialogue around potential investment-banking transactions.
“We don’t yet have a clear cadence, nor full visibility and confidence, but perhaps some patterns are emerging such that some confidence and visibility may be emerging,” Friedman said. “Deals are happening. IPOs are in the hopper that will come out in the next few weeks and test the market’s resilience.” BLOOMBERG
