Lazard Shares Dip After Q3 Revenue and Adjusted Earnings Miss Estimates

Lazard shares dipped in premarket trading Thursday after the financial advisory and asset-management firm posted third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings per share below analyst expectations.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, GAAP net revenue rose 9% from a year earlier to $814 million. Adjusted net revenue climbed 11% to $805 million. Adjusted diluted earnings were $0.36 per share, down from $0.56 a year earlier; GAAP diluted earnings were $0.26 per share, compared with $0.65.

Farr's remarks add context to TokenPost’s earlier coverage of Lazard’s third-quarter earnings. Adjusted Financial Advisory revenue rose 10% to $465 million, while adjusted Asset Management revenue increased 12% to $330 million. Financial Advisory advises clients on transactions and strategic matters; Asset Management provides investment strategies and services.

Chief Financial Officer Tracy Farr said third-quarter revenue included fees from transactions that closed shortly after Sept. 30. She said the related pull-forwards were slightly below the year-earlier quarter and in line with an average of about $2 million to $3 million over the past one or two years. “They were broad-based, not really as concentrated as I think people might expect,” Farr said.

Lazard CEO and Chairman Peter R. Orszag said Financial Advisory delivered record third-quarter revenue. He said client activity and the firm’s forward indicators remained strong.