In This Article:
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Adjusted Net Revenue: $643 million for the first quarter.
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Financial Advisory Adjusted Net Revenue: $370 million, 17% lower than the prior year's first quarter.
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Asset Management Adjusted Net Revenue: $264 million, a decrease of 4% from the prior year quarter.
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Management Fees: $256 million for the first quarter, down 1% from the prior quarter.
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Incentive Fees: $9 million, driven by strong performance in credit fixed income and Japanese equity strategies.
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Assets Under Management (AUM): $227 billion as of March 31, with market appreciation of $800 million and foreign exchange appreciation of $3.9 billion.
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Adjusted Compensation Expense: $421 million, resulting in a compensation ratio of 65.5%.
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Adjusted Non-Compensation Expense: $148 million, resulting in a non-compensation ratio of 23%.
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Adjusted Effective Tax Rate: Negative 13.9% due to a discrete benefit related to stock compensation awards.
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Capital Returned to Shareholders: $175 million, including a quarterly dividend of $45 million and $36 million in stock repurchases.
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Quarterly Dividend Declared: $0.50 per share.
Release Date: April 25, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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Lazard Inc (NYSE:LAZ) reported a solid first quarter performance with strong client engagement and a diversified business model.
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The company's global market share of announced transactions in Financial Advisory increased year-over-year.
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Asset Management saw substantial improvement in flows, driven by large wins in strategic focus areas such as Japanese equities and global equities.
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Lazard Inc (NYSE:LAZ) announced a strategic alliance with Arini Capital Management, expanding connectivity to private capital across Europe.
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The company launched its first active ETF product set in the US, expanding its capability to meet investor preferences and demand.
Negative Points
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Financial Advisory adjusted net revenue was 17% lower than the prior year's record first quarter revenue.
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Asset Management adjusted net revenue decreased by 4% from the prior year quarter.
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The adjusted compensation ratio remained high at 65.5%, slightly below last year's accrual.
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There is substantial unpredictability due to shifting trade policies, which could impact future M&A activity.
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The restructuring backlog is growing, but the timeline for these mandates to hit the P&L remains uncertain.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Are you seeing a higher level than normal of M&A deals dropping out, and do you see risk of that picking up? A: Peter Orszag, CEO: In any normal environment, some deals get pushed out or accelerated, but we haven't seen an elevated level of that. Our M&A backlog continues to expand, but its future depends on resolving tariff uncertainties. Our diversified business model allows us to adapt to client needs in a rapidly changing environment.