PJT Partners Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• PJT Partners delivered record results, with second-quarter revenue up 20% to $486 million and adjusted EPS up 28% to $1.97. First-half revenue rose 24% to $904 million, though management expects full-year growth to moderate from that pace.
• Strategic advisory and restructuring drove momentum: M&A mandates reached record levels, up more than 20% year over year, while restructuring demand remains elevated due to leverage, financing costs and technology disruption.
• Private Capital Solutions offset weaker primary fundraising, while margins improved and the firm continued returning capital through share repurchases and a $0.25 quarterly dividend. CFO Helen Meates will step down Oct. 1 and be succeeded by Arun Kalra.

PJT Partners NYSE: PJT reported record second-quarter and first-half results, driven by growth across its strategic advisory, restructuring and private capital businesses, while management said it expects full-year revenue growth to moderate from the pace achieved in the first six months of 2026.

Second-quarter revenue rose 20% from a year earlier to $486 million. Adjusted pre-tax income increased 32% to $106 million, while adjusted earnings per share climbed 28% to $1.97. For the first half, revenue increased 24% to $904 million, adjusted pre-tax income rose 39% to $189 million, and adjusted EPS grew 36% to $3.51.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paul Taubman said the results reflected the firm’s long-running investment in its strategic advisory platform. “We are increasingly becoming an alpha play, not just in strategic advisory, but across all of our businesses,” Taubman said.

Strategic Advisory Backlog Reaches Record Levels

Strategic advisory generated record revenue in both the second quarter and first half, according to the company. Taubman described the deal environment as favorable but volatile, citing continued geopolitical and artificial-intelligence-related uncertainty.

Although M&A activity has gained momentum as the year progressed, Taubman said annualized M&A activity was only up by single-digit percentages from year-ago levels. Still, PJT’s M&A backlog continued to expand. Mandate counts were at record levels and up more than 20% from a year earlier, while the firm’s pre-announced pipeline, representing potential revenue from mandates, increased by an even greater percentage.

The company completed a sizable number of transactions during the quarter, including eight transactions that allowed $35 million of revenue to be pulled forward into the second quarter. That was $14 million more than the amount of pull-forward revenue recorded a year earlier.

Taubman said strategic advisory should remain the largest source of aggregate dollar growth if macroeconomic conditions remain broadly consistent. He also said the firm remains early in realizing the potential of its advisory investments, arguing that productivity is influenced not only by the tenure of individual partners but also by regional scale, network effects, brand awareness and the ability to reach critical mass in new initiatives.

On private equity M&A, Taubman said he expects a steady improvement rather than a rapid recovery. He said a more demanding transaction environment favors differentiated advice, particularly in take-private transactions and structured investments.

Restructuring Demand Remains Elevated

PJT said its restructuring team ranked first year to date in global announced and completed restructurings, as well as U.S. announced and completed restructurings. The business delivered record results for the second quarter and first half.

Taubman said the market continues to show sustained demand for liability-management and restructuring advice as companies contend with technological disruption, high leverage, elevated financing costs and challenged operating models. While broad macroeconomic conditions and financing markets remain constructive, he said these pressures are creating concentrated stress for certain businesses.

“We anticipate restructuring activity to remain elevated for the foreseeable future,” Taubman said.

He added that PJT’s addressable restructuring market is expanding through geographic growth, deeper industry expertise and relationships developed through strategic advisory, and greater coverage of private equity firms and alternative asset managers. Taubman said the mix of activity may shift somewhat toward in-court restructurings, but the firm sees opportunities across liability management and traditional restructuring work.

Management also discussed AI-related disruption, particularly in software. Taubman said the debate for many affected companies concerns long-term value rather than near-term operating performance. He said the disruption could lead to strategic alternatives, liability-management work, capital investments, take-private transactions and other advisory opportunities over time.

Private Capital Solutions Offsets Fundraising Weakness

Within PJT Park Hill, growth in Private Capital Solutions, or PCS, more than offset declines in primary fundraising, enabling revenue growth for both the second quarter and first half. The PCS business benefited from collaboration with the strategic advisory business and access to the firm’s global limited-partner network, Taubman said.

Management said it continues to invest in PCS, citing secular growth opportunities in secondary transactions and the benefits of an integrated platform spanning primary fundraising, strategic advisory and private capital solutions. On the primary fundraising side, Taubman said the firm’s pipeline of fundraisers should support strong relative performance despite a difficult overall fundraising market.

Expenses, Capital Returns and CFO Transition

Chief Financial Officer Helen Meates said PJT accrued adjusted compensation expense at 66.5% of revenue for the first half, compared with 67.5% a year earlier. The firm said 66.5% is its current best estimate for the full year, subject to a refresh in the third quarter.

Adjusted non-compensation expense increased 10% year over year to $57 million in the second quarter and 12% to $114 million in the first half. The company now expects full-year non-compensation expense growth closer to 14%, slightly above previous guidance, due to elevated travel, business-related expenses, professional fees, and continued investments in AI and technology infrastructure.

Adjusted pre-tax margin expanded to 21.7% in the second quarter from 19.7% a year earlier, and to 20.9% in the first half from 18.6%. Meates said the company’s estimated effective tax rate for the full year remains 20.5%.

PJT ended the quarter with $575 million of cash equivalents and short-term investments and no funded debt outstanding. It repurchased approximately 498,000 shares and share equivalents during the quarter, bringing first-half repurchases to about 2.1 million shares. The board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Meates will step down as CFO on Oct. 1 after more than a decade in the role, though she will remain with the company through year-end to support the transition. Arun Kalra, currently Director of Finance, will become CFO on Oct. 1.

Looking ahead, Taubman said all of PJT’s businesses are on track for record full-year performance, though revenue growth for the year is expected to fall below the 24% rate reported for the first half.

About PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT)

PJT Partners is a global advisory-focused investment bank that delivers strategic advisory, restructuring and special situations, and capital solutions to corporations, partnerships, and governments. The firm operates through three primary business segments: Strategic Advisory, which covers mergers and acquisitions, shareholder advisory, and capital markets advisory; Restructuring and Special Situations, which provides advice on debt and liability management, distressed mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructurings; and Park Hill, the firm's dedicated capital-raising and secondary advisory business for private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and infrastructure.

The Strategic Advisory practice at PJT Partners assists clients with complex transactions such as cross-border mergers, spin-offs, divestitures, and takeover defenses, drawing on deep industry expertise and global reach.

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