Stifel Financial NYSE: SF reported what executives described as a record first quarter of 2026, with broad-based growth across its Global Wealth Management and Institutional businesses, alongside continued focus on balance sheet funding, expense discipline, and capital returns.
Quarterly performance and context
Chairman and CEO Ron Kruszewski said first-quarter net revenues totaled $1.48 billion, up 18% from the year-ago period. He noted results included a “non-recurring gain from the sale of Stifel Independent Advisors,” which closed in February, and that the gain was “partially offset by interest on a legal judgment.” Kruszewski said the firm excluded both items from core results, adding that excluding the SIA gain, revenue grew 15%.
Earnings per share were $1.48 on a GAAP basis and $1.45 on a non-GAAP basis, compared with $0.33 in the prior-year quarter. Kruszewski emphasized that the year-ago quarter included a $180 million legal accrual, and said that adjusting for that, EPS rose 32% on a comparable basis. He also cited an annualized return on tangible equity of “nearly 25%.”
While describing the quarter as strong, Kruszewski said the operating environment has become more uncertain, pointing to escalating geopolitical risk, higher energy prices, widening credit spreads, and greater interest-rate uncertainty. He also highlighted the conflict in Iran as a “wild card” that could affect energy prices, inflation, and growth.
Global Wealth Management sets quarterly records
Chief Financial Officer Jim Marischen said Global Wealth Management generated $932 million in net revenue, “the strongest first quarter in our history,” and roughly in line with the prior quarter’s record. He attributed results to record asset management revenue and growth in net interest income, while noting the sale of SIA reduced the firm’s transactional and asset management run rate for two months during the quarter.
Stifel ended the quarter with total client assets of $539 billion and fee-based assets of $220 billion. Excluding the SIA impact, Marischen said total client assets and fee-based assets were “essentially flat sequentially” as low single-digit net new asset growth was offset by market depreciation.
On recruiting, Marischen said the firm’s pipeline remains robust but “episodic,” and that over the last 12 months Stifel recruited trailing 12-month production of approximately $80 million. Kruszewski added that while some large firms have “really, really ramped” transitional pay, Stifel remains disciplined and is encouraged by its ability to recruit larger teams, calling that a relatively newer dynamic for the firm over the past decade.
Institutional strength driven by investment banking
Marischen said the institutional group posted its strongest first quarter in the firm’s history, with revenue of $495 million, up 29% year-over-year, driven by record investment banking results. Investment banking revenue totaled $341 million, up 44% year-over-year, and came in slightly above guidance due to a number of transactions closing late in the quarter, including what Marischen described as a “particularly meaningful contribution” from Bryan, Garnier & Co.
Advisory revenues rose 59% to $218 million, with strength cited in financials, industrials, consumers, and healthcare. Equity capital raising was $67 million, described as Stifel’s second-strongest first-quarter result, with increased issuer engagement led by healthcare, industrials, and energy. Fixed income underwriting revenue was $50 million, up 9%, driven by increased public finance activity and higher corporate issuance. Marischen said Stifel remains the number one negotiated issue manager in public finance by deal count with “nearly 15% market share.”
Transactional revenue increased 4% year-over-year, led by a 12% increase in fixed income revenue tied to increased client activity amid market volatility. Equity transactional revenue fell 7%, which Marischen attributed entirely to the European restructuring. Excluding a $9 million year-over-year decline tied to those restructuring efforts, he said Stifel’s core equity transactional business grew 10%.
When asked about the IPO market, Kruszewski said the equity capital markets environment appeared “healthy,” describing deal delays of a week or two as tied to volatility concerns rather than a broad pullback.
Net interest income, balance sheet growth, and deposits
Marischen said net interest income came in at the lower end of guidance and slightly below consensus, driven by lower corporate or non-bank net interest income. He said loan growth slowed as market volatility affected fund banking late in the quarter, offsetting growth in residential mortgages, securities-based lending, and C&I loans. For the second quarter, Marischen guided to net interest income of $280 million to $290 million.
He also highlighted deposit and funding trends during the quarter:
- Sweep balances increased by more than $670 million.
- Non-wealth client funding increased by nearly $1.2 billion, which Marischen said reflected strong momentum from the venture group.
- Third-party money fund balances increased by nearly $200 million.
Despite slower loan growth in the first quarter, Marischen said activity picked up in April and the firm maintained its full-year guidance of up to $4 billion in asset growth. In response to a question about funding, Marischen pointed to $6.2 billion of third-party deposits available to Stifel Bank Corp, including $5.7 billion in third-party commercial treasury deposits, and said that line grew $1.2 billion during the first quarter.
Discussing April trends, Marischen said sweep and Smart Rate balances were down since quarter end while treasury deposits were up. Kruszewski characterized April cash movement as seasonal and heavily influenced by tax payments, cautioning against reading it as a trend.
Margins, expenses, capital, and restructuring
Kruszewski said firm-wide pretax margin was more than 22%, with continued wealth management strength and an institutional pretax margin of nearly 20%. He called out the institutional margin improvement of nearly 1,300 basis points year-over-year, which Marischen linked to revenue growth and the European restructuring.
On expenses, Marischen said the compensation ratio was 57.5%—the high end of the full-year guidance range—down from 58% a year earlier. Non-compensation expenses were $293 million, up 8% year-over-year after excluding the prior-year legal accrual. The operating non-comp ratio was 19%, at the midpoint of guidance.
Marischen also discussed capital and shareholder returns. He said the Tier 1 leverage ratio increased to 11.4% and the Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio rose to 18.7%. Based on a 10% Tier 1 leverage target, he said Stifel entered the quarter with nearly $560 million of excess capital. The firm repurchased 2.8 million shares during the quarter and had 10.2 million shares remaining under its authorization.
On the European equities restructuring and the SIA sale, Marischen reiterated prior framing that the two items represented about $100 million of revenue in total and approximately $20 million to $25 million of non-comp expense, with the overall changes roughly break-even when revenues were removed and costs taken out. He added there was still additional cost to remove over time, citing longer-term contracts such as leases and subscription agreements.
In closing remarks, Kruszewski said Stifel’s business is positioned for a strong 2026 if risks remain “within a range of market expectations,” adding that wealth management growth, strong institutional pipelines, and investments in areas such as venture lending and deposit generation are supporting the firm’s outlook.
About Stifel Financial NYSE: SF
Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full‐service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research‐driven insights.
The firm's main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.
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