LPL Financial late Thursday reported first-quarter profits of $356 million, or $4.43 per share — up 12% and 4% respectively from the year-ago period. The broker-dealer also had adjusted earnings per share of $5.60, up 9% year over year.
"It was a strong start to the year for LPL," CEO Rich Steinmeier said in a statement. "With … preparations underway to onboard Commonwealth [Financial] later this year, we remain well-positioned to execute on our vision."
During a call with industry analysts late Thursday, Steinmeier said the Commonwealth integration is "progressing well." Regarding the retention of Commonwealth advisors' assets, it is "in the mid-80s today, and we continue to track towards our target of 90% retention."
When LPL announced its deal to acquire Commonwealth a year ago — for $2.7 billion — Commonwealth supported about 2,900 independent advisors with roughly $285 billion in assets.
As of March 31, LPL's total client assets stood at $2.3 trillion, up 30% year over year. Its recruited assets for the first quarter, though, were down 55% from the year-ago period at $17 billion.
"In our traditional markets, we added approximately $15 billion in assets during Q1," Steinmeier said during the earnings call. "With respect to our expanded affiliation models, Strategic Wealth, Independent Employee and our enhanced RIA offering, we delivered another solid quarter, recruiting roughly $2 billion in assets."
The firm's core general and administrative costs jumped 29% year-over-year to $532 million in Q1'26.
As of midday Friday, LPL's shares were down 4% and traded at $333.79. Its stock price has weakened 10.6% year to date.
The author can be reached at janet.levaux@arc-network.com.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.