Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.06), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.23 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Lazard’s conference call:

• Financial advisory momentum strengthened: Third-quarter revenue rose 11% year over year to a record $465 million, driven primarily by M&A. Lazard cited its best announced league-table position in more than a decade, conflict clearances up over 30%, and a probability-weighted 2027 pipeline more than twice the comparable 2026 pipeline.
• Campbell Lutyens acquisition is on track to add scale: Lazard expects the new Lazard CL private-capital advisory platform to generate approximately $500 million of revenue and be earnings accretive in 2027, before potential synergies. Management also sees early cost savings and meaningful cross-referral opportunities with Lazard’s M&A and private-capital businesses.
• Asset-management operating trends improved: Management fees rose 18% year over year in the third quarter, while first-nine-month gross inflows reached a record $54 billion. Investment performance also improved, with 70% of client assets outperforming benchmarks over one year and 67% over three years.
• Asset management still experienced net outflows: Third-quarter AUM was approximately flat sequentially at $284 billion, reflecting $2.3 billion of net outflows, partly offset by market appreciation. Lazard said it remains on track for positive net flows for the full year, supported by demand for quantitative equity, emerging markets, infrastructure, and ETF offerings.
• Potential compensation-policy changes could pressure near-term reported margins: Lazard is considering reducing deferred compensation, which would increase current-year accounting expense and raise the reported compensation ratio by a few percentage points. Management expects the change, if adopted, to improve compensation flexibility, reduce share dilution, and lower amortization expense over the following two to three years.

Lazard Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $1.43 during trading on Thursday, hitting $35.94. 341,871 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,651,666. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.00. Lazard has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $58.75.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 98.04%.

More Lazard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lazard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lazard declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, payable November 13 to shareholders of record on November 2. The annualized payout is $2.00 per share, providing an indicated yield of approximately 5.3%. Lazard Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 per Share
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted net revenue was $805 million, while U.S. GAAP net revenue was $814 million. Revenue increased 8.8% year over year, and nine-month adjusted net revenue reached $2.264 billion, indicating business growth despite the quarterly earnings shortfall. Lazard Reports Third Quarter and Nine Month 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Lazard reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.36 per share, below consensus estimates ranging from $0.42 to $0.43. Earnings also declined from $0.56 per share in the year-ago quarter, signaling weaker profitability than investors expected. Lazard Misses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted revenue of $805 million also missed analysts’ approximately $844 million forecast. The combination of weaker-than-expected revenue and profit likely explains the negative investor reaction, particularly as Lazard’s shares were already trading well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Lazard Reports Sales Below Analyst Estimates in Q3 2026

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Zacks Research raised Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lazard from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Ltd. is a global financial advisory and asset management firm that serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, sovereign entities and individuals. Its Financial Advisory business provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, capital structure, restructuring, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Through its Asset Management business, Lazard offers investment strategies across equities, fixed income, private markets, alternatives and multi-asset portfolios.