Raymond James Posts Record Quarter, Caps Sixth Straight Year of Record Results

Raymond James Financial closed out its sixth straight year of record revenue and earnings on Wednesday, posting record fiscal fourth-quarter profit as fee-based client assets and investment banking both climbed.

The St. Petersburg, Florida-based wealth manager reported net revenues of $4.27 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 15% from a year earlier and 9% from the prior quarter, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Wednesday. Net income available to common shareholders reached a record $666 million, or $3.40 per diluted share, up 15% from a year ago.

Excluding $37 million of after-tax acquisition-related expenses, adjusted net income was $703 million, or $3.59 a share, also a record.

A record year

For fiscal 2026, net revenues rose 12% to a record $15.79 billion, and earnings per diluted share increased 16% to a record $11.91. Adjusted EPS rose 16% to $12.41. Return on common equity was 18.7% for the year.

"We delivered our sixth consecutive year of record annual revenues and earnings, a testament to our resilient, diversified businesses anchored by our Private Client Group," CEO Paul Shoukry said in the release.

Shoukry pointed to record recruiting and advisor retention. Domestic Private Client Group net new assets totaled $98.3 billion for the fiscal year, up 88% from fiscal 2025, including $22.8 billion in the fourth quarter.

Fees drive the quarter

Asset management and related administrative fees grew 23% to $2.31 billion, the main engine behind the revenue gain. Client assets under administration hit a record $1.94 trillion at quarter-end, up 12% from a year earlier, while Private Client Group assets in fee-based accounts rose 15% to a record $1.16 trillion.

The Private Client Group posted record quarterly net revenues of $3.06 billion, up 15%, and pre-tax income of $458 million, up 10%. The company said higher advisor commissions and expenses tied to record recruiting partly offset the fee growth.

In Capital Markets, investment banking revenues rose 17% from a year ago and 27% from the prior quarter to $361 million, driven by M&A and advisory work. Segment pre-tax income climbed 18% to $106 million.

The Asset Management segment set records with net revenues up 30% to $409 million and pre-tax income up 29% to $170 million, helped by the addition of Clark Capital during the fiscal third quarter.

Bank margin narrows

The Bank segment's pre-tax income rose 35% from a year earlier to $180 million but fell 13% from the prior quarter. Net interest margin slipped 11 basis points to 2.60%. Net bank loans grew 11% to a record $57.5 billion, led by a 32% jump in securities-based loans to $26.2 billion.

Combined net interest income and Raymond James Bank Deposit Program fees rose 3% to $674 million.

Capital returns

Raymond James returned about $1.7 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2026 through buybacks and dividends. It repurchased $1.25 billion of common stock during the year at an average price of $156 per share, including $50 million in the fourth quarter, and had $1.05 billion left under its authorization as of Sept. 30.

Looking ahead, Shoukry cited "several geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties" but said the firm enters fiscal 2027 with record client assets and "a strong investment banking pipeline."

Sources

1. Raymond James Financial Form 8-K with fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0000720005-26-000080)

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