Wall Street just got a latest sign that a dealmaking rebound is chugging higher.
Investment bank Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) reported fourth quarter and full 12 months results Wednesday afternoon that showed fees for its M&A advisory business soared 91% from the 12 months ago quarter to $597 million.
For the total 12 months, investment banking fees rose 51% from the 12 months before to $3.44 billion, notching the investment bank’s second highest annual results on record.
Profits at Jefferies for a similar period climbed 156% to $691 million, a hair below the $694 million analysts expected, in accordance with data compiled by Bloomberg.
Jefferies stock moved barely lower in aftermarket trading Wednesday. US markets won’t open again until Friday. The stock has doubled within the last 12 months.
At close: January 8 at 4:00:02 PM EST
Jefferies’ results give investors their first official take a look at how the investment banking rebound across Wall Street played out near the tip of 2024, ending a two-year drought that began in 2022.
Wall Street banks had many reasons to cheer at the tip of 2024. The US economy withstood elevated rates of interest as stocks rallied. Firms issued record levels of debt, dealmaking rebounded, and trading revenues appeared poised to continue to grow.
For the reason that election, bankers and other finance executives have been optimistic over how the brand new Trump administration may very well be more favorable to their businesses, by loosening regulations and making it easier for corporations to merge.
Investors sent US financial stocks soaring in November in response to Donald Trump’s presidential election win. Those for the most important Wall Street banks all gained greater than an index tracking US banks (^BKX) thanks partly to their Wall Street operations, although a lot of these stocks have traded sideways since that initial surge.
Jefferies is up 24% since Trump became president elect.
“Jefferies begins 2025 in the most effective position ever in our firm’s sixty-two 12 months history,” CEO Richard Handler said within the fourth quarter earnings release.
“After many years of labor, we’re within the front row of the pack,” Handler added.
Whether the rally in big bank stocks that raged through November chugs on or stalls might be put to the test starting Wednesday when JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Wells Fargo (WFC) report fourth quarter and full 12 months earnings results.
Like Jefferies, those firms are all expected to see sizable jumps of their investment banking fees from a 12 months ago, with JPMorgan leading the pack. Nonetheless, their M&A business will not be anticipated by analysts to indicate uniform improvement from the fourth quarter of last 12 months.