Lazard, Inc. (LAZ) reported a preliminary asset under management (AUM) balance of $244.3 billion for August 2024, reflecting a marginal decrease from $246.1 billion as of July 31, 2024. LAZ's AUM Breakdown The fall in AUM balance was due to net outflows of $7.5 billion. This was partially offset by the market appreciation and a foreign exchange appreciation of $2.8 billion and $3 billion, respectively. In August, Lazard's equity assets decreased almost 1.8% from the prior month's level to $192.2 billion, wh ...

Lazard, Inc. (LAZ) reported a preliminary asset under management (AUM) balance of $246.1 billion for July 2024. This reflected a marginal increase from $244.7 billion as of Jun 30, 2024. The rise in AUM balance was driven by a market appreciation of $3.5 billion and a foreign exchange appreciation of $1.5 billion. These were partially offset by net outflows of $3.6 billion. In July, Lazard's equity assets increased almost 1% from the prior month's level to $192.2 billion, while fixedincome assets declined m ...

1 IF D H HT T 100 - 100 1 i T 1 Pgiam/iStock via Getty Images Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) reported a solid quarter. Growth was evident in Q2, but there was some deceleration compared to Q1 which had some big restructuring wins as we covered in our last article, probably related to ECM and DCM activity which did peter out a bit. Importantly, sponsor markets aren't doing that badly as of right now, and a decent franchise to deal with situational sponsor activity has been helpful for the company. Lazard still looks like ...

Financial Performance - Consolidated net revenue for the second quarter of 2024 was derived from Financial Advisory (60%), Asset Management (42%), and Corporate (-2%) segments, compared to 55%, 45%, and 0% respectively in the same period of 2023[267]. - As of June 30, 2024, Lazard's net revenue was $685,349,000, an increase from $643,114,000 in the same period of 2023, representing a year-over-year growth of approximately 6.3%[312]. - Operating income for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $63,640,000, compared to a loss of $110,073,000 in the same period of 2023, indicating a significant recovery[312]. - Lazard's net income attributable to the company for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $49,909,000, a recovery from a loss of $124,013,000 in the same period of 2023[312]. - For the six months ended June 30, 2024, net income attributable to Lazard was $86 million, compared to a net loss of $146 million in the same period of 2023[340]. - Net revenue increased by $265 million, or 22%, with adjusted net revenue increasing by $284 million, or 25%, compared to the 2023 period[341]. M&A and Restructuring Activity - Completed M&A transactions in Q2 2024 totaled $710 billion, an 18% increase from $601 billion in Q2 2023, while the number of deals decreased by 26% to 7,058[278]. - The value of announced M&A transactions in Q2 2024 was $785 billion, a 6% increase from $742 billion in Q2 2023, with a decrease in the number of deals by 18%[278]. - Completed restructuring transactions in Q2 2024 reached a value of $177 billion, a 75% increase from $101 billion in Q2 2023[278]. - The company anticipates increased M&A activity alongside greater restructuring efforts throughout 2024, driven by a recovering economic environment and high interest rates[270]. - Financial Advisory net revenue increased by $59 million, or 17%, for the three months ended June 30, 2024, reflecting an increase in completed M&A transactions[356]. Asset Management - The company's asset management net revenue is primarily driven by the level of assets under management (AUM), which is influenced by market performance and client inflows[287]. - Total Assets Under Management (AUM) decreased by $2 billion, or 1%, to $244.67 billion as of June 30, 2024, due to net outflows and foreign exchange depreciation[365]. - Net revenue for the Asset Management segment for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $285.49 million, a decrease of $3 million or 1% compared to $288.31 million in 2023[377]. - Operating income for the Asset Management segment increased to $50.08 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, up by $31 million or 162% from $19.09 million in 2023[378]. - Average AUM for the six months ended June 30, 2024, was $246.13 billion, compared to $231.11 billion for the same period in 2023, reflecting a growth of 6.5%[373]. Expenses and Cost Management - The total operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2024, were $1,331,901,000, slightly down from $1,332,547,000 in the same period of 2023[312]. - Compensation and benefits expenses decreased to $452,560,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2024, from $572,231,000 in the same period of 2023, reflecting a reduction of approximately 21%[312]. - Non-compensation expense decreased by $12 million, or 7%, while adjusted non-compensation expense increased by $5 million, or 3%[336]. - Operating expenses for the Asset Management segment decreased by $34 million or 13% compared to the 2023 period, which included $37 million associated with cost-saving initiatives[377]. - The company completed firm-wide cost-saving initiatives during the first quarter of 2024, aimed at improving operational efficiency[303]. Tax and Corporate Structure - Following the conversion to a U.S. C-Corporation on January 1, 2024, Lazard anticipates an increase in its effective tax rate due to U.S. federal corporate income taxes being applicable to all operating income[304]. - The effective tax rate was 18.2%, compared to (9.4)% in 2023, primarily due to changes in the geographic mix of earnings[338]. - The provision for income taxes reflected an effective tax rate of 21.9%, compared to 7.8% for the 2023 period[346]. Cash Flow and Liquidity - Cash provided by operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2024, was $86 million, compared to a cash used of $211 million in the same period of 2023[390]. - As of June 30, 2024, Lazard had approximately $848 million in cash and cash equivalents, including $434 million held outside the U.S.[398]. - The company had approximately $209 million in unused lines of credit available as of June 30, 2024, including a $200 million senior revolving credit facility[399]. - The company expects to meet its annual obligations through cash flow generated from operations[404]. Shareholder Returns - Lazard repurchased 1,055,913 shares at an average price of $38.66 during the six months ended June 30, 2024[413]. - The Board of Directors authorized an additional $200 million share repurchase program on July 24, 2024, bringing total authorization to approximately $360 million[414]. Market Risks - The company's exposure to equity market price risk was approximately $149 million as of June 30, 2024, compared to $150 million as of December 31, 2023[452]. - The company's exposure to interest rate and credit spread risk was $118 million as of June 30, 2024, up from $18 million as of December 31, 2023[453]. - The company's exposure to foreign exchange rate risk was $63 million as of June 30, 2024, down from $69 million as of December 31, 2023[454].

Results benefited from lower expenses and rise in assets under management (AUM) balances. The ratio of adjusted compensation expenses to operating revenues was 66%, down from the year-earlier quarter's 68.4%. The ratio of adjusted non-compensation expenses to operating revenues was 21.7%, down from the year-ago quarter's 23.2%. Financial Advisory: The segment's adjusted operating revenues were $407.9 million, rising 19% from the year-earlier quarter's levels. We had projected the metric to be $351.7 million ...

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call July 25, 2024 8:00 AM ET Company Participants Alexandra Deignan - Head of Investor Relations, Treasury & Corporate Sustainability Peter Orszag - Chief Executive Officer Mary Ann Betsch - Chief Financial Officer Evan Russo - Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Conference Call Participants Ryan Kenny - Morgan Stanley Jim Mitchell - Seaport Global Brendan O'Brien - Wolfe Research Devin Ryan - JMP Securities James Yaro - Goldman Sachs Brennan Hawken ...

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Financial - Miscellaneous Services is currently in the top 40% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacksranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 30%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company ...

LAZARD Media Contact: Shannon Houston +1 212 632 6880 shannon.houston@lazard.com Investor Contact: Alexandra Deignan +1 212 632 6886 alexandra.deignan@lazard.com LAZARD REPORTS SECOND-QUARTER AND FIRST-HALF 2024 RESULTS • Financial Advisory reports record first-half adjusted net revenue of $855 million • Asset Management reports quarter-end AUM of $245 billion • Investing in talent firm-wide to support long-term growth strategy NEW YORK, July 25, 2024 – Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ) today reported both net reven ...

Lazard, Inc. (LAZ) reported its preliminary asset under management (AUM) balance of $245 billion for May 2024. This reflected a 1.7% increase from $240.8 billion as of Apr 30, 2024. The rise in AUM balance was driven by a market appreciation of $4.4 billion and foreign exchange appreciation of $1.4 billion. These were partially offset by net outflows of $1.6 billion. Over the past six months, shares of Lazard have gained 7.2% against the industry's decline of 1.5%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Th ...

Pgiam/iStock via Getty Images Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) is one of the companies we cover in the financial advisory space, where last time we focused on their relatively cautious tone but generally resilient performances. We like their value and think that their advisory business tends to be poorly recognized in the stock market, despite how well recognized its brand is. Liability management activity is clearly up, and even without additional distress it should continue to grow thanks to maturity walls. Hardco ...