Executive Summary

Q1 2022 delivered modest top-line growth with revenues of $69.6M (+2.5% YoY) and diluted EPS of $0.66 versus $0.59 in Q1 2021; operating income rose to $26.0M, aided by a one-time CEO compensation waiver that bolstered operating income by $4.1M .
AUM ended flat at $33.4B versus Q1 2021, with average AUM also roughly flat; net income was $17.5M and the effective tax rate fell to 22.6% from 29.6% a year ago, supporting EPS expansion .
Capital returns remained consistent: the board declared a $0.04 dividend and the company repurchased ~141K shares for $3.1M; post-quarter additional buybacks of ~89K shares were executed .
No formal revenue or margin guidance was issued; the company had pre-announced Q1 diluted EPS of $0.64–$0.68 and reported $0.66, within the range. Wall Street consensus from S&P Global was unavailable for GAMI this quarter (S&P Global mapping missing) .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- EPS and net income improved YoY despite flat AUM, with diluted EPS of $0.66 vs $0.59 and net income of $17.5M vs $16.0M in Q1 2021 .
- Investment advisory fees grew YoY to $63.8M, with mutual fund revenues at $43.0M, institutional/private wealth at $18.6M, and SICAV at $2.2M, reflecting pricing/billing mechanics and stable client assets .
- Lower effective tax rate (22.6% vs 29.6%) boosted after-tax earnings and supported EPS .
What Went Wrong
- Operating results benefited from non-recurring CEO compensation waiver (+$4.1M OI), obscuring underlying run-rate profitability and complicating margin trajectory analysis .
- Non-operating headwinds: mark-to-market investment losses of $2.6M and interest expense of $0.8M weighed on pre-tax income .
- Distribution fees and other income declined YoY to $5.8M from $6.4M, modestly offsetting advisory fee gains .

Financial Results

Metric	Q1 2021	Q4 2021	Q1 2022
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$67.9	$81.7	$69.6
Operating Income ($USD Millions)	$22.5	$29.4	$26.0
Net Income ($USD Millions)	$16.0	$11.0	$17.5
Diluted EPS ($USD)	$0.59	$0.41	$0.66
Effective Tax Rate (%)	29.6%	28.8%	22.6%

Segment breakdown (Revenue components):

Component	Q1 2021	Q1 2022
Investment Advisory & Incentive Fees ($MM)	$61.5	$63.8
- Mutual Funds ($MM)	$42.2	$43.0
- Institutional & PWM ($MM)	$17.6	$18.6
- SICAV ($MM)	$1.7	$2.2
Distribution Fees & Other ($MM)	$6.4	$5.9
Total Revenues ($MM)	$67.9	$69.6

KPIs and balance sheet:

KPI	Q1 2021	Q4 2021	Q1 2022
AUM End of Period ($USD Billions)	$33.409	$34.982	$33.378
AUM Average ($USD Billions)	$33.380	—	$33.286
Cash & Investments ($USD Millions)	—	$159.4	$182.4
Subordinated Debt ($USD Millions)	—	$51.0 (due 6/15/23)	$50.9 (due 6/15/23)
Cash & Investments Net of Debt ($USD Millions)	—	—	$131.5
Share Repurchases (shares/$)	—	353,333 / $8.7M	140,895 / $3.1M
Dividend per Share	$0.04 (declared 11/4/21 for Dec)	$0.04 (declared 2/3/22)	$0.04 (declared 5/3/22)

Notes:

Waiver of CEO compensation boosted Q1 2022 operating income by $4.1M; within expense lines, it reduced compensation by $3.385M and management fee by $0.736M .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Diluted EPS (pre-announcement)	Q1 2022	—	$0.64–$0.68 (preliminary)	Initiated pre-announcement range
Diluted EPS (actual vs pre-announcement)	Q1 2022	$0.64–$0.68 (preliminary)	$0.66 (reported)	Maintained (actual within range)
Regular Dividend	Q2 2022 pay	$0.04 (prior regular)	$0.04 (declared; payable 6/28/22)	Maintained
Formal Revenue/Margin Guidance	FY/Quarter	None	None	Maintained (no guidance)

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

No Q1 2022 earnings call transcript was found in our document repository or public sources; GAMI did not provide a transcript accessible via our tools. The narrative below draws from press releases.

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q3 2021)	Previous Mentions (Q4 2021)	Current Period (Q1 2022)	Trend
Macro/tone	Strong operating income; non-op losses lower; tax rate 24.5%	“Six I’s” framework (Inflation, Interest Rates, Infrastructure, Income Taxes, International/Internal Relations, Infection); normalization supportive of value investing	No macro framework; focus on operating details and conferences	Less macro commentary in Q1 2022 vs Q4 2021
ESG/SDCC	SDCC history highlighted; contributions ~$62M since IPO	SDCC increased to $0.50 per share, ~$11.3M; ESG emphasis (LOPP ETF)	SDCC program reiterated; cumulative $48M designated; ~$74M total charitable since IPO	Ongoing emphasis on ESG/SDCC
Product initiatives	Rights offerings (GAB, GGT); hosting industry symposia	Automation ETF launch planned Jan 3, 2022; conferences continued	Automation ETF launched Jan 3; Financial Services ETF launching in May; multiple symposia hosted	Continued ETF build-out and events
Capital allocation	Dividend increased to $0.04; buybacks ongoing	Dividend maintained at $0.04; sizable buybacks	Dividend maintained at $0.04; buybacks continued	Stable capital returns
Balance sheet	Cash & investments $182.2M; debt $52.1M	Cash & investments $159.4M; sub notes $51.0M	Cash & investments $182.4M; sub notes $50.9M (due 6/15/23)	Strong liquidity; modest leverage

Management Commentary

“Operating income was $26.0 million versus $22.5 million in the first quarter of 2021. Waiver of CEO compensation bolstered operating income by $4.1 million in the first quarter of 2022.”
“Mark-to-market investment losses were $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 versus gains of $0.9 million in the first quarter of 2021. Interest expense was $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2022 versus $0.7 million in the first quarter of 2021.”
“GAMCO’s effective tax rate for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was 22.6% versus 29.6% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.”
“During the quarter, GAMCO paid a dividend of $0.04 per share for a total of $1.1 million and purchased 140,895 shares for $3.1 million at an average price of $22.34 per share.”

Q&A Highlights

No Q1 2022 earnings call transcript was available; no Q&A highlights or analyst clarifications could be sourced via our tools or public links. We searched for “GAMCO Investors Q1 2022 conference call transcript” and found none accessible [Search via ListDocuments returned none; Internet search did not yield a transcript].

Estimates Context

We attempted to retrieve Wall Street consensus (S&P Global/Capital IQ) for EPS and revenue in Q1 2022, but S&P Global mapping for GAMI was unavailable; thus, consensus estimates could not be fetched (SpgiEstimatesError: missing CIQ company mapping). As a result, we cannot assess beats/misses versus consensus for this quarter [GetEstimates error].
The company pre-announced diluted EPS of $0.64–$0.68 and reported $0.66, consistent with the range; in absence of consensus, internal models should adjust for the non-recurring CEO compensation waiver when evaluating core margins and EPS .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Q1 2022 showed resilient topline and EPS growth despite flat AUM, with advisory fee strength across mutual funds, institutional/PWM, and SICAV; tax rate tailwinds supported EPS .
The $4.1M boost from the CEO comp waiver temporarily elevated operating income; investors should normalize OI/margins for a cleaner run-rate view .
Non-operating losses ($2.6M) and interest expense ($0.8M) remain a swing factor for quarterly pre-tax results; monitor market volatility impacts on mark-to-market .
Capital returns stayed disciplined: $0.04 dividend and steady buybacks (~141K shares in-quarter), with additional repurchases post-quarter; supports shareholder yield .
Balance sheet liquidity is strong ($182.4M cash & investments) with modest sub notes ($50.9M, due 6/15/23); net cash/investments of $131.5M offer flexibility .
Ongoing ETF launches and industry symposiums highlight product innovation and client engagement; near-term revenue benefits depend on AUM capture and market levels .
With consensus unavailable, traders should anchor expectations to company’s pre-announced EPS range and reported results, adjusting for one-offs and tax rate shift (22.6%) when modeling core EPS .

Sources

Q1 2022 8-K 2.02 and press release (Exhibit 99.1), published May 3, 2022 .
Q1 2022 preliminary EPS press release (8-K 2.02), published April 18, 2022 .
Q4 2021 press release (8-K 2.02), published February 3, 2022 .
Q3 2021 press release (8-K 2.02), published November 4, 2021 .
Business Wire reprint of Q1 2022 release .

GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. ET AL (GAMI)·Q1 2022 Earnings Summary