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OPPENHEIMER HOLDINGS INC (OPY)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Strong top-line with Q4 revenue up 21.8% YoY to $375.4M; bottom-line diluted EPS fell to $0.92 as $20.5M of liability-based stock appreciation rights (SARs) expense materially elevated compensation in the quarter .
  • Wealth Management set new records in AUM ($49.4B) and continued to drive advisory and commission growth, while Capital Markets revenue rose 46.5% YoY with sharply narrower losses as activity improved .
  • Balance sheet strengthened: completed redemption of all Senior Secured Notes in Q4; book value per share reached a record $82.31; quarterly dividend maintained at $0.18/share .
  • Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) could not be retrieved at this time due to API limits; we cannot benchmark vs estimates in this recap. We will update once consensus becomes available.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

  • What Went Well

    • Record AUM and strong advisory fees: AUM reached $49.4B; Wealth Management revenue grew 12.5% YoY; advisory fees +23.3% YoY in Q4 .
    • Capital Markets momentum: Revenue +46.5% YoY; advisory fees +137.6% YoY; equities underwriting +57.7% YoY; fixed income S&T +30.8% YoY; pre-tax loss narrowed to $(5.0)M from $(18.2)M .
    • Strategic deleveraging and equity strength: Completed redemption of Senior Secured Notes; book value per share rose to $82.31, tangible book to $64.96 .
    • CEO tone: “We ended the year with record revenue, AUM, stockholders’ equity and book value per share levels, and a significantly de-levered balance sheet… We remain optimistic about our future” .

  • What Went Wrong

    • EPS pressure from compensation: Q4 included $20.5M pre-tax SARs expense tied to share price appreciation, depressing EPS despite higher revenue .
    • Lower sweep income: Bank deposit sweep income declined by $5.2M YoY in Q4 on lower balances and lower short-term rates; sweep balances ended at $3.0B vs $3.4B LY .
    • Capital Markets still loss-making: Though improved, Capital Markets posted a Q4 pre-tax loss of $(5.0)M due to costs for new personnel and higher incentive comp .

Financial Results

MetricQ4 2023Q3 2024Q4 2024
Revenue ($M)$308.289 $373.352 $375.417
Net Income Attrib. ($M)$11.100 $24.508 $10.729
Basic EPS ($)$1.07 $2.38 $1.04
Diluted EPS ($)$0.98 $2.16 $0.92
Pre-Tax Income ($M)$17.832 $35.370 $17.067
Compensation Expense ($M)$193.196 $237.935 $256.439
Non-Comp Expense ($M)$97.261 $100.047 $101.911

Segment performance (YoY):

SegmentQ4 2023Q4 2024
Wealth Management Revenue ($M)$225.280 $253.515
Wealth Management Pre-Tax ($M)$60.070 $53.708
AUA ($B)$118.2 $129.5
AUM ($B)$43.9 $49.4
Capital Markets Revenue ($M)$81.457 $119.325
Capital Markets Pre-Tax ($M)$(18.179) $(4.975)

KPIs

KPIQ4 2023Q3 2024Q4 2024
AUM ($B)43.9 49.1 49.4
AUA ($B)118.2 129.8 129.5
Cash Sweep Balances ($B)3.4 2.8 3.0
FA Headcount (Wealth Mgmt)—928 931
Book Value/Share ($)76.72 81.10 82.31
Tangible BV/Share ($)59.54 64.03 64.96
Dividend/Share ($)—0.18 0.18

Notes:

  • Q4 results included $20.5M of SARs expense from liability-based awards; FY total $32.6M .

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Dividend per shareQ4 2024$0.18 (Q3 2024 declared) $0.18 (payable Feb 28, 2025; record Feb 14, 2025) Maintained
Financial guidance (revenue, margins, opex, tax)—Not providedNot provided—

No quantitative revenue/margin/opex/tax guidance was provided in the press release or 8-K .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicQ2 2024 (Prev-2)Q3 2024 (Prev-1)Q4 2024 (Current)Trend
Macro/interest rates, market toneAI-driven equity rally lifted indices; high rates pressured sweep balances Fed rate cut; soft-landing setup; indices at highs Soft-landing expectations; strong equity markets drove client activity Improving risk appetite
Wealth Mgmt/AUMRecord AUM; strong advisory/commissions; lower sweep income Record AUM; strong trading volumes and fees Record AUM $49.4B; advisory +23.3% YoY; lower sweep income Positive, structurally strong
Investment Banking cycleUnderwriting slowed vs Q1; IB softer QoQ Advisory up; underwriting softer on issuance Advisory +137.6% YoY; equities underwriting +57.7% YoY Recovering from trough
Sales & TradingFixed income S&T +22% YoY; equities flat Equities +7.5% YoY; FI +45.5% YoY Equities +22.3% YoY; FI +30.8% YoY Broad-based improvement
Compensation/SARsHigher production/share-based comp Higher incentive/deferred comp $20.5M SARs expense from share price increase Cost headwind near-term
Balance sheetRecord BVPS; dividend lifted to $0.18 Redeemed $113.05M senior notes; record BVPS Completed note redemption; BVPS $82.31 Delevered, stronger equity
Capital returnDividend raised to $0.18 Dividend $0.18 Dividend $0.18 Stable payout

Management Commentary

  • “The Firm registered strong results of operations for the full year 2024 on the back of record high revenue… Our reported results were negatively impacted (with full year expense totaling $32.6 million pre-tax) by the increase in our stock price… in certain liability awards…” .
  • “The continued rise of the markets drove the outstanding results shown in our Wealth Management business… In the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, we recognized $20.5 million of expense related to these stock appreciation rights…” .
  • “We ended the year with record revenue, AUM, stockholders’ equity and book value per share levels, and a significantly de-levered balance sheet after completing the redemption of our Senior Secured Notes earlier in the fourth quarter of 2024” .

Q&A Highlights

  • An earnings call transcript for Q4 2024 was not available in our document set; no Q&A details could be reviewed [ListDocuments returned none].

Estimates Context

  • S&P Global (Capital IQ) consensus for Q4 2024 EPS and revenue could not be retrieved due to API request limits at the time of analysis. As a result, we cannot assess beats/misses vs consensus in this recap. We will update the estimates comparison when access is restored.

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Revenue momentum intact: Q4 revenue grew 21.8% YoY to $375.4M, modestly above Q3 despite seasonal headwinds .
  • EPS depressed by non-operational comp: $20.5M SARs expense tied to share price appreciation weighed on EPS; absent this, operating trends were stronger, particularly in Wealth and Capital Markets .
  • Wealth flywheel: Record AUM ($49.4B) and higher client activity continue to lift advisory and commissions; the advisory fee base into Q1 2025 is set by record year-end AUM .
  • Capital Markets recovery: Advisory and underwriting improved materially YoY, narrowing losses; as issuance normalizes, the platform should leverage recent hiring .
  • Structural headwind: Lower sweep balances and lower short-term rates are pressuring sweep income, partially offset by higher margin loan interest .
  • Balance sheet optionality: Redemption of senior notes and record equity/book value enhance flexibility for growth initiatives and capital return; dividend maintained at $0.18/share .
  • Watch estimate resets: Once Street consensus is available, we expect focus on operating leverage vs comp inflation and the sustainability of Capital Markets recovery, which could be catalysts for the stock narrative.

Sources: Q4 2024 8-K (Item 2.02) and Exhibit 99.1 press release ; Q4 2024 press release (PR Newswire) ; Q3 2024 press release ; Q2 2024 press release .