Q3 2025 Evercore Inc Earnings Call
Good morning and welcome to the evercore third quarter 2025 earnings conference call.
Today's call is scheduled to last about 1 hour, including remarks by evercore management and the question and answer session.
In order to ask a question, please press the star key followed by the number 1 on your touchtone phone at any time.
I will now turn the call over to Katie her head of investor relations at evercore.
Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. For evercore, third quarter, 2025 Financial results conference call.
I'm Katie Haber ever course, head of investor relations joining me on the call today is Jon Weinberg, our chairman, and CEO and Tim L our CFO.
Marks will open up the call for questions.
Earlier today, we issued a press release. Announcing ever course third quarter, 2025 Financial results, our discussion of our results today is complimentary to the press release, which is available at our website. At evercore.com, this conference call is being webcast live in the 4 investors section of our website. And an archive of it will be available for 30 days, beginning approximately 1 hour, after the conclusion of this call.
During the course of this conference call, we may make a number of forward-looking statements.
Any forward-looking statements that we make are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those indicated in the statements.
These factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Evercore's filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. I want to remind you that the company assumes no duty to update any forward-looking statements.
In our presentation today. Unless otherwise indicated, we will be discussing adjusted Financial measures which are non-gaap measures that we believe are meaningful when evaluating the company's performance for details. Disclosures on these measures and the Gap. Reconciliations you should refer to the financial data contained within our press release, which is posted on our website.
We continue to believe that it is important to evaluate our course performance, on an annual basis.
As we have noted previously, our results for any particular Corridor are influenced by the timing of transaction closing. I will now turn the call over to John
Thank you. Evercore delivered record third quarter results, following a record first half with momentum across all business areas. We generated over $1 billion in adjusted net revenues, up 42% year-over-year, marking our best third quarter ever and the second best quarter in our history, behind the fourth quarter of 2021.
Our quarterly and year-to-date results. Reflect the strength of our Diversified revenue streams.
The impact of our senior management and director hiring and promotions over the past several years and the benefits of a steadily improving market environment.
We remain committed to delivering for our clients and shareholders by executing our long-term strategy which includes focusing on areas of sector. And Geographic whites space, broadening our client coverage and expanding and deepening our product capabilities.
We are working at closing out 2025 on a strong note and positioning ourselves for a successful 2026.
So we're at the third quarter and in October market conditions and Investment Banking activity have continued to strengthen supporting a more conducive environment to deal making.
announced m&a activity has advanced at a healthy Pace led by larger, strategic transactions, while Capital markets activity has accelerated
Transactions that were impacted by market volatility earlier. This year are now returning to the market in line with the momentum that we've experienced. Over the last several months, our backlogs continue to increase in the quarter and client activity across the firm remains robust.
We expect these Trends to carry through year-end and into 2026.
In our business, in the fourth quarter.
Operator: Good morning and welcome to the Evercore Third Quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Today's call is scheduled to last about one hour, including remarks by Evercore management and the question and answer session. In order to ask a question, please press the star key followed by the number one on your touch-tone phone at any time. I will now turn the call over to Katy Haber, Head of Investor Relations at Evercore. Please go ahead.
This seasonality is likely to be less pronounced this year versus prior years. Given the strength of our year-to-date results. The timing of some transactions closing that may have been impacted by the market volatility earlier, in the year and a possible timing impact from the government shutdown, which we are continuing to monitor closely. That said we expect continued strengthening in the market and our business.
Overall, we continue to believe we are in the early stages of an investment banking recovery driven by a combination of cyclical and structural factors.
Katy Haber: Thank you, operator. Good morning and thank you for joining us today for Evercore Inc.'s Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results Conference call. I'm Katy Haber, Evercore Inc.'s Head of Investor Relations. Joining me on the call today is John Weinberg, our Chairman and CEO, and Timothy LaLonde, our CFO. After I prepare the remarks, we will open up the call for questions. Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing Evercore Inc.'s Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results. Our discussion of our results today is complimentary to the press release, which is available at our website at evercore.com. This conference call is being webcast live in the For Investors section of our website, and an archive of it will be available for 30 days, beginning approximately one hour after the conclusion of this call. During the course of this conference call, we may make a number of forward-looking statements.
Global announced m&a as a percentage of global market cap remains well below, historical averages and pent-up demand from both corporate and sponsors together. With broader secular shifts such as accelerating impact of AI. And other long-term trends is driving New Opportunities across sectors.
Turning to Talent. We continue to make strong progress on our recruiting efforts. We successfully closed the ROI Warsaw transaction on October 1st which has been an important addition to our buildout in Europe and significantly enhances our ability to serve clients across the region and around the world.
Along with the 5 new.
Investment Banking, SMDS from Roi Warshaw.
Katy Haber: Any forward-looking statements that we make are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Evercore Inc.'s filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. I want to remind you that the company assumes no duty to update any forward-looking statements. In our presentation today, unless otherwise indicated, we will be discussing adjusted financial measures, which are non-GAAP measures that we believe are meaningful when evaluating the company's performance. For detailed disclosures on these measures and the GAAP reconciliations, you should refer to the financial data contained within our press release, which is posted on our website.
Four additional SMDs have committed to join our Global Investment Banking practice: two in the U.S., with one focusing on Financial Sponsors and the other on Healthcare; and two in Europe, with one covering Financial Sponsors.
And another advising Nordic clients.
So far 2025 has been our strongest recruiting year to date with our most recent joiners and commits. We now have 168 Investment Banking, smds up. Nearly 50% from the year end 2021 positioning us, well, as the market strengthens
We continue to see a healthy pipeline of external candidates and attracting and developing exceptional Talent. Remains poor to our strategy and future success.
Now, let me turn to the businesses.
We experienced broad-based strength across the our Diversified platform, both sequentially and year-over-year.
Katy Haber: We continue to believe that it is important to evaluate Evercore Inc.'s performance on an annual basis. As we have noted previously, our results for any particular quarter are influenced by the timing of transaction closing. I will now turn the call over to John.
In the third quarter and over the last 12 months, approximately 45% and 50% of total revenues respectively were from non- m&a sources.
John Weinberg: Thank you, Katy. Evercore delivered record Third Quarter results following a record first half with momentum across all business areas. We generated over $1 billion in adjusted net revenues, up 42% year over year, marking our best Third Quarter ever and the second best quarter in our history, behind the Fourth Quarter of 2021. Our quarterly and year-to-date results reflect the strengths of our diversified revenue streams, the impact of our Senior Managing Director hiring and promotions over the past several years, and the benefits of a steadily improving market environment. We remain committed to delivering for our clients and shareholders by executing our long-term strategy, which includes focusing on areas of sector and geographic whitespace, broadening our client coverage, and expanding and deepening our product capabilities. We are working at closing out 2025 on a strong note and positioning ourselves for a successful 2026.
Our U.S. M&A advisory practice continued to gain momentum across sectors, including tech infrastructure and healthcare.
Financial sponsor activity is steadily picking up and we expect this positive trend to continue into next year.
Ever core is, well, positioned to benefit as we have meaningfully built out our sponsor coverage effort in recent years.
Our European advisory business delivered, its best quarter on record with strong performance across sectors, products, and geographies. We are very pleased with our progress of the region and are seeing high quality engagements with both corporate and sponsors. We expect this to continue as we welcome the ROI warshaw team and expand our presence in Europe.
As of the end of the quarter, we advise on 4 of the 118 transactions.
John Weinberg: Throughout the Third Quarter and in October, market conditions and investment banking activity have continued to strengthen, supporting a more conducive environment to dealmaking. Announced M&A activity has advanced at a healthy pace, led by larger strategic transactions, while capital markets activity has accelerated. Transactions that were impacted by market volatility earlier this year are now returning to the market. In line with the momentum that we've experienced over the last several months, our backlogs continue to increase in the quarter, and client activity across the firm remains robust. We expect these trends to carry through year-end and into 2026. It's worth noting that in many years, we've experienced significant positive seasonality in our business in the Fourth Quarter.
We've continued to experience strong activity in October, including advising Carlile on a €7.7 billion acquisition of BASF, and advising Huntington Bank on its acquisition of Cadence Bank for $7.4 billion, representing our second transaction advising Huntington this year.
Next are Strategic Defense and shareholder Advisory Group remains busy as the number of activist campaigns in the US is at record levels.
The liability management and restructuring business continued to see robust activity in the quarter. Generally, tracking in line with Trends experienced earlier this year.
We are seeing an increase in larger, traditional restructuring, assignments. And our backlog in this area remains strong, as highly levered. Companies, face, ongoing challenges.
Our private capital markets and debt advisory team continued to be active as the credit markets remain open and transaction activity picks up.
John Weinberg: This seasonality is likely to be less pronounced this year versus prior years, given the strength of our year-to-date results, the timing of some transactions closing that may have been impacted by the market volatility earlier in the year, and a possible timing impact from the government shutdown, which we are continuing to monitor closely. That said, we expect continued strengthening in the market and our business. Overall, we continue to believe we are in the early stages of an investment banking recovery driven by a combination of cyclical and structural factors. Global announced M&A as a percentage of global market cap remains well below historical averages, and pent-up demand from both corporates and sponsors, together with broader secular shifts such as accelerating impact of AI and other long-term trends, is driving new opportunities across sectors. Turning to talent, we continue to make strong progress on our recruiting efforts.
Consistent with the strength. We saw in the first 2 quarters of the Year, our private Capital advisory business delivered. A record third quarter driven in large part by gp-led continuation fund transactions.
In fact, through the first 9 months of 2025, PCA revenues have already exceeded full year, 2024, which was our best year on record.
And I mean, all areas of the business, including gp-led, continuation funds, LP, secondaries and securitizations.
Similarly, our Private Funds group generated a record third quarter. While the overall fundraising market remains challenging, our team continues to be active, operating at a very high level.
Equity capital markets saw a resurgence in activity in the third quarter, particularly with IPOs supported by lower levels of market volatility.
Our underwriting business remains active throughout the quarter as we continue to focus on our sector and product diversification efforts.
John Weinberg: We successfully closed the Robey Warshaw transaction on October 1, which has been an important addition to our build-out in Europe and significantly enhances our ability to serve clients across the regions and around the world. Along with the five new investment banking Senior Managing Directors from Robey Warshaw, four additional Senior Managing Directors have committed to join our global investment banking practice: two in the U.S., with one focused on financial sponsors and the other on healthcare, and two in Europe, with one covering financial sponsors and another advising Nordic clients. So far, 2025 has been our strongest recruiting year to date. With our most recent joiners and commits, we now have 168 investment banking Senior Managing Directors, up nearly 50% from year-end 2021, positioning us well as the market strengthens.
We saw particular strengths in Tech and Industrials with evercore serving as an active book. Runner on carman's 1 billion dollar follow-on offering. We also experienced a significant increase in convertible issuance an area where we've been investing in expanding our capabilities,
Our equities business evercore isi, has achieved the number 1 ranking in excel's All-American research. Survey for the 4th straight year.
Additionally, the business had its best quarter since the fourth quarter of 2016, reflecting healthy levels of volatility and broad-based activity across products and services.
Strong client engagement, combined with a constructive market backdrop and healthy client performance, all contributed to the quarter's results.
John Weinberg: We continue to see a healthy pipeline of external candidates, and attracting and developing exceptional talent remains core to our strategy and future success. Now, let me turn to the businesses. We experienced broad-based strength across our diversified platform, both sequentially and year over year. In the third quarter and over the last 12 months, approximately 45% and 50% of total revenues, respectively, were from non-M&A sources. Our U.S. M&A advisory practice continued to gain momentum across sectors, including tech, infrastructure, and healthcare. Financial sponsor activity is steadily picking up, and we expect this positive trend to continue into next year. Evercore Inc. is well-positioned and should benefit as we have meaningfully built out our sponsor coverage effort in recent years. Our European advisory business delivered its best quarter on record, with strong performance across sectors, products, and geographies.
Lastly wealth management achieved record quarter and AUM of approximately 15.4 billion driven by both Market appreciation and strong new, net client inflows.
Before I turn it over to Tim, I'd like to make a final comment.
The strength of our third quarter, and year-to-date results for flexible power of our Diversified platform. That continued execution of our strategy and our commitment to our clients.
As we look ahead, we're confident in our ability to continue, delivering value for our clients shareholders. And people with that, let me turn it over to Tim.
Thank you, John.
Ever course, third quarter results reflected in environment, which is continued to strengthen across all our businesses.
For the third quarter of 2025 net revenues operating income and EPS on a gap basis, were 1 billion dollars, 216 million dollars, and $3.41 cents per share respectively.
My comments from here will focus on non-GAAP metrics, which we believe are useful when evaluating our results.
John Weinberg: We are very pleased with our progress across the region and are seeing high-quality engagements with both corporates and sponsors. We expect this to continue as we welcome the Robey Warshaw team and expand our presence in Europe. As of the end of the quarter, we advise on four of the 11 largest global M&A transactions. We've continued to experience strong activity in October, including advising Carlyle on its €7.7 billion acquisition of BASF Coatings and Huntington Bancshares on its acquisition of Cadence Bank for $7.4 billion, representing our second transaction advising Huntington this year. Next, our Strategic Defense and Shareholder Advisory Group remains busy as the number of activist campaigns in the U.S. is at record levels. The liability management and restructuring business continued to see robust activity in the quarter, generally tracking in line with trends experienced earlier this year.
Our standard Gap reporting and Reconciliation of gaap to adjusted results can be found in our press release, which is on our website.
Our third quarter adjusted net revenues of $1 billion increased 42% versus the third quarter of 2024.
Third quarter, adjusted, operating income of 228, million increased 69% versus the third quarter of 2024.
Adjusted earnings per share of $3.48 increased 71% versus the third quarter of last year.
Our adjusted operating margin was 21.8% up from 18.2% in the prior year period.
An improvement of nearly 360 basis points.
Turning to the businesses.
John Weinberg: We are seeing an increase in larger traditional restructuring assignments, and our backlog in this area remains strong as highly levered companies face ongoing challenges. Our private capital markets and debt advisory team continue to be active as the credit markets remain open and transaction activity picks up. Consistent with the strength we saw in the first two quarters of the year, our private capital advisory business delivered a record third quarter, driven in large part by GP-led continuation fund transactions. In fact, through the first nine months of 2025, PCA revenues have already exceeded full year 2024, which was our best year on record. We continue to see strong momentum in all areas of the business, including GP-led continuation funds, LP secondaries, and securitizations. Similarly, our private funds group generated a record third quarter.
Third quarter, adjusted advisory fees of 884 million increased 49% year-over-year, which is a record for the third quarter and reflects continued market share gains.
Well, we recently have experienced a strong uptick in activity and expect that momentum to continue in the fourth quarter.
The seasonality we typically see in our fourth quarter advisory revenues is likely to be less pronounced this year versus prior years.
This reflects the record results. We've achieved year to date as well as the impact of the market volatility, in March, and April, which may have influenced the timing of certain transactions in related revenues.
And possible timing impacts from the government shutdown.
Our third quarter underwriting revenues were $44 million, down 1% from a year ago but up 36% sequentially.
John Weinberg: While the overall fundraising market remains challenging, our team continues to be active, operating at a very high level. Equity capital markets saw a resurgence in activity in the third quarter, particularly with IPOs supported by lower levels of market volatility. Our underwriting business remains active throughout the quarter as we continue to focus on our sector and product diversification efforts. We saw particular strength in tech and industrials, with Evercore serving as an active bookrunner on Carmen's $1 billion follow-on offering. We also experienced a significant increase in convertible issuance, an area where we have been investing in expanding our capabilities. Our equities business, Evercore ISI, has achieved the number one ranking in Institutional Investor's All-America Research Survey for the fourth straight year. Additionally, the business had its best quarter since the fourth quarter of 2016, reflecting healthy levels of volatility and broad-based activity across products and services.
Commissions and related revenue of 63 million in the quarter, increased 15% year-over-year and was a record third quarter and the highest quarter in nearly a decade.
As well as higher subscription, fees and good activity in convertibles and derivative products.
Third quarter adjusted asset management and administration, fees of 24 million rows, 10% year-over-year driven by market appreciation and net inflows.
Third quarter adjusted other revenue, net was approximately $33 million, which compares to $26 million a year ago.
Nearly 2/3 of the game is related to interest income in the quarter with most of the balance of other Revenue related to gains in our dccp hedge portfolio, which is correlated to the performance of the broader Equity Market.
Turning to expenses.
John Weinberg: Strong client engagement, combined with a constructive market backdrop and healthy client performance, all contributed to the quarter's results. Lastly, wealth management achieved record quarter-end AUM of approximately $15.4 billion, driven by both market appreciation and strong new net client inflows. Before I turn it over to Tim, I'd like to make a final comment. The strength of our third quarter and year-to-date results reflect the power of our diversified platform, the continued execution of our strategy, and our commitment to our clients. As we look ahead, we are confident in our ability to continue delivering value for our clients, shareholders, and people. With that, let me turn it over to Tim.
The adjusted compensation ratio. For the third quarter is 65% down nearly 100 basis, points from the prior year period and down 40 basis points from last quarter,
Our compensation ratio for the quarter reflects the continued steady improvement we have seen in the investment banking environment and in our revenues.
We remain committed to investing in our business and executing on our strategic growth plan as reflected in the records SMD. Recruiting we've achieved so far this year,
As we have mentioned on past calls, we are balancing our investments in growth.
With striving to make further improvement in our compensation ratio over time.
And based on our current visibility, we expect our full-year ratio to be generally in line with current levels.
Timothy LaLonde: Thank you, John. Evercore's Third Quarter results reflect an environment which has continued to strengthen across all our businesses. For the Third Quarter of 2025, net revenues, operating income, and EPS on a GAAP basis were $1 billion, $216 million, and $3.41 per share, respectively. My comments from here will focus on non-GAAP metrics, which we believe are useful when evaluating our results. Our standard GAAP reporting and reconciliation of GAAP to adjusted results can be found in our press release, which is on our website. Our Third Quarter adjusted net revenues of $1 billion increased 42% versus the Third Quarter of 2024. Third Quarter adjusted operating income of $228 million increased 69% versus the Third Quarter of 2024. Adjusted earnings per share of $3.48 increased 71% versus the Third Quarter of last year.
Adjusted non-compensation expenses in the quarter were 139 million which is 13.2% of net revenue.
This is an improvement of 260 basis points from a year ago and nearly 270 basis points compared to last quarter.
the adjusted non-comp expenses of 139 million is up 18% from the third quarter a year ago,
As a reminder, the non-comp expense line consists of a mix of fixed and variable expenses.
So some of the related line items are going to increase as client activity increases. And some of those are client billable expenses and are recruited over time.
An example of this would be travel and related expenses, which increased due to higher levels of client travel, as well as spending for conferences and client events.
Timothy LaLonde: Our adjusted operating margin was 21.8%, up from 18.2% in the prior year period, an improvement of nearly 360 basis points. Turning to the businesses, Third Quarter adjusted advisory fees of $884 million increased 49% year over year, which is a record for the Third Quarter and reflects continued market share gains. While we recently have experienced a strong uptick in activity and expect that momentum to continue in the Fourth Quarter, the seasonality we typically see in our Fourth Quarter advisory revenues is likely to be less pronounced this year versus prior years. This reflects the record results we've achieved year to date, as well as the impact of the market volatility in March and April, which may have influenced the timing of certain transactions and related revenues, and possible timing impacts from the government shutdown.
Other non-comp expenses increased as we build, our business and execution capacity. Like occupancy and Equipment expenses, which reflected the acquisition of additional floors in our New York locations and new leases in Dubai, Paris and London.
Some of our non-comp expenses occur as we are investing in what we hope will provide improved efficiencies or competitive advantage in the near to medium-term such as increased technology spend, which includes investment in the development and implementation of newer Technologies.
As well as spend on licensing and Consulting fees.
Accordingly. We would expect our non-comp expenses for the full year to be up year-over-year on a percentage basis. Generally consistent with what you have seen for the first 9 months.
As I've mentioned in the past, we continue to maintain a disciplined focus on our non-toxic expenses while investing in areas that are necessary to support our growth.
Our adjusted tax rate for the quarter was 28.7% down modestly from the third quarter of last year.
Turning to our balance sheet.
Timothy LaLonde: Our Third Quarter underwriting revenues were $44 million, down 1% from a year ago, but up 36% sequentially. Commissions and related revenue of $63 million in the quarter increased 15% year over year and was a record Third Quarter and the highest quarter in nearly a decade. The strength in the quarter was primarily related to higher revenues from trading commissions on stronger trading volumes, as well as higher subscription fees and good activity in convertibles and derivative products. Third Quarter adjusted asset management and administration fees of $24 million rose 10% year over year, driven by market appreciation and net inflows. Third Quarter adjusted other revenue net was approximately $33 million, which compares to $26 million a year ago.
As of September 30th, our cash and investment Securities totaled over 2.4 billion dollars.
In the third quarter.
We repurchased approximately 170,000 shares at an average price of 326.62.
And our share repurchase activity continued into the early part of the fourth quarter.
To the end of the third quarter, we have returned approximately $624 million of capital to shareholders through the repurchase of shares at an average purchase price of $264.72 and the payment of dividends.
Those issued for the initial payment related to the ROI warshot transaction.
Timothy LaLonde: Nearly two-thirds of the gain is related to interest income in the quarter, with most of the balance of other revenue related to gains in our DCCP hedge portfolio, which is correlated to the performance of the broader equity market. Turning to expenses, the adjusted compensation ratio for the third quarter is 65%, down nearly 100 basis points from the prior year period and down 40 basis points from last quarter. Our compensation ratio for the quarter reflects the continued steady improvement we have seen in the investment banking environment and in our revenues. We remain committed to investing in our business and executing on our strategic growth plan, as reflected in the record Senior Managing Director recruiting we've achieved so far this year. As we have mentioned on past calls, we are balancing our investments in growth with striving to make further improvement in our compensation ratio over time.
Our second quarter adjusted diluted share count was 44.6 billion shares.
As we have mentioned previously, our shares outstanding are impacted by the changes. In our share price due to the accounting for unvested rsus.
As our average share price increased 42% in the third quarter.
We continue to maintain a strong cash position and take into consideration our regulatory requirements.
The current economic and business environment.
Cash needs for the implementation of our strategic initiatives, including hiring, plans, and preserving a solid financial footing.
While various geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties remain present.
We enter the fourth quarter optimistic about the environment and our encouraged by the momentum, we experiencing across the firm.
Timothy LaLonde: Based on our current visibility, we expect our full-year ratio to be generally in line with current levels. Adjusted non-compensation expenses in the quarter were $139 million, which is 13.2% of net revenue. This is an improvement of 260 basis points from a year ago and nearly 270 basis points compared to last quarter. The adjusted non-comp expenses of $139 million is up 18% from the third quarter a year ago. As a reminder, the non-comp expense line consists of a mix of fixed and variable expenses. Some of the related line items are going to increase as client activity increases, and some of those are client billable expenses and are recouped over time. An example of this would be travel and related expenses, which increased due to higher levels of client travel, as well as spend for conferences and client events.
We believe we are well, positioned and are confident in our ability to deliver strong results.
With that, we will now open the line for questions.
Thank you.
we'll conduct the
Self to 1 question only.
You are welcome to rejoin the queue for additional questions time permitting. Again. If you would like to ask a question, please press the star key followed by the 1 on your touchtone phone.
Our first question will come from Devin Ryan. With Citizens Bank, please go ahead.
Timothy LaLonde: Other non-comp expenses increased as we build our business and execution capacity, like occupancy and equipment expenses, which reflected the acquisition of additional floors in our New York locations and new leases in Dubai, Paris, and London. Some of our non-comp expenses occur as we are investing in what we hope will provide improved efficiencies or competitive advantage in the near to medium term, such as increased technology spend, which includes investment in the development and implementation of newer technologies, as well as spend on licensing and consulting fees. Accordingly, we would expect our non-comp expenses for the full year to be up year over year on a percentage basis, generally consistent with what you have seen for the first nine months.
Uh, thanks for watching. Um, congrats on the strong quarter, um, want to just ask a question about the current environment and kind of the trajectory obviously, um, you know, really good Trends in the quarter and you talked about kind of some larger strategic, uh, transactions leading the recovery, but now sponsors are steadily picking up. So can you maybe just explain kind of what you're seeing in terms of the breadth of activity? How that's evolved over the last few months, and just expectations here as we exit the year, um, relative to maybe where we were in the middle of year, where something like you guys maybe disproportionately benefited, but now things are broadening out and that's helping you as well. So obvious, we call it. Thank you.
Sure. Thanks Devin. Um, we are seeing a continued strengthening in the market generally and we're seeing it really across the board, really almost every sector that we cover seems to have real activity. Um, the the larger deals started earlier. We're seeing mid midsize deals, really build, and frankly across the board. In terms of the industry, sectors. Large and small deals are being considered the engagement level. With with, with boards and management teams is very high. Our backlogs right now are as high as they've ever been.
Timothy LaLonde: As I have mentioned in the past, we continue to maintain a disciplined focus on our non-comp expenses while investing in areas that are necessary to support our growth. Our adjusted tax rate for the quarter was 28.7%, down modestly from the third quarter of last year. Turning to our balance sheet, as of September 30, our cash and investment securities totaled over $2.4 billion. In the third quarter, we repurchased approximately 170,000 shares at an average price of $326.62, and our share repurchase activity continued into the early part of the fourth quarter. Through the end of the third quarter, we have returned approximately $624 million of capital to shareholders through the repurchase of shares at an average purchase price of $264.72 and the payment of dividends.
And clearly, you know, as you look at the, the measurements, see the CEO confidence index is building in quite high and on sponsors. Uh, we are, we are in we're in many conversations.
More than we've been, in a long time. And um, we are, we are actually in in uh, in in many bankrupts also the Bake Off level has has really picked up. So generally, um, it's it's quite it's quite complete and quite thorough in terms of the the activity level and we see this continuing to build through the end of the year. And we also have, we anticipate that this will this will continue to build into into 2026.
Thank you. Our next question, will come from Brendan O'Brien with wolf research. Please go ahead.
Timothy LaLonde: We have more than fully offset the dilution associated with RSU grants from our 2024 bonus cycle, and additionally, we have repurchased a number of shares that exceed those issued for the initial payment related to the Robey Warshaw transaction. Our second quarter adjusted diluted share count was 44.6 million shares. As we have mentioned previously, our shares outstanding are impacted by the changes in our share price due to the accounting for unvested RSUs, as our average share price increased 42% in the third quarter. We continue to maintain a strong cash position and take into consideration our regulatory requirements, the current economic and business environment, cash needs for the implementation of our strategic initiatives, including hiring plans, and preserving a solid financial footing.
Good morning, thank you for taking my questions. Um, so I just want to ask on comp leverage at the Top Line results have been very impressive year to date. However despite the strong Revenue growth, you've only been able to lower the comp ratio by about 70 dips implying an incremental comp margin of about 63% versus historically in the low 50s. You know, I understand that you've been leading into recruiting quite a lot this year and have had a lot of success adding talents to the platform, but just wanted to get a sense as to how you're thinking about the incremental margins, in the coming years and whether you expect to see any improvements from the current levels of the pace of hiring slows relative to this year's record level.
Cop ratio 676. So we're down 260 basis points. Uh, from 2 years ago. Last year our, uh, compr ratio was 66% the relevant quarter.
Uh, and so we're down 100 basis points from that. That's in the context of having added 18, uh, partners and 1 senior advisor, uh, which is our biggest partner hiring year ever.
Timothy LaLonde: While various geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties remain present, we enter the fourth quarter optimistic about the environment and are encouraged by the momentum we are experiencing across the firm. We believe we are well-positioned and are confident in our ability to deliver strong results. With that, we will now open the line for questions.
Operator: Thank you. We will now conduct the question and answer portion of the conference. Please limit yourself to one question only. You are welcome to rejoin the queue for additional questions, time permitting. Again, if you would like to ask a question, please press the star key followed by the one on your touch-tone phone. Our first question will come from Devin Ryan with Citizens JMP. Please go ahead.
Uh, and uh, and and so, what we're trying to focus on here, uh, is not micromanaging or suboptimizing the comp ratio, but optimizing the overall value, creation, and strength of our platform and our ability to serve our clients, uh, and create value for the shareholders, and the medium and long term. And so, uh, you know, um, honestly, I, I actually feel pretty good about where we landed relative to adding 18 partners and 1, senior adviser for this year.
[Analyst 1]: Thanks so much. Good morning, John. Good morning, Tim. Congrats on the strong quarter. I want to just ask a question about the current environment and kind of the trajectory. Obviously, you know, really good trends in the quarter, and you talked about kind of some larger strategic transactions leading the recovery, but now sponsors are steadily picking up. Can you maybe just explain kind of what you're seeing in terms of the breadth of activity, how that's evolved over the last few months, and just expectations here as we exit the year, relative to maybe where we were in the middle of the year, where it seems like you guys maybe disproportionately benefited, but now things are broadening out and that's helping you as well. I'd love to get some color to that. Thank you.
Um, now having said that, um, that doesn't mean that, uh, you know, we're not still striving, um, to make improvement. And, uh, as I mentioned, we've made 260 basis points in the last 2 years. 100, uh, routes so far, quarter versus quarter last year.
[Company Representative]: Sure. Thanks, Devin. We are seeing a continued strengthening in the market generally, and we're seeing it really across the board. Really, almost every sector that we cover seems to have real activity. The larger deals started earlier. We're seeing mid-sized deals really build, and frankly, across the board, in terms of the industry sectors, large and small deals are being considered. The engagement level with boards and management teams is very high. Our backlogs right now are as high as they've ever been. Clearly, as you look at the measurements, the CEO confidence index is building and quite high. On sponsors, we are in many conversations, more than we've been in a long time, and we are actually in many bake-offs also. The bake-off level has really picked up. Generally, it's quite complete and quite thorough in terms of the activity level.
Um and uh, you know, I think I I mentioned in our comments, we would expect to end this year. Um, somewhat similar to where we were this quarter now in order to accomplish that because we're down 40 basis points, um, from last quarter and down 70 basis points from the first quarter. Mathematically that would require us to be a little bit lower in the fourth quarter, uh, than we are this quarter in order to accomplish that. Uh, and then as we look at long term, you know, we're striving to make additional progress, um, although we don't want to do it at the expense of building long-term profitability and and value.
Thank you.
Our next question will come from Brennan Hawkins with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Uh, John, good morning Tim. Thanks for taking my question. Um, I'd love to drill into those comments, Tim, because, um, I hear you that you're adding a great deal of talent. Um, I hear you that the level of competition for talent is intense, and you've made reference to the fact that it's both about recruiting and retention, um, given the caliber of bankers that you have. So it's, so it's.
Clearly, the environment is challenging, I doubt that's going to change. I mean we're we're we're you guys have spoken, regardless of 4, q and timing and all that other nonsense.
Um, the environment is getting better, and it seems like the bullet brackets are punching back in a really sort of strong way. So that's not, that doesn't seem like it's going to stay. But, like,
I,
[Company Representative]: We see this continuing to build through the end of the year, and we also have, we anticipate that this will continue to build into 2026.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question will come from Brendan O'Brien with Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.
[Analyst 2]: Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. I just wanted to ask on comp leverage. The top line results have been very impressive year to date. However, despite the strong revenue growth, you've only been able to lower the comp ratio by about 70 bps, implying an incremental comp margin of about 63% versus historically in the low 50s. I understand that you've been leaning into recruiting quite a lot this year and have had a lot of success adding talent to the platform, but just wanted to get a sense as to how you're thinking about the incremental comp margins in the coming years and whether you expect to see any improvements from the current levels if the pace of hiring slows relative to this year's record level.
Do we need to give up the ghost on the low 60s? Um, right? Cuz cuz you did, uh, you know, 48%, Revenue year-over-year, comp leverage, 100 bits. Um, you know, yes, it's improved from the really bad levels of 20203 but but like, in order for us to be thinking about for invest the investors, you're talking about it, it's like where are we going to get to in 2027 and most of that, underwrites low 60s comp ratios? Um, you know, given what you know today is that is that realistic or um or do we need to re-enter right things in a more meaningful way.
Yeah, thanks, thanks. Brian for your question. Um,
Timothy LaLonde: Yeah. Hi, Brendan. Thanks for the question. As you pointed out, we have made comp leverage. I just want to make that clear. First point, two years ago, our comp ratio was 67.6%, so we're down 260 basis points. From two years ago, last year, our comp ratio was 66% in the relevant quarter, and we're down 100 basis points from that. That's in the context of having added 18 partners and one Senior Advisor, which is our biggest partner hiring year ever. What we're trying to focus on here is not micromanaging or sub-optimizing the comp ratio, but optimizing the overall value creation and strength of our platform and our ability to serve our clients and create value for the shareholders in the medium and long term. Honestly, I actually feel pretty good about where we landed relative to adding 18 partners and one Senior Advisor this year.
Look, it's the way to think about this is, uh, there will not be a quick return to those kinds of levels. Okay, not a quick return. Um, what we've talked about is making gradual progress, um, over time.
Um Maxim, you know, first and foremost serving our clients and providing. Excellent excellent services to them. But but with respect to the shareholders we're focused on creating value in the medium and longer term 1 of the ways we do that is increasing our earnings per share and our cash flow per share over time and um you know if if 1 models it out um what you'd see is that um you know there's this trade-off between investment and growth.
And then the way to create the most value is to grow.
Timothy LaLonde: Now, having said that, that doesn't mean that we're not still striving to make improvement. As I mentioned, we've made 260 basis points in the last two years, 100 so far quarter versus quarter last year. I think I mentioned in our comments we would expect to end this year somewhat similar to where we were this quarter. In order to accomplish that, because we're down 40 basis points from last quarter and down 70 basis points from the first quarter, mathematically, that would require us to be a little bit lower in the fourth quarter than we are this quarter in order to accomplish that. As we look at long term, we're striving to make additional progress, although we don't want to do it at the expense of building long-term profitability and value.
Um, and then to improve, uh, or provide some improved margins as we've progressed, that's what we're focused on. And so, uh, the short answer to your question is, there's there's certainly is not a quick return. What I talked about in the past is each each year trying to make progress. And, uh, you know, when we we can make additional progress. Um, then I would invite you to raise that question again and we'll we'll see what the art of the possible is at that point. Um, but not it's not a quick return to those levels.
Thank you.
Our next question will come from James yarrow with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Good morning and thanks for taking my question. John, you touched on this a bit but perhaps. Uh, could you expand a little bit on the impact of the government shutdown on your business, in terms of timeline and whether any of the effects will be permanent and then could you differentiate between the impacts on the equity Capital markets and m&a?
Sure. Thanks James.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question will come from Brennan Hawken with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
[Analyst 1]: Good morning, John. Good morning, Tim. Thanks for taking my question. I'd love to drill into those comments, Tim, because I hear you that you're adding a great deal of talent. I hear you that the level of competition for talent is intense, and you've made reference to the fact that it's both about recruiting and retention, given the caliber of bankers that you have. It's clearly the environment's challenging. I doubt that's going to change. You guys have spoken, regardless of Q4 and timing and all that other nonsense, the environment is getting better, and it seems like the bulge brackets are punching back in a really sort of strong way. That doesn't seem like it's going to fade. Do we need to give up the ghost on the low 60s? Right? You did, you know, 48% revenue year over year, comp leverage 100 bps.
We think that we don't really know exactly what the impact of the government shutdown is going to be clearly. If it if it gets settled in the near term we think it'll be just a temporary blip and we will move forward with dispatch on all the things that that see that are coming in and being looked at, if it goes a lot longer, you could see it having some impact. Although, I think our view is with the things that we're working on that may be slowed down. We don't think any of them right now are going to be sidelined. We just think that they're kind of moving slowly and that none of them are be are being are being pulled apart.
So our view is that the government slowdown is going to become more of an impact if it goes longer. But we don't think it's a permanent impact, and we think that there would be a rapid recovery as soon as things start to open up again in terms of ECM and M&A.
[Analyst 1]: Yes, it's improved from the really bad levels of 2023, but in order for us to be thinking about, the investors are talking about it, it's like, where are we going to get to in 2027? Most of that underwrites low 60s comp ratios. Given what you know today, is that realistic, or do we need to re-underwrite things in a more meaningful way?
Timothy LaLonde: Thanks, Brennan, for your question. Look, the way to think about this is there will not be a quick return to those kinds of levels, okay? Not a quick return. What we've talked about is making gradual progress over time. I'd reiterate that the comp ratio you saw is it's down 260 basis points. We've talked about in my last response that we think the fourth quarter will be better, you know, on a comp ratio perspective than the third quarter because mathematically, that's what's required to get us to this type of level for the full year. That's the first point. Second point would be, we're focused on, first and foremost, serving our clients and providing excellent services to them. With respect to the shareholders, we're focused on creating value in the medium and longer term.
Um, both of those are moving forward slowly. I think that the Staffing levels the SEC, the FCC at the justice department, clearly are going to slow things down on some of these deals. Um ECM has a workaround that can be done, but we do think it will be slowed. Um, and then the m&a side with respect to Justice. Uh, you know, it's it's going to go slower there too. So I think generally, I think that my my comments are consistent that you know this is it just depends and it depends how long this goes. Um, we don't anticipate that this is going to have a meaningful impact as we finish out this year, so we think it's going to it will resolve itself. And we think that when it does resolve itself, we think that the deals that are being contemplated will be rapidly, brought to the market.
Thank you.
Our next question comes from Ryan. Kenny with Morgan Stanley, please go ahead.
Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question.
I have another government related question, which is on regulatory environment. Um, can you update us on what you're seeing there? Especially on time to to uh, close deals and are you seeing an improved environment across the board? Or are there some Industries where scrutiny is higher?
is that the the the way that government is looking at this is
Timothy LaLonde: One of the ways we do that is increasing our earnings per share and our cash flow per share over time. If one models it out, what you'd see is that there's this trade-off between investment and growth, and that the way to create the most value is to grow and then to improve or provide some improved margins as we progress. That's what we're focused on. The short answer to your question is there certainly is not a quick return. What I talked about in the past is each year trying to make progress. When we can make additional progress, then I would invite you to raise that question again, and we'll see what the art of the possible is at that point. It's not a quick return to those levels.
General. We think that it's a, it's, it's a more benign environment. And we think that, that the art of the possible is, uh, is is, is quite broad right now and so we'll, you know, I think we, we will see out as things go and as these different deals that are being contemplated or brought, um, but we feel quite optimistic
Thank you.
And we'll come from Nathan Stein. With Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.
Hey everyone, good morning. Um, I wanted to ask about
Potential, impacts related to some unexpected losses. At, let's say traditional Banks and private funds in recent weeks, call it. Tri-color first Brands, Etc? Um,
I guess this combined with the government shutdown, you, you started
Operator: Thank you. Our next question will come from James Yaro with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
[Analyst 2]: Good morning, and thanks for taking my question. John, you touched on this a bit, but perhaps could you expand a little bit on the impact of the government shutdown on your business in terms of timeline and whether any of the effects will be permanent? Could you differentiate between the impacts on equity capital markets and M&A?
You sounded uh like that was more transitional but are these headlines making clients in general more hesitant to transact?
I think that.
People are looking at these losses right now and I think there's a a broad um, narrative that these losses are fairly isolated.
[Company Representative]: Sure. Thanks, James. We think that we don't really know exactly what the impact of the government shutdown is going to be. Clearly, if it gets settled in the near term, we think it'll be just a temporary blip, and we will move forward with dispatch on all the things that are coming in and being looked at. If it goes a lot longer, you could see it having some impact. Although our view is with the things that we're working on that may be slowed down, we don't think any of them right now are going to be sidelined. We just think that they're kind of moving slowly and that none of them are being pulled apart. Our view is that the government slowdown is going to become more of an impact if it goes longer, but we don't think it's a permanent impact.
Um, in our experience. And we've really, we've talked a lot of our bankers and I certainly have had been in some boardrooms since these situations I think people are looking at this as as being something that is a possibility. Um, but that it's not broadly, impacting the market and people aren't thinking that this is going to shut down the credit markets or it's going to limit the credit markets. I think people think that you know this is just something that happens in in all markets they're always going to be some trips but this is not a systemwide issue. And for the most part I think people are are are forging ahead.
And as a reminder, that is star 1 to ask a question.
And our next question will come from Alex Bond with KBW. Please go ahead.
[Company Representative]: We think that there would be a rapid recovery as soon as things start to open up again. In terms of equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions, both of those are moving forward slowly. I think that the staffing levels, the SEC, the FCC, the Justice Department clearly are going to slow things down on some of these deals. Equity capital markets has a workaround that can be done, but we do think it will be slowed. On the mergers and acquisitions side, with respect to Justice, it's going to go slower there too. Generally, I think that my comments are consistent that it just depends, and it depends how long this goes. We don't anticipate that this is going to have a meaningful impact as we finish out this year.
Hey, good morning everyone. Um wondering if you could just share your outlook for DCM business, more broadly here. Um for the fourth quarter, uh the ideal Market is is obviously still heating up but you mentioned some of the impact or or I guess the, the still unknown impact um, of the government shutdown here. Um, so yeah. Maybe if you could just share, how you're thinking about, um, how your pipeline is, is shaping up for, um, the back end of the year here. Thank you.
[Company Representative]: We think it will resolve itself, and we think that when it does resolve itself, the deals that are being contemplated will be rapidly brought to the market.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Ryan Kenny with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
We are seeing a strengthening pipeline. We are seeing that there are significant deals kind of lining up in the market, and we are quite optimistic that these deals will see their way through. Um, as we've said There Will there. If the government stays shut, there will be some slowdown there in in many cases. There's a there is a workaround that can be done but this will slow down having said that the the backlog is building and there is a quite a broad optimism, um, that that these will get done. In addition, I think there's a, a growing appetite of investors that they really like the IPO market right now with respect to, you know, what it offers in terms of, um, investment opportunities. And so I think we think that it's, uh, we have this, this this uh, uh, cloud of the Slowdown or the the of the government shutdown. But we think that
[Analyst 2]: Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. I have another government-related question, which is on the regulatory environment. Can you update us on what you're seeing there, especially on time to close deals? Are you seeing an improved environment across the board, or are there some industries where scrutiny is higher?
That this will will will lift and that, that the market will go well, and in fact, and, and we do have, you know, a really, really quite a strong backlog that it has built.
Thank you.
Our next question will come from Jim Mitchell with Seaport Global Securities. Please go ahead.
[Company Representative]: What we're seeing is that the way the government is looking at this is consistent. Obviously, people have said that big tech has been focused on by government. We're seeing that the deals that we're working on seem to be moving through the system quite well. We think that the regulatory environment, many people expect, and I think we would expect that there continues to be a loosening of the regulatory overlay, but that's going to be, you know, somewhat specific in terms of how that's addressed. In general, we think that it's a more benign environment, and we think that the art of the possible is quite broad right now. I think we will see how things go as these different deals that are being contemplated are brought, but we feel quite optimistic.
Hey, good morning. Um, maybe you could talk a little bit about Europe. You had a record year and record quarter in the third quarter. Um, obviously that doesn't include Roi Warsaw yet. Um, so can you, I guess number one, give us a lay of the land of Europe and the environment? And secondly, even after Roi Warsaw, how much white space in terms of investment do you see?
Thanks Jim. We uh, we've been really focused on Europe and we have built out Europe significantly.
as you know, uh, a couple years ago, we we brought in a Spanish team um and we built that we have
Really, um, built out, our France team.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question will come from Nathan Stein with Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.
[Analyst 1]: Hey, everyone. Good morning. I wanted to ask about potential impacts related to some unexpected losses at, let's say, traditional banks and private funds in recent weeks, call it Tricolor, First Brands, etc. I guess this is combined with the government shutdown. You sounded like that was more transitional, but are these headlines making clients in general more hesitant to transact?
Get getting really geared in. Um, we're feeling very optimistic about Europe, in terms of um, the activity levels, they did have a record quarter, it was broadly across sectors. Um, we're seeing a growing strength, I think, in some ways, adding the, the throwaway of all of these different, um, professionals, who we think are really outstanding is really helping our momentum. Generally, you know, around Europe, um, and not just in the UK, but through the continent
[Company Representative]: I think that people are looking at these losses right now, and I think there's a broad narrative that these losses are fairly isolated. In our experience, we've talked to a lot of our bankers, and I certainly have been in some boardrooms since these situations. I think people are looking at this as being something that is a possibility, but that it's not broadly impacting the market. People aren't thinking that this is going to shut down the credit markets or it's going to limit the credit markets. I think people think that this is just something that happens in all markets. There are always going to be some trips, but this is not a system-wide issue. For the most part, I think people are forging ahead.
And we see this continuing. Um, in terms of whites space, there's a tremendous amount of white space as we fill out countries. There's just many many companies which we've never covered before that. We're now able to cover and cover quite well, we obviously aren't going to be the biggest
But we think that the quality of the people that we've hired, we're going to be able to really serve some very, very strong companies that we've really never had relationships before uh, with and uh and that will really continue to build the momentum. So I think that in terms of as we think of our growth worldwide, we really do anticipate that Europe is going to be, you know, quite a constructive uh part of of really what we're able to offer in terms of growth for shareholders.
Thank you.
Our next question will come from Brennan hawin with BMO Capital markets.
Operator: Thank you. As a reminder, that is star one to ask a question. Our next question will come from Alex Bond with KBW. Please go ahead.
Hey, thanks for taking my follow-up. Um, you guys have spoken to uh, the non m&a piece, um, reaching a half.
[Analyst 2]: Hey, good morning, everyone. I'm wondering if you could just share your outlook for DCM business more broadly here for the fourth quarter. The IPO market is obviously still heating up, but you mentioned some of the impact, or I guess the still unknown impact of the government shutdown here. Maybe if you could just share how you're thinking about how your pipeline is shaping up for the back end of the year here. Thank you.
[Company Representative]: We are seeing a strengthening pipeline. We are seeing that there are significant deals kind of lining up in the market, and we are quite optimistic that these deals will see their way through. As we've said, if the government stays shut, there will be some slowdown. In many cases, there is a workaround that can be done, but this will slow down. Having said that, the backlog is building, and there is quite a broad optimism that these will get done. In addition, I think there's a growing appetite of investors that they really like the IPO market right now with respect to what it offers in terms of investment opportunities. I think we think that we have this cloud of the slowdown or the government shutdown, but we think that this will lift and that the market will go well.
On a TTM basis, which was, which is great and very encouraging to see as many turns back on. Where would you expect that share of non-ma Revenue to drift to? You know, is, is it, is it reasonable to think it'll go from like half to about 40 or are we are you more thinking? Maybe it's more like a third. What's what's the right way to think about that? Thanks. Well, it's really hard to say. I mean, you know as you know that if you look at our full year year to date um if we in a non m&a with 50%, as we've gotten into the third quarter and m&as continue to pick up, it's now it's it was at 45% for the quarter. Um, as m&a continues to strengthen that will go down some, although I would say that our non m&a businesses are firing on all cylinders, you know, if you look at our PCA business which is, you know, the you know, the the secondary business and, and, uh, continuation vehicles or you look at the PFG business which is our fundraising business, or you, look at the, uh, restructuring,
[Company Representative]: In fact, we do have a really, really quite a strong backlog that it has built.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question will come from Jim Mitchell with Seaport Global Securities. Please go ahead.
[Analyst 1]: Hey, good morning. Maybe you could talk a little bit about Europe. You had a record year and record quarter in the third quarter. Obviously, that doesn't include Robey Warshaw yet. Can you, I guess, number one, give us a lay of the land of Europe and the environment? Secondly, even after Robey Warshaw, how much white space in terms of investment do you see?
Business all of those businesses are running, you know, full out. And each of them is is looking at, you know, record quarters and doing very well. And so, you know, I I think that the m&a business is a powerful part of our of our overall offering to clients and it it probably will overpower some of the other places as it gets stronger and stronger. But having said that, I think we've got a formidable diverse set of businesses that are going to continue to be, you know, quite influential in terms of, you know, the percentage of our of our of our m&a. Um and non m&a, um offerings. And so I think that you will see m&a start as it really picks up and if it gets really really um, you know, strong it will continue, you've asked, what is it going to be, you know, 40 or 30? It's hard to know. Uh, but I, I don't, I don't see it getting, you know, a lot below 40. But
[Company Representative]: Thanks, Jim. We've been really focused on Europe, and we have built out Europe significantly. As you know, a couple of years ago, we brought in a Spanish team, and we've built that. We have really built out our France team. More recently, we've brought in Scandinavia, and we also have an Italy team. We've really, really tried to address the market. Obviously, there's Robey Warshaw, who we closed that deal at the beginning of October, and it's just now kind of getting really geared in. We're feeling very optimistic about Europe. In terms of the activity level, they did have a record quarter. It was broadly across sectors. We're seeing a growing strength.
You know, we'll just have to see, and a lot of it is to do with does M&A really pick up? We are so well conditioned and ready for the continuing growth and strength of M&A. We may end up seeing a lot of activity coming through there.
Thank you.
There are no further questions in the queue at this time. So I would like to conclude today's evercore third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. You may now disconnect
[Company Representative]: I think in some ways, adding the throw weight of all of these different professionals who we think are really outstanding is really helping our momentum generally around Europe, and not just in the UK, but through the continent. We see this continuing. In terms of white space, there's a tremendous amount of white space. As we fill out countries, there's just many, many companies which we've never covered before that we're now able to cover and cover quite well. We obviously aren't going to be the biggest, but we think that the quality of the people that we've hired, we're going to be able to really serve some very, very strong companies that we've really never had relationships before with, and that will really continue to build the momentum.
[Company Representative]: I think that in terms of as we think of our growth worldwide, we really do anticipate that Europe is going to be quite a constructive part of really what we're able to offer in terms of growth for shareholders.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question will come from Brennan Hawken with BMO Capital Markets.
[Analyst 1]: Hey, thanks for taking my follow-up. You guys have spoken to the non-M&A piece reaching a half on a TPM basis, which is great and very encouraging to see. As M&A turns back on, where would you expect that share of non-M&A revenue to drift to? Is it reasonable to think it'll go from like half to about 40%, or are you more thinking maybe it's more like a third? What's the right way to think about that? Thanks.
[Company Representative]: It's really hard to say. I mean, as you know, if you look at our full year, year to date, non-M&A was 50%. As we've gotten into the third quarter and M&A has continued to pick up, it was at 45% for the quarter. As M&A continues to strengthen, that will go down some, although I would say that our non-M&A businesses are firing on all cylinders. If you look at our PCA business, which is the secondaries business and continuation vehicles, or you look at the PFG business, which is our fundraising business, or you look at the restructuring business, all of those businesses are running full out. Each of them is looking at record quarters and doing very well.
[Company Representative]: I think that the M&A business is a powerful part of our overall offering to clients, and it probably will overpower some of the other places as it gets stronger and stronger. Having said that, I think we've got a formidable diverse set of businesses that are going to continue to be quite influential in terms of the percentage of our M&A and non-M&A offerings. I think that you will see M&A start as it really picks up, and if it gets really, really strong, it will continue. You've asked, is it going to be 40 or 30? It's hard to know, but I don't see it getting a lot below 40. We'll just have to see. A lot of it has to do with, does M&A really pick up? We are so well-conditioned and ready for the continuing growth and strength of M&A.
[Company Representative]: We may end up seeing a lot of activity coming through there.
Operator: Thank you. There are no further questions in the queue at this time. I would like to conclude today's Evercore Inc. Third Quarter 2025 earnings conference call. You may now disconnect.