LPL Hits Record Q1 Earnings Per Share, Cuts Commonwealth EBITDA to $410M

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) reported first-quarter net income of $356 million, or $4.43 per diluted share, a 4% increase from $319 million, or $4.24 per share, in Q1 2025. Adjusted earnings per share rose 8.7% year-over-year to $5.60 — a record for the firm.

The results follow a turbulent Q3 2025, when LPL reported a net loss of $30 million, or $0.37 per share, driven by $419 million in one-time costs tied to the closing of its Commonwealth Financial Network acquisition.

Total client assets reached $2.3 trillion as of March 31, 2026, up 30% year-over-year. Advisory assets rose 42% to $1.4 trillion and now represent 59.5% of total client assets – up from 54.5% a year ago — a continuation of a shift toward advisory accounts AltsWire has tracked across multiple LPL earnings cycles. The firm’s combined advisory and brokerage assets stood at $1.74 trillion at the close of 2024, meaning LPL has added roughly $560 billion in assets in 15 months.

Organic net new assets totaled $21 billion in the quarter, representing 4% annualized growth – consistent with Q4 2025 but well below the firm’s 13.2% full-year organic growth rate for 2025.

Recruited assets came in at $17 billion for the quarter, down 55% from a year ago. Trailing 12-month recruited assets totaled $83 billion. The quarterly figure is a notable step down from the $33 billion in recruited assets LPL posted in Q3 2025, which itself represented a 27% year-over-year increase. Shares fell 3.2% following the earnings release, as investors weighed the softer recruiting and asset metrics. Adviser headcount declined by 34 in the quarter, which Matt Audette, president and chief financial officer, attributed to Commonwealth-related attrition as some advisers elect not to transition. AUM retention, however, rebounded to 98.2%, up 120 basis points from the prior quarter.

The firm also announced in April an agreement to lead the acquisition of Mariner Advisor Network, an LPL branch office supporting 367 advisers managing $31 billion in client assets.

The Commonwealth Financial Network integration remains on track for completion in Q4 2026, with expected asset retention of approximately 90%, the firm said. Asset retention is currently in the mid-80s and tracking toward the 90% target, said Rich Steinmeier, chief executive officer of LPL.

The firm trimmed its estimated run-rate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the deal from $425 million to $410 million, a reduction Audette described as “all market-driven, meaning no changes to expected synergies.” With markets having recovered since quarter-end, he said that “if we were giving an instant update, which we’re not, we would be back at $425 million.” LPL first announced its intent to acquire Commonwealth in Q1 2025.

Gross profit grew 25% year-over-year to $1.593 billion. Core general and administrative expense rose 29% to $532 million, though the firm narrowed the upper end of its full-year core G&A outlook by $20 million, now guiding to a range of $2.155 billion to $2.190 billion including Commonwealth-related expenses. LPL, which paused buybacks following the Commonwealth announcement last year, opportunistically resumed repurchases earlier this year amid what Audette called a “dislocation” in the company’s stock price, and is planning approximately $125 million in additional repurchases for Q2 2026. Total client cash balances stood at $59 billion, up $6 billion year-over-year.

The board declared a $0.30 per share dividend payable June 4, 2026, to stockholders of record as of May 21, 2026.

LPL’s adviser count now exceeds 32,000. The firm added three independent advisory teams totaling $485 million in assets.

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