LPL Reports Q3 Net Loss on $419M Commonwealth Costs, Posts Record Adjusted EPS

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) reported a net loss of $30 million, or $0.37 per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025, driven by $419 million in one-time costs related to the closing of its Commonwealth Financial Network acquisition in August. This compares to net income of $255 million, or $3.39 per share, in Q3 2024 and $273 million, or $3.40 per share, in Q2 2025.

Adjusted earnings per share increased 25% year-over-year to $5.20.

“Over the past quarter, we continued to make progress against our key priorities, while delivering strong business results and record adjusted earnings per share,” said Rich Steinmeier, chief executive officer. “We continue to seek opportunities to improve our advisers’ efficacy in the market. As advisory services become more central to our clients, we’re lowering fees and streamlining pricing to make our platforms the most competitive in the industry. Ensuring that our pricing supports the value that we deliver, next year we will also make targeted fee adjustments that more closely align with industry standards.”

Gross profit rose 31% year-over-year to $1.48 billion. This increase was supported by recent capital-raising activities. Core general and administrative expenses increased 33% year-over-year to $477 million, and adjusted pre-tax income grew 35% year-over-year to $569 million.

LPL reported a 45% year-over-year surge in total advisory and brokerage assets, which reached $2.3 trillion. Advisory assets climbed 51% year-over-year to $1.3 trillion. Consequently, advisory assets now represent a more significant portion of the firm’s business, accounting for 58.2% of total assets, up from 56% a year earlier.

The firm recorded $308 billion in total net new assets. Of that, $275 billion came via the acquisition of Commonwealth. Excluding that, the firm generated $33 billion in organic net new assets, reflecting a strong 7% annualized growth rate. That includes $17 billion from the onboarding of assets from First Horizon Bank. That growth was partially offset by a $6 billion outflow associated with a pre-planned separation from certain large, misaligned office of supervisory jurisdiction, or OSJ, groups. Excluding these specific movements, organic net new assets stood at $21 billion, achieving a 4% annualized growth rate.

“The third quarter underscores the strength of LPL, as we advanced on several strategic fronts,” said Matt Audette, president and chief financial officer. “We delivered another quarter of industry-leading organic growth, onboarded the wealth management business of First Horizon, closed on our acquisition of Commonwealth, and continued to make progress on driving operating leverage. As we look ahead, we remain excited about the opportunities to serve and support our advisers, while delivering long-term shareholder value.”

Recruiting efforts remained strong. Recruited assets rose 27% year-over-year to $33 billion. Over the trailing 12 months, total recruited assets reached an impressive $168 billion. The firm’s client base also maintained held total client cash balances of $56 billion, representing sequential growth of $5 billion and annual growth of $10 billion. Approximately $4 billion of this increase was due to the Commonwealth acquisition. Despite the increase in absolute cash value, client cash balances represented 2.4% of total assets, a modest decline from 2.6% in the prior quarter and 2.9% in the prior year.

The company reported $568 million in corporate cash, with a leverage ratio of 2.04x. Dividends paid were $24 million.

LPL’s board of directors declared a $0.30 per share dividend to be paid on Dec. 1, 2025, to all stockholders of record as of Nov. 13, 2025.

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