AllianceBernstein (AB) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record $867 billion in assets under management (AUM) at year-end 2025, up 9.4% year-over-year, driven by market appreciation, strong sales, and organic growth across key channels, despite negative firmwide net flows of $9.4 billion.

• Private Wealth AUM reached $156 billion, contributing 37% of firm-wide revenues in 2025; Private Markets AUM grew 18% year-over-year to $82 billion.

• Adjusted operating margin for 2025 was 33.7%, at the upper end of guidance, up 140 bps year-over-year, driven by disciplined expense management.

• Expanded partnership with Equitable to drive growth in commercial mortgage loan capabilities, with $10 billion+ in assets expected to be onboarded by year-end 2026.

• Delivered targeted organic growth in ultra-high-net-worth, insurance, SMAs, active ETFs, and private markets.

Financial highlights

• Full-year adjusted earnings per unit were $3.33, up 2% year-over-year; distributions per unit were $3.38, up 4%.

• Full-year adjusted net revenues were $3.52 billion, flat year-over-year; GAAP net revenues were $4.53 billion, up 1.2%.

• Q4 adjusted earnings per unit were $0.96, down 8.6% year-over-year; Q4 adjusted net revenues were $957 million, down 1.6%.

• Full-year performance fees totaled $172 million, exceeding guidance, with private markets contributing the majority.

• Adjusted base fees grew 5% year-over-year to $3,215 million.

Outlook and guidance

• Expect to onboard over $10 billion in new long-duration assets from Equitable by year-end 2026.

• On track to reach $90–$100 billion in Private Markets AUM by 2027.

• Early FY26 visibility to at least $80 million in performance fees, with upside dependent on market conditions.

• 2026 non-compensation expenses expected at $625 million-$650 million, reflecting investments in technology and commercial mortgage platform.

• Long-term incremental margin target of 45–50%.