Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) Investor Meeting summary

Financial performance and earnings quality

• LTM Q3'26 net revenues were $8.5bn, net earnings exceeded $935m and continuing-operations ROTE was 13.1%, up 726 bps since 2019; management sees a path to mid-teens ROTE without commitment.

• Investment Banking and Capital Markets generated >90% of LTM Q3'26 revenue; segment revenue was $7.8bn vs. $4.5bn in 2023, with pretax profit of $1.3bn vs. $0.5bn and margin of 16% vs. 11%.

• Fee-based revenues and client businesses drove 87% of growth since 2019; fees and equities commissions account for >70% of firm revenues.

• The adjusted segment non-comp ratio fell to 24% from 30% since 2023; adjusted revenue growth of 75% outpaced adjusted non-comp expense growth of 37%.

Strategy and platform priorities

• Client-first, full-service global investment bank; priorities are to mature the platform, gain share, expand margins and realize returns on prior investment as the franchise shifts from broad hiring toward bottom-line contribution.

• Investment banking headcount growth has largely subsided; 2026 is expected to be the peak of hiring-related compensation expense, supporting compensation leverage from 2027 on a like-for-like revenue basis.

• Business mix continues shifting toward low-risk, fee-based revenue and higher-margin client businesses; balance-sheet growth is largely tied to cash, Prime Services and secured financing.

• AI priorities include business-led use cases, enterprise platform expansion and measurable productivity under risk controls; AI-assisted cybersecurity resolution cut mean time to resolution >30%, and all ~1,900 investment banking professionals have an AI operating system.

• 2027 is expected to bring another significant step in AI-driven productivity and client support; measured investment, human-capital scale and exits from Tessellis and Stratos are expected to support EPS growth.

Investment banking

• Over two years, trailing-12-month net revenue rose >one-third, net earnings nearly two-thirds and ROTE >300 bps; LTM Q3'26 advisory and ECM revenue totaled $4.0bn, including $2.7bn advisory and $1.3bn ECM.

• Ranked fifth globally in advisory and ECM and sixth in investment banking; FY YTD Sep. 2026 global top-six fee share was 4.3%, up 160 bps since 2019.

• Investment banking revenue increased from $3.6bn to $4.7bn; advisory rose from $2.1bn to $2.7bn, while equities revenue rose from $1.8bn to $2.3bn and market share advanced from 5% to 5.3%.

• Since 2019, sponsor sell-side share below $1bn nearly doubled to 7.5% and rank rose from seventh to second; large-cap sponsor M&A share reached 7.4%, ranking third. Global ECM share reached 5.3%, while biopharma ECM share reached 14.4%, ranking first.

• Franchise broadened to four pillars: mid-market sponsor M&A, large-cap sponsor M&A, corporate M&A and global ECM; SMBC collaboration generated >3x share growth across five jointly covered original sponsors, with joint investment-grade fees exceeding the prior three years combined.