EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
MX:LPLA Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPS$112.73
Consensus EPS$106.91
Beat/MissBeat by +$5.82
One Year Ago EPS$98.19
MX:LPLA Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue$100.91B
Expected Revenue$101.11B
Beat/MissMissed by -$204.89M
YoY Revenue Growth+17.40%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/27/2026
TimeAfter Close
Conference CallTuesday, October 27, 2026
MX:LPLA Upcoming Earnings
LPL Financial's next earnings date is estimated for February 4, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
MX:LPLA Q3 2026 Earnings Call
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Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was strongly positive overall. LPL reported record adjusted EPS, improved organic growth, strong recruiting and retention, expanding operating leverage, continued capital returns and progress toward the Commonwealth conversion and Cyan AI rollout. The principal challenges were Commonwealth retention of approximately 83%, expected October organic growth of about 3%, lower transaction revenue, market headwinds, elevated competitive transition assistance and several anticipated fourth-quarter expense increases. Highlights significantly outweighed the lowlights.Company Guidance
Record Adjusted EPS and Strong Profitability
Third-quarter adjusted EPS reached a record $5.97, increasing 15% year over year. Adjusted pretax margin was approximately 38.6%, supported by top-line growth, expense discipline, improved operating leverage and ongoing efficiency gains.
Organic Net New Asset Growth Improved
Organic net new assets were $29 billion, representing a 5% annualized growth rate. Management said this was the company's best organic growth rate in over a year before large institutional wins.
Scale of Client Assets
Total client assets were $2.6 trillion, up slightly from the second quarter as continued organic growth was largely offset by modest market headwinds.
Strong Recruiting Performance
Third-quarter recruited assets were $24 billion, bringing trailing-12-month recruited assets to $81 billion. Approximately $23 billion of quarterly recruiting came from traditional markets, and management said LPL captured an industry-leading share of advisers in motion while maintaining strong recruiting pipelines.
High Asset Retention
Overall asset retention was 97% in the third quarter and 98% over the last 12 months, which management attributed to enhancements in the adviser experience, new capabilities and technology, and the evolution of service and operations functions.
Commonwealth Conversion Remains on Track
LPL remains on track to onboard Commonwealth advisers in mid-November following 18 months of collaboration. Technology and capability builds, including householding architecture, an advanced case management platform and a single relationship agreement, were complete and in final testing.
Commonwealth Operating Model Preserves Adviser Support
Management said the integrated operating model preserves Commonwealth's approach to serving advisers, including its service, supervision, support and community, while adding LPL's technology, investment capacity and ability to deliver capabilities at scale.
Positive Early Feedback on Cyan AI Agent
LPL soft-launched its proprietary AI agent, Cyan Assist, to several hundred advisers during the quarter. Early feedback was described as overwhelmingly positive, with expansion to all advisers targeted for year-end and additional high-impact capabilities planned for early next year.
Gross Profit and Revenue Growth
Gross profit was $1.662 billion, up $44 million sequentially. Commission and advisory fees net of payout were $496 million, up $10 million from the second quarter, while client cash revenue was $472 million, up $15 million sequentially.
Improved Client Cash Economics
The ICA yield was 352 basis points in the third quarter, up 16 basis points sequentially, primarily due to updates to the client cash sweep rate methodology. LPL expects ICA yield to increase by approximately 20 basis points in the fourth quarter, benefiting from the full-quarter impact of the methodology change and the September Fed rate hike.
Service and Fee Revenue Growth
Service and fee revenue was $218 million in the third quarter, up $9 million from the second quarter, driven by revenue from the annual Focus Conference.
Commonwealth Economics Remain Attractive
Based on updated retention expectations and current market levels, LPL estimates run-rate EBITDA of approximately $415 million once Commonwealth is fully integrated. Management said this represents a purchase price multiple of roughly 8x EBITDA and remains a compelling use of capital.
Capital Returned to Shareholders
LPL repurchased roughly $300 million of its stock in the third quarter and plans to repurchase another $300 million in the fourth quarter. The company also continued investing in organic growth and remained active with its liquidity and succession capability.
Healthy Balance Sheet and Leverage
Corporate cash ended the third quarter at $563 million, up $133 million from the second quarter. The leverage ratio was 1.9x, slightly below the midpoint of the company's target range.
Core G&A Efficiency Gains
Third-quarter core G&A was $532 million, up $13 million sequentially but below the low end of the outlook range. Given efficiency gains achieved throughout the year, LPL narrowed its 2026 core G&A outlook to $2.140 billion to $2.160 billion.
Institutional Pipeline Remains Robust
Management said it has more active institutional dialogues than in the past, a growing pipeline of diverse potential partners and conversations across banks, credit unions, insurance product manufacturers and retirement record keepers. LPL supports more than $600 billion in client assets in its institutional wealth business, which management said is multiples greater than its next-closest competitors.
Institutional Value Proposition and Client Advocacy
Management said institutional partners use LPL's platform, tools and adviser support to accelerate organic growth, improve margins and reduce regulatory and compliance risk. Existing clients were described as providing strong references based on growth, margin and risk improvements.
Adviser Recruiting Pipeline Normalized
Management said adviser recruiting activity has largely returned to normalized levels, with a more even distribution across the recruiting pipeline and new opportunities replacing advisers as they join the platform.
Client Cash Balances Viewed as Operationally Adequate
Management said cash had settled at approximately $5,000 per account and remained around that level, which it considers sufficient for rebalancing, paying advisory fees and facilitating withdrawals. Advisers are using available money market funds, Treasury bills and short-term bond funds to manage additional client cash.
Advisory Transition Supports Business Mix
Management said the long-standing shift from brokerage to advisory continues, with brokerage outflows often representing conversions into advisory rather than assets leaving the firm. Advisers remain committed to advisory and fiduciary constructs, which management said benefits LPL.
Pricing Strategy Review Underway
LPL is evaluating cash sweep pricing, asset manager revenue shares, platform fees and other pricing alternatives. Management said the work is being assessed against opportunities and risks and aligned with creating value for advisers, clients and shareholders, with more to be shared in the first half of next year.
MX:LPLA Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed