Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted net revenues of $456 million, operating income of $90 million and an operating margin of 19.8%, as advisory and fixed-income trading growth offset weaker corporate financing and municipal financing activity.
Adjusted net income totaled $62 million, or $0.87 per diluted share. For the first nine months of 2026, the company generated record net revenues of $1.4 billion, up 14% from the prior-year period, with operating income of $291 million and an operating margin of 20.6%.
Advisory Results Lead Investment Banking Performance
Corporate investment banking generated $307 million, or 67% of adjusted net revenues, representing the company’s strongest third quarter on record. Advisory revenue rose 18% from a year earlier to $250 million, supported by 81 completed transactions and higher average fees.
Abraham said performance was led by the Financial Strategies Group and the energy, power and infrastructure team, with a solid contribution from healthcare. In financial services, Piper Sandler advised on six of the 10 largest bank M&A deals announced during the third quarter and remained at the top of year-to-date league tables for both deal count and deal value, according to management.
The diversified energy group posted record quarterly revenue and completed 19 transactions, more than twice the total from the year-ago quarter. Abraham attributed demand in part to investments in power generation and grid infrastructure associated with AI data-center growth.
Advisory revenue from private-equity clients increased 17% year over year, despite declines in broader U.S. private-equity deal values and counts, Abraham said. The company’s private capital advisory group recorded its best quarter on the platform and had already exceeded its full-year 2025 revenue through the first nine months of 2026.
Management expects advisory revenue in the fourth quarter to support the company’s strongest quarter of the year, although it anticipates results below the record fourth quarter reported in 2025. Abraham said inflation and market volatility could continue to affect the timing of deal closings near year-end.
Financing and Municipal Activity Faces Rate Pressure
Corporate financing revenue totaled $57 million, up 50% from the second quarter but below the strong third quarter of 2025. Piper Sandler completed 25 financings that raised $11 billion, primarily for healthcare and financial-services clients.
Abraham said corporate financing activity is expected to slow in the fourth quarter as investors become more selective. He also said October’s equity capital markets fee pool had been relatively slow, limiting visibility for a stronger seasonal fourth-quarter increase.
Municipal financing revenue was $25 million, down 50% sequentially and 36% from the year-ago period. President Deb Schoneman said rapidly rising rates caused municipal deals to be delayed or reduced in size. The company underwrote 104 negotiated municipal transactions, raising $3.6 billion of par value for clients.
Schoneman said municipal issuers continue to have funding needs but are adjusting to a higher-rate environment. Piper Sandler expects fourth-quarter municipal financing revenue to improve modestly from the third quarter. She noted that some delayed deals could return to market quickly if rates move lower, although the timing remains uncertain.
Brokerage Trends and Talent Investments
Equity brokerage revenue totaled $54 million, down 13% from the second quarter but slightly higher than the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date equity brokerage revenue increased 7% compared with 2025. The company expects fourth-quarter equity brokerage revenue to improve from third-quarter levels.
Schoneman said revenue growth trailed the increase in shares traded because of product mix. Program trading and expanding electronic trading capabilities contributed to lower average fees but also provide an opportunity for market-share gains, she said. Piper Sandler began equities trading in Europe through Piper Sandler Europe during September.
Fixed-income revenue rose 23% sequentially and 5% year over year to $60 million. Higher rates prompted investors to adjust portfolios, hedge exposures and conduct tax-loss selling across taxable and municipal products. Management expects fixed-income revenue in the fourth quarter to be consistent with the third quarter.
The company ended the quarter with 191 investment-banking managing directors after adding a London-based managing director focused on infrastructure debt financing and capital raising, as well as a managing director focused on secondary capital advisory. Abraham said Piper Sandler sees additional recruiting opportunities and plans to selectively add producers in areas with available market opportunity.
Expenses, Capital Returns and Authorization
Piper Sandler’s compensation ratio was 61.5% in both the third quarter and first nine months, improving from a year earlier. Third-quarter non-compensation expense was $85 million, or 18.7% of net revenues, reflecting higher occupancy costs from the company’s New York office move, legal fees and technology consulting costs.
For the first nine months, non-compensation expenses represented 17.9% of revenue, an improvement of 90 basis points year over year. However, Chief Financial Officer Kate Clune said litigation expense recorded in the first quarter and an ongoing legal matter are expected to result in a full-year non-compensation expense ratio above the prior year’s level.
During the quarter, Piper Sandler repurchased about 528,000 shares for $39 million and paid $14 million in quarterly cash dividends. Through the first nine months, the company returned $268 million to shareholders, including $140 million in share repurchases and $128 million in cash dividends.
The board approved a new authorization to repurchase up to $200 million of common stock through the end of 2028. It also approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable Dec. 11 to shareholders of record on Nov. 24.
About Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)
Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) is an investment banking and institutional securities firm that provides financial services to corporations, financial institutions, public-sector entities, institutional investors and private equity firms. The company offers advisory and capital-raising services, including mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt offerings, restructuring and other strategic transactions.
Its institutional securities activities include equity research, sales and trading, fixed-income services and market-making.
