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Ameriprise Financial Inc.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 23 July 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Adjusted EPS rose 22 percent: Adjusted operating earnings per diluted share were $11.07, up from $9.11 a year earlier. Management attributed the gain to continued asset growth. Source
  • Firm-wide assets reached a record: Assets under management, administration and advisement were described as a record level. Management linked the growth to asset growth and client engagement. Source
  • Advice and Wealth earnings up 16 percent: Pretax adjusted operating earnings were $939 million, with a margin of 28.9 percent, flat with a year earlier. Core distribution earnings rose in the low-30 percent range. Source
  • Advisor departures offset organic growth: Management said client flows reflected strong underlying organic activity, partly offset by advisor departures, including Comerica terminations. Source
  • Capital returned reached $932 million: The company returned $932 million, or 91 percent of operating earnings, including $774 million of share repurchases and $158 million of dividends. Source
  • AI adoption accelerating across firm: Management said it is accelerating AI adoption, bringing advanced AI into advisors’ workflows while keeping human engagement central to advice. Source
  • Advisor productivity reached a high: Trailing 12-month adjusted operating net revenue per advisor reached a new high, up 12 percent. Management said the company added experienced advisors in the quarter. Source

“Revenue and earnings increased by double digits, led by continued momentum in our fee-based wealth and asset management businesses.”

Jim Cracchiolo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Operating effective tax rate Sourcefull year 202620 to 22 percentKept
Asset Management general and administrative expenses Sourcefull year 2026flat excluding Seligman and other performance fee compensation

What changed from last quarter

  • New: Long-term debt at June 30, 2026 reflects debt issued to prefund an upcoming $500 million maturity. Source
  • New guidance: The second-quarter release gives a full-year 2026 expectation for Asset Management general and administrative expenses. The first-quarter release did not include that expectation. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Adjusted EPS rose 22 percent: Adjusted operating earnings per diluted share were $11.07, up from $9.11 a year earlier. Management attributed the gain to continued asset growth. Source
  • Firm-wide assets reached a record: Assets under management, administration and advisement were described as a record level. Management linked the growth to asset growth and client engagement. Source
  • Net revenue rose 13 percent: Adjusted operating net revenues were $4.9 billion, up 13 percent, primarily from asset growth and client engagement. Pretax adjusted operating margin was 27 percent. Source
  • Year-to-date adjusted EPS up 20 percent: Year-to-date adjusted operating earnings per diluted share were $22.33, up 20 percent from $18.61. Year-to-date GAAP diluted EPS was $21.64. Source

Segment results

  • Advice and Wealth earnings up 16 percent: Pretax adjusted operating earnings were $939 million, with a margin of 28.9 percent, flat with a year earlier. Core distribution earnings rose in the low-30 percent range. Source
  • Asset Management margin widened: Pretax adjusted operating earnings rose 23 percent to $274 million. The net pretax margin rose to 42.7 percent on asset growth and Seligman performance. Source
  • Retirement and Protection earnings down 6 percent: Pretax adjusted operating earnings were $202 million, down from $214 million. Management said the result was consistent with its target range. Source
  • Corporate loss narrowed from prior year: Corporate and Other pretax adjusted operating loss was $81 million, against $99 million a year earlier. The prior-year period included costs of the cloud platform transition. Source
  • Long Term Care earnings lower: Long Term Care pretax adjusted operating earnings were $4 million, down from $7 million. Management described the result as a continuation of its performance trend. Source

“The consistency of our results reflects the strength of our diversified business and disciplined execution.”

Jim Cracchiolo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Client flows and product sales

  • Advisor departures offset organic growth: Management said client flows reflected strong underlying organic activity, partly offset by advisor departures, including Comerica terminations. Source
  • Institutional outflows continued: Global Institutional net outflows were $5.1 billion, compared with $4.8 billion a year earlier. Legacy insurance partner flows were an inflow of $71 million. Source
  • Annuity and brokerage activity lifted transactions: Transactional activity rose 13 percent. Management attributed the increase to higher sales of annuity products and brokerage transactions. Source
  • Retirement and Protection sales up 20 percent: Segment sales rose 20 percent to $1.6 billion, led by structured variable annuities, variable annuities without living benefit riders and variable universal life insurance. Source

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Advice expenses rose with advisor revenue: Adjusted operating expenses rose 16 percent to $2.3 billion. Management said distribution expenses grew in line with advisor-driven revenues. Source
  • Advice general and administrative costs rose: General and administrative expense rose $28 million to $463 million, on volume-related costs and growth investments including bank expansion, AI transformation and automation. Source
  • Asset Management expenses up 11 percent: Adjusted operating expenses rose 11 percent. General and administrative expense rose 9 percent on higher Seligman compensation, volume costs and currency. Source
  • Operating tax rate 22.9 percent: The operating effective tax rate was 22.9 percent in the second quarter, against 20.2 percent in the first quarter. Source

“Ameriprise again delivered strong growth and excellent financial performance, including a record level of firm-wide assets.”

Jim Cracchiolo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Investment performance and ratings

  • Most retail fund assets above median: On an asset-weighted basis, 69 percent of retail funds were above median over one year. The figures were 75 percent for three and five years and 87 percent for ten years. Source
  • Columbia Threadneedle funds rated highly: 97 Columbia Threadneedle funds globally earned four- or five-star Morningstar ratings. Source
  • Columbia star rating counts: Of 86 Columbia funds rated on their primary share class, 4 received five stars overall and 38 received four stars. Source

Capital, cash and returns to shareholders

  • Capital returned reached $932 million: The company returned $932 million, or 91 percent of operating earnings, including $774 million of share repurchases and $158 million of dividends. Source
  • Diluted share count down 7 percent: Total diluted shares were 91.9 million, down from 98.3 million a year earlier and from 93.5 million in the first quarter. Source
  • Debt to capital rose: Debt to total capital was 37.5 percent at June 30, 2026, up from 33.1 percent at March 31, 2026 and 33.6 percent a year earlier. Source
  • Return on equity at 55 percent: Adjusted operating return on equity excluding AOCI was 55.0 percent on a trailing 12-month basis, against 51.5 percent a year earlier. Source

Strategy, people and recognition

  • AI adoption accelerating across firm: Management said it is accelerating AI adoption, bringing advanced AI into advisors’ workflows while keeping human engagement central to advice. Source
  • Advisor productivity reached a high: Trailing 12-month adjusted operating net revenue per advisor reached a new high, up 12 percent. Management said the company added experienced advisors in the quarter. Source
  • TIME ranked company among best: TIME recognized the company as one of America’s Best Companies of 2026, ranking in the top quartile. Source
  • Nationwide advisor network: The company describes a nationwide network of more than 10,000 financial advisors in its profile. Source

Coming up, as management said on 23 July 2026

  • Second-half strategy execution: Management said it will execute its strategy in the second half of the year, building on innovation and disciplined execution. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Total assets under management, administration and advisement Source$1.8 trillion
Total client assets Source$1.2 trillion
Wrap assets Source$732 billion
Client flows Source$3.1 billion
Experienced advisors added Source79
Retail and model delivery net outflows Source$1.4 billion

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: GAAP results depend on market-driven valuation of derivatives and market risk benefits. The prior-year quarter had a more favorable impact. Source
  • Operational: Advisor departures, including Comerica terminations, reduced client flows in the quarter. Source
  • Demand: Global Institutional net outflows continued, while legacy insurance partner flows improved. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: The first-quarter release expected segment earnings to be in the target range over time. The second-quarter release described earnings as consistent with that range.
  • On track: Management said the Fixed Annuities pretax adjusted operating loss was in line with expectations. Source
  • Not stated: Management expects full-year Asset Management general and administrative expenses to be flat, excluding Seligman and other performance fee compensation. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.