Cohen & Company Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSE American: COHN) (“Cohen & Company”) today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Lester Brafman, Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, said, “We are pleased to deliver another strong quarter, driven by the ongoing expansion of our client franchise. In particular, our full-service boutique investment bank, Cohen & Company Capital Markets, continued to generate positive results, with a focus on frontier technologies, including digital assets, energy transition, and natural resources. Also during the quarter, our gestation repo business continued to grow, reaching a book size of $3.9 billion, and our sponsored SPAC, Columbus Circle Capital Corp. II, completed its $230 million IPO. We are encouraged by the momentum we have built as we look for opportunities to further grow our topline revenue and profitability. We remain confident in our future earnings potential and committed to enhancing long-term, sustained value for our stockholders through the return of capital, including our quarterly dividend.” Summary Operating Results Financial Highlights Net income attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. was $1.5 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $8.1 million, or $1.48 per diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2025, and $0.3 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Adjusted pre-tax income was $4.0 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to adjusted pre-tax income of $18.3 million, or $2.97 per diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2025, and adjusted pre-tax income of $1.3 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) and adjusted pre-tax income (loss) per diluted share are not measures recognized under GAAP. See Note 1 below.Revenue was $57.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $102.7 million for the prior quarter and $28.7 million for the prior year quarter. The prior quarter included the closing of the business combination between our sponsored-SPAC, Columbus Circle Capital Corp. I, and ProCap Financial, Inc. Investment banking and new issue revenue was $45.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, down $9.0 million from the prior quarter and up $25.5 million from the prior year quarter. Cohen & Company Capital Markets (“CCM”) generated $45.7 million, $50.8 million, and $20.2 million of the investment banking and new issue revenue in 1Q26, 4Q25, and 1Q25, respectively. Net trading revenue was $13.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, down $0.6 million from the prior quarter and up $4.0 million from the prior year quarter. The increase from the prior year quarter reflected higher trading revenue from the Company’s mortgage group, and the SPAC equity, CMO, and preferred equity trading desks. The gestation repo book of business was $3.9 billion at March 31, 2026.Asset management revenue was $2.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, down $0.3 million from the prior quarter and up $0.4 million from the prior year quarter. Principal transactions and other revenue was negative $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to positive $31.5 million in the prior quarter and negative $2.7 million in the prior year quarter. In the prior quarter, the closing of the ProCap Financial, Inc. business combination generated $33.0 million of principal transactions revenue, including the markup of consolidated founder and placement shares held by the sponsor of the Columbus Circle Capital Corp. I, as well as $16.5 million of compensation and benefits expense related to founder shares allocable to employees upon the closing, and $8.5 million of non-convertible, non-controlling interest expense related to founder shares allocable to third party investors in the consolidated sponsor. Compensation and benefits expense during the three months ended March 31, 2026 decreased $16.5 million from the prior quarter and increased $19.6 million from the prior year quarter. The change from the prior quarter was primarily the result of the $16.5 million of compensation and benefits expense related to founder shares allocable to employees upon the closing of the ProCap Financial, Inc. business combination in the prior quarter. The change from the prior year quarter was primarily the result of fluctuations in revenue and the related variable incentive compensation. The number of Company employees was 128 as of March 31, 2026, compared to 126 as of December 31, 2025, and 117 as of March 31, 2025. Interest expense during the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $1.3 million, including $1.2 million on our trust preferred securities debt, $0.1 million on our senior promissory notes, and $44 thousand on our bank credit facility. Loss from equity method affiliates for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $0.5 million, compared to a loss from equity method affiliates of $5.1 million for the prior quarter and income from equity method affiliates of $2.4 million for the prior year quarter. Income tax benefit for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $0.2 million, compared to income tax benefit of $2.3 million in the prior quarter, and income tax expense of $0.1 million in the prior year quarter. The Company will continue to evaluate its operations on a quarterly basis and may adjust the valuation allowance applied against the Company's net operating loss and net capital loss tax assets. Future adjustments could be material and may result in additional tax benefit or tax expense. Total Equity and Dividend Declaration As of March 31, 2026, total equity was $100.1 million, compared to $103.1 million as of December 31, 2025; the non-convertible non-controlling interest component of total equity was $2.4 million as of March 31, 2026 and $0.4 million as of December 31, 2025. Thus, the total equity excluding the non-convertible non-controlling interest component was $97.8 million as of March 31, 2026, a $4.9 million decrease from $102.6 million as of December 31, 2025.The Company’s Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable on June 2, 2026, to stockholders of record as of May 18, 2026. The Board of Directors will continue to evaluate the dividend policy each quarter, and future decisions regarding dividends may be impacted by quarterly operating results and the Company’s capital needs. Conference Call The Company will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), today, May 1, 2026, to discuss these results. The conference call will be available via webcast. Interested parties can access the webcast by clicking the webcast link on the Company’s homepage at www.cohenandcompany.com. Those wishing to listen to the conference call with operator assistance can dial (877) 524-8416 (domestic) or +1 (412) 902-1028 (international). A replay of the call will be available for three days following the call by dialing (877) 660-6853 or (201) 612-7415, with participant passcode 13760351.... Read more

Older articles featuring COHN: