Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) Investor Meeting summary

Strategic direction and business outlook

• Maintains a consistent, long-term strategy focused on client alignment, ownership mentality, and disciplined execution, with no major shifts planned for the future.

• Emphasizes global expansion, now operating in 45 offices across 21 countries, with further growth targeted in Saudi Arabia.

• Strategic partnerships, especially with SMBC, MassMutual, and Berkshire Hathaway, are increasingly important, enabling greater deal capacity and cross-border opportunities.

• Aims to enter and hold a meaningful position within the top five in the industry, leveraging differentiated client service and sectoral, product, and regional platform growth.

• Focuses on organic talent development, selective external hiring, and maintaining a flat, collaborative culture to drive sustainable growth.

Financial performance and guidance

• Achieved $6.3B net revenues LTM Q3'24, up 61% since 2019, with investment banking revenues at $3.1B, up 85% since 2019.

• Operating leverage is expected to drive margin expansion as the firm grows from its new base, with non-comp expense ratio dropping from 46% in 2019 to 35% today and declining by 1,100bps since 2019.

• Net earnings LTM Q3'24 were $563M, up 35% since 2019; adjusted ROTE reached 10%, up 410bps.

• Returned $6.3B to shareholders since 2017 through dividends and buybacks, with six dividend increases in seven years and two special distributions totaling nearly $1B.

• Virtually all equity now supports core business, with non-core investments reduced by 75% since 2018 and core book value now 93% of total equity.

Market positioning and competitive landscape

• Achieved record market share gains in investment banking, now ranking 6th globally across advisory, ECM, and leveraged finance, and 5th in U.S. M&A.

• Outpaced primary U.S. competitors in investment banking, equities, and fixed income revenue growth since 2019.

• Significant expansion in EMEA and APAC, with best-in-class teams and rapid market share growth, especially in India and Australia.

• Equity division achieved record sales and trading results in 2024, with global market share gains and diversified revenue streams.

• Fixed income net revenues rose 67% since 2019, with 136% growth in EMEA and strong client partnerships driving consistent performance.