Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP) Earnings

Management highlights

### Firm-Wide Financial Performance - Total Q2 2026 revenues grew 13% year-over-year to $4.9 billion, with adjusted operating earnings up 14% to $1.0 billion. Adjusted EPS increased 22% to $11.07. - Return on equity reached 55% (up from 51.5% year-over-year, best-in-class for the industry). Total assets under management, administration, and advisement hit a new milestone of $1.8 trillion, up 14% year-over-year. - The firm returned 91% of adjusted operating earnings ($932 million) to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases in Q2, with 25% higher total capital return in H1 2026 ($1.9 billion) compared to H1 2025. - The balance sheet remains very strong, with $2.1 billion in excess capital and $2.8 billion in holding company available liquidity. ### Wealth Management Operational Highlights - The firm added 79 experienced advisors in Q2, maintaining disciplined recruiting that prioritizes long-term productivity and profitability over aggressive inorganic growth. - AI-powered productivity tools are delivering meaningful time savings for advisors: combined, eMeeting Automation, Meeting Summarization, and Copala Premium save advisors more than 30 hours per week on average. 6,000 advisors have already adopted these tools, driving higher client engagement and productivity. - The Huntington Bank institutional onboarding is on track for Q4 2026, adding ~260 advisors and $28 billion in client assets that will fully offset the Comerica contract wind-down. - Bank product expansion (HELOCs, checking accounts) is driving growth, with advisor practices using bank solutions managing ~10% more assets on average. ### Asset Management Operational Highlights - 69% of funds outperformed their median for 1-year returns, 75% for 3- and 5-year returns, and 87% for 10-year returns; 97 global Columbia Threadneedle funds earned 4 or 5-star Morningstar ratings. - The firm continues to expand its active ETF product line, launching two new active premium income ETF strategies in the US and three new active ETFs in EMEA recently, and is a top 10 SMA and model provider globally. - The back office transformation project is on track to be completed by the end of Q3 2026, which will deliver additional efficiency and cost savings. ### Strategic Technology & AI Initiatives - Ameriprise has built a multi-year interconnected AI and technology foundation that enables faster innovation, with AI tools focused on identifying growth opportunities for advisors, streamlining administrative workflows, and enabling more personalized client advice. - The firm won the 2026 Bank Insurance and Securities Association Technology and Innovation Award for its AI and tech capabilities.

Guidance

- Full-year 2026 general and administrative expenses are expected to increase in the mid-single-digit range firm-wide; for asset management, full-year general and administrative expenses are expected to be flat excluding settlement and performance-based compensation. - Management confirmed that the 29% pre-tax margin for AWM and 43% pre-tax margin for asset management are broadly sustainable, with market conditions as the primary variable impact on margin levels. - The Comerica contract wind-down will be fully completed by the end of Q3 2026, with a total of $19 billion in client assets exiting the platform by that time. - The Huntington Bank onboarding will begin adding assets in Q4 2026, with full economic contributions from the book of business starting in Q4 2026 and asset transfers continuing into early 2027. - Management will consider additional disclosure around the core vs cash earnings split for AWM to highlight Ameriprise's differentiated, more stable earnings mix relative to peers.

Segment performance

Ameriprise has three core operating segments, with the following Q2 2026 financial performance: 1. **Advice & Wealth Management (AWM)**: Adjusted operating net revenues increased 16% year-over-year to $3.2 billion, accounting for 65.3% of total firm revenue. Pre-tax adjusted operating earnings rose 16% to $939 million, with a pre-tax margin of 29%. Total client assets grew 15% to $1.2 trillion, and WRAP assets hit a record $732 billion, up 19% year-over-year. Advisor productivity reached a new record high of $1.2 million, up 12% year-over-year. Bank assets grew 6% to $25.5 billion, with lending up 61% year-over-year. 2. **Asset Management (Columbia Threadneedle)**: Pre-tax adjusted operating earnings increased 23% year-over-year to $274 million, accounting for 19.2% of total pre-tax adjusted operating earnings. Revenues rose 14% to $947 million, representing 19.3% of total firm revenue, with a pre-tax margin of 43% (above the 35-39% target range). Total assets under management and advisement grew 10% year-over-year to $759 billion, with net outflows improving to $6.5 billion in the quarter. 3. **Retirement and Protection Solutions**: Adjusted operating revenues increased 4% year-over-year to $975 million, accounting for 19.9% of total firm revenue. Pre-tax adjusted operating earnings came in at $202 million, with a pre-tax margin of 21% (in line with the firm's long-term target range).

Risks & headwinds

- Current market-wide recruiting for experienced advisors is extremely irrational, with many competitors offering packages that require 8+ year cash paybacks, creating pressure on inorganic net new asset growth for Ameriprise as the firm maintains disciplined profitability standards. - Geopolitical volatility in Europe has created a more volatile operating environment for the EMEA asset management business, though gross sales and net flows have still improved in the region. - Seasonal elevated tax payments and advisor contract transitions (specifically the Comerica wind-down) negatively impacted reported net client flows in Q2 2026. - Fixed income flows for asset management continue to lag peer levels, despite strong product performance in taxable bond strategies. - Shifts in client preference away from bank certificate products have led to declining certificate balances and lower certificate earnings in the near term.

Analyst Q&A

• Q: What is the magnitude of remaining Comerica asset outflows in Q3 2026, and are there signs of the irrational advisor recruiting market becoming more rational?

  A: A total of $19 billion in Comerica client assets will exit by the end of Q3 2026, with outflows accelerating sharply in Q2 versus Q1, and the remainder exiting in Q3. Management notes that competitor recruiting packages still require 8+ year cash paybacks, which is unsustainable, but Ameriprise continues to attract qualified advisors that are frustrated with poor service and outdated technology at other firms. Ameriprise's long-term value proposition of higher productivity growth, better support, and stronger succession economics ultimately delivers better outcomes for advisors and shareholders than aggressive up-front packages.

• Q: Can Ameriprise sustain its current strong margin levels for AWM and asset management, and how much further can AI drive advisor productivity growth?

  A: Management confirms that the 29% AWM margin and 43% asset management margin are sustainable, supported by focused expense management and strong core revenue growth. AI-driven productivity improvement is in an early adoption curve: 6,000 advisors are already using core AI tools that deliver over 30 hours of weekly time savings, freeing capacity for deeper client engagement. As more advisors adopt existing tools and new AI capabilities are launched, management expects productivity growth to continue accelerating over the medium term.

• Q: Why were total client flows softer than expected in Q2, and does Ameriprise use incentives to push internal Columbia Threadneedle products to AWM clients?

  A: Softer total flows were driven by two one-time factors: accelerated Comerica outflows in Q2 ahead of the full Q3 wind-down, and elevated seasonal tax withdrawals. Organic flows are actually healthy and improved sequentially quarter-over-quarter. Ameriprise maintains a level playing field for all third-party investment products, with no preferential compensation incentives for Columbia Threadneedle funds, but the firm has still seen strong natural uptake of Columbia Threadneedle SMAs and ETFs on the Signature Wealth platform.

• Q: What is the split of AWM earnings between core and cash earnings, and how does this differ from peers?

  A: Analysts' estimates of roughly half core / half cash are too conservative: roughly 70% of AWM earnings come from core fee-based revenue, with the remainder from cash-related earnings. This is a stark difference from most peers that generate nearly all their AWM earnings from cash, giving Ameriprise a more stable, diversified earnings profile. Management confirmed they will consider adding additional public disclosure to highlight this key competitive difference.