Stifel Financial Corp.
- Open
- 77.75
- Day high
- 77.75
- Day low
- 76.82
- Prev close
- 77.16
- Volume
- 837K
- Mkt cap
- $11.9B
- P/E (TTM)
- 9.3
- EPS (TTM)
- $8.30
- P/B
- 2.0
- P/S
- 1.8
- Yield
- 0.88%
- Per share
- $0.68
Stifel Financial Corp. (SF) is a Financial Services company listed on NYSE. The stock is up 6% over the past year.
Stifel Financial Corp. (SF) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 2 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
SF earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2026 | $1.39 | $1.45 | +4.3% | $1.4B | -0.1% |
| Jan 28, 2026 | $2.48 | $2.63 | +6.0% | $1.8B | +20.6% |
| Oct 22, 2025 | $1.85 | $1.95 | +5.4% | $1.6B | +21.3% |
| Jul 30, 2025 | $1.61 | $1.71 | +6.2% | $1.5B | +21.3% |
| Apr 23, 2025 | $1.64 | $0.49 | -70.1% | $1.5B | +15.4% |
| Jan 29, 2025 | $1.97 | $2.23 | +13.2% | $1.3B | +4.1% |
| Oct 23, 2024 | $1.60 | $1.50 | -6.3% | $1.5B | +23.1% |
| Jul 24, 2024 | $1.54 | $1.60 | +3.9% | $1.2B | +1.7% |
| Apr 24, 2024 | $1.47 | $1.49 | +1.4% | $1.1B | +0.9% |
| Jan 24, 2024 | $1.31 | $1.50 | +14.5% | $1.1B | +5.2% |
| Oct 25, 2023 | $1.29 | $0.60 | -53.5% | $1.0B | -4.0% |
| Jul 26, 2023 | $1.33 | $1.20 | -9.8% | $1.0B | -3.3% |
SF insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 2026 | Kavanaugh James P.director | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | PEACOCK DAVID Adirector | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | Markus Maura A.director | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | ZIMMERMAN MICHAEL Jdirector | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | BROWN MICHAEL Wdirector | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | Brown Maryam S.director | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | Grady Robert Edwarddirector | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | Nesi Victordirector | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | Berlew Adam T.director | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 11, 2026 | Carnoy Lisa Landaudirector | Grant | 2,450 | — |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Markus Maura A.director | Option | 2,812 | — |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Kavanaugh James P.director | Option | 2,812 | — |
| Jun 8, 2026 | BROWN MICHAEL Wdirector | Option | 2,812 | — |
| Jun 8, 2026 | PEACOCK DAVID Adirector | Option | 2,812 | — |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Carnoy Lisa Landaudirector | Option | 2,812 | — |
Source: SF SEC Form 4 filings, latest Jun 11, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full SF insider & 13F page →Stifel Financial Corp. company profile
Overview
Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) is a diversified financial services company founded in 1890 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The company has evolved from a regional brokerage firm into a full-service investment bank and wealth management provider serving individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada. With over 130 years of history, Stifel has built a reputation as a relationship-focused firm that combines the resources of a large financial institution with the personalized service of a boutique practice.
Business
Stifel operates as a comprehensive financial services provider in the capital markets industry, offering a broad range of investment banking, wealth management, and banking services. The company's business is structured around three primary segments that work together to serve different client needs. The Global Wealth Management segment represents the largest portion of Stifel's business, generating approximately 60-65% of total revenue. This division provides private client services including securities transactions, financial planning, investment advisory services, and portfolio management to high-net-worth individuals and families. The segment manages over $500 billion in total client assets, with a growing emphasis on fee-based assets that provide recurring revenue streams. Wealth management in the financial services industry involves helping clients preserve and grow their wealth through personalized investment strategies, estate planning, and comprehensive financial advice. The Institutional Group segment accounts for roughly 25-30% of revenue and serves corporate clients, municipalities, and institutional investors. This division includes investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory, public offerings, private placements, and underwriting services. Investment banking involves helping companies raise capital through debt or equity markets, advising on strategic transactions like mergers or acquisitions, and providing research coverage. The segment also provides institutional equity and fixed income sales and trading services, where Stifel acts as an intermediary between institutional investors and securities markets. The Other segment, representing about 10-15% of revenue, primarily consists of the company's banking operations. This includes commercial and retail banking services such as lending programs, deposit accounts, and treasury management services. The banking division has grown significantly in recent years, particularly benefiting from rising interest rates that have increased net interest income from the spread between what Stifel pays depositors and what it earns on loans and investments.
Revenue model
Stifel generates revenue through multiple complementary business models that provide diversification and stability across market cycles. The company's revenue streams include transactional fees, asset-based fees, net interest income, and advisory fees. In the Global Wealth Management segment, Stifel earns money primarily through asset-based fees and transactional commissions. Asset-based fees are charged as a percentage of assets under management, typically ranging from 0.5% to 2% annually depending on account size and service level. These fees provide predictable recurring revenue that grows with both market appreciation and net new asset flows. Transactional revenue comes from commissions on securities trades, mutual fund sales, and other investment products. The paying customers are primarily affluent individuals and families seeking professional investment management and financial planning services. The Institutional Group generates revenue through investment banking fees and trading commissions. Investment banking fees include success-based advisory fees for M&A transactions (typically 1-3% of transaction value), underwriting fees for debt and equity offerings (usually 3-7% of proceeds), and retainer fees for ongoing advisory relationships. Trading revenue comes from bid-ask spreads and commissions on institutional trades. Corporate clients, municipalities, and institutional investors are the primary paying customers for these services. The banking segment earns net interest income by borrowing money at lower rates (through customer deposits and wholesale funding) and lending at higher rates (through commercial loans, mortgages, and securities investments). This traditional banking model has become increasingly profitable for Stifel as interest rates have risen from historic lows. Several factors influence Stifel's profit margins. Market volatility and trading volumes directly impact both wealth management transaction revenue and institutional trading profits. Rising interest rates generally benefit the banking segment but can reduce bond trading profits and impact client asset values. Competition from larger investment banks, independent advisors, and robo-advisors puts pressure on fee structures. Regulatory changes affecting fiduciary standards, capital requirements, and trading rules can increase compliance costs. Economic conditions influence corporate financing activity, M&A volumes, and client risk appetite, all of which affect institutional revenue. The company's ability to recruit and retain talented financial advisors and investment bankers is crucial for maintaining and growing market share.
Competitive moat
Stifel's competitive moat is moderate and primarily built around relationships, specialized expertise, and scale advantages in niche markets. The company has developed strong client relationships over decades, particularly in wealth management where switching costs are high due to the personal nature of financial advisory relationships and the complexity of transferring accounts. These relationships create recurring revenue streams and referral networks that are difficult for competitors to replicate quickly. The firm has built specialized expertise in certain investment banking verticals, including healthcare, financial institutions, and public finance, where it has achieved top market rankings. This sector specialization allows Stifel to command premium fees and maintain strong client relationships within these niches. The company's public finance business, where it ranks #1 in market share, benefits from long-standing municipal relationships and regulatory expertise that creates barriers to entry. However, Stifel's moat faces several challenges. The wealth management industry is highly competitive, with pressure from both larger full-service firms like Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, as well as lower-cost alternatives like robo-advisors and discount brokers. The company must continually invest in technology and advisor recruiting to maintain competitiveness. In investment banking, Stifel competes against much larger bulge bracket firms that have greater resources and global reach, limiting its ability to participate in the largest transactions. The regulatory environment poses ongoing challenges, with potential changes to fiduciary standards, fee structures, and capital requirements that could impact profitability. Additionally, the trend toward fee compression in financial services and increasing client sophistication reduces pricing power over time. While Stifel has built a solid franchise, its moat is not insurmountable and requires continuous investment and execution to maintain.
Risks & safety
Stifel maintains a strong financial position with solid liquidity and manageable leverage, though typical of financial services firms, it carries significant balance sheet assets. • Liquidity and Cash Position: $2.9 billion in cash and short-term investments as of Q4 2024, providing substantial liquidity buffer. Current ratio of 3.15x indicates strong ability to meet short-term obligations. • Debt and Leverage: Debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27x is conservative for a financial services firm. Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 11.4% exceeds regulatory minimums and provides cushion for banking operations. • Profitability and Cash Generation: Strong free cash flow generation of $677 million in Q4 2024, with consistent positive operating cash flows. Return on equity of 12.9% for full year 2024 demonstrates efficient capital utilization. • Valuation Metrics: Trading at P/E ratio of 15.1x and price-to-book ratio of 1.94x, which appears reasonable for a diversified financial services firm with growth prospects. • Other Considerations: Balance sheet of $39.9 billion is typical for a firm of Stifel's size in financial services, though this creates inherent leverage. Regulatory capital requirements provide additional safety constraints. Diversified revenue streams across wealth management, investment banking, and banking provide some stability during market downturns.
Recent development
Over the past few years, Stifel has executed several key strategic initiatives focused on growth, diversification, and market share expansion. The company has significantly expanded its advisor recruiting efforts, adding over 135 financial advisors in 2023 alone and maintaining a strong pipeline for 2025. This recruiting strategy has been supported by industry recognition, including ranking #1 in J.D. Power's Employee Advisor Satisfaction Survey, which has enhanced the firm's ability to attract top talent. The firm has made substantial investments in its investment banking capabilities, adding 65 managing directors since 2018 and building specialized expertise in key verticals such as healthcare, industrials, and financial institutions. This expansion has resulted in improved market positioning, with the public finance team achieving #1 market share ranking and the overall investment banking business showing strong revenue growth, particularly in advisory services. Stifel has also strategically grown its banking operations, taking advantage of rising interest rates to significantly increase net interest income from approximately $900 million in 2022 to over $1 billion in recent years. The company has focused on relationship-based lending, including venture banking and fund banking, while maintaining conservative underwriting standards. Technology investments have been a priority, with the firm implementing efficiency initiatives and enhancing digital capabilities to improve advisor productivity and client experience. The company has also expanded its international presence while recently announcing efficiency measures in certain international operations to optimize profitability. Capital management has been disciplined, with Stifel returning significant capital to shareholders through both dividends (increased 10% in 2024) and share repurchases ($440 million in 2023). The firm has set ambitious long-term targets of reaching $10 billion in annual revenue and $1 trillion in client assets, supported by both organic growth and potential strategic acquisitions.
SF company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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