PHILADELPHIA, PA — Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSE American: COHN) delivered a solid second quarter, driven by a surge in investment banking activity and a rebound in principal transactions revenue.
The firm posted revenue of $59.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, more than doubling results from both the prior quarter and the same period last year. Net income attributable to shareholders was $1.4 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, up sharply from $0.3 million in Q1 and reversing a $2.3 million loss in Q2 of 2024.
Adjusted pre-tax income reached $5.5 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, compared to $1.3 million in Q1 and a loss of $8.6 million a year ago.
CEO Lester Brafman attributed the strong results to performance by the firm’s investment banking arm, Cohen & Company Capital Markets (CCM), which generated $37.4 million in revenue across 25 client transactions. “CCM enters the second half of the year with strong momentum and a robust pipeline,” Brafman said.
Brafman also highlighted the firm’s expanding role in the SPAC market. Its sponsored SPAC, Columbus Circle Capital Corp I, has agreed to merge with ProCap BTC, a bitcoin-native financial services firm. Upon closing, expected later this year, the new company will operate as ProCap Financial and hold up to $1 billion in bitcoin. Cohen & Company retains 2.1 million founder shares in the venture.
Additionally, the firm launched a SPAC-focused equity trading desk in Q2, which delivered $1.4 million in trading revenue in its first quarter of operation.
By revenue segment, net trading revenue rose to $10.8 million, up from $9.3 million in Q1, while asset management revenue held steady at $2.2 million. Principal transactions and other revenue swung to a positive $9.5 million, a turnaround from negative $15.7 million in Q1 and a $6.6 million loss a year ago.
New issue and advisory revenue — primarily from CCM — accounted for the bulk of growth, rising to $37.4 million from $33.2 million last quarter and just $6.4 million in Q2 2024.
Total equity stood at $92.5 million at the end of the quarter, up from $90.3 million at year-end 2024. The company’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable August 29 to shareholders of record as of August 15.
Looking ahead, the company continues to explore the sale of its remaining Alesco CDO management contracts and expects to wind down revenue from that legacy business. Despite a $1.4 million loss from equity method affiliates — tied to its investment in Columbus Circle Capital Corp I — the firm remains optimistic about future earnings growth.
“With a growing SPAC franchise and strong capital markets pipeline, we remain confident in our ability to create long-term value for shareholders,” said Brafman.
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