Cohen & Company Inc. (AMEX:COHN) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript May 6, 2024
Cohen & Company Inc. isn’t one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).
Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Cohen & Company’s First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. My name is Maria and I will be your operator for today. Before we begin, Cohen & Company would like to remind everyone that some of the statements the company makes during this call may contain forward-looking statements under applicable security laws. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made during this call are made only as of the date of this call, and the company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Cohen & Company advises you to read the cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements in its earnings release and in its most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with SEC. Earlier today, Cohen & Company issued a press release announcing first quarter 2024 financial results. Today’s discussion is complimentary to that press release, which is available on the company’s website at cohenandcompany.com. This conference call is being recorded and a replay of it will be available for three days beginning shortly at the conclusion of this call. The company’s remark also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures that management believes are meaningful when evaluating the company’s performance. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP measures is provided in the company’s earnings release.
After the prepared remarks, the call will be open for questions. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Lester Brafman, Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company. Please go ahead.
Lester Brafman: Thank you, Maria, and thank you, everyone, for joining us on our first quarter 2024 earnings call. With me on the call is Joe Pooler, our CFO. We are pleased to report that our second consecutive quarter of strong earnings with a quarter adjusted pre-tax income of $7.7 million and earnings per share of $1.28. 2024 is really off to a great start. Coupled with our strong fourth quarter, we have now generated over $24 million of adjusted pre-tax income and $4.25 of earnings per share in the last six months, which is actually 65% of our current share trading price. Despite the challenging market environment, we continue to invest in our full-service boutique investment banking operation, Cohen & Company, which we call CC or refer to as CCM.
A modern office building, showcasing the industry leading finance and taxation services provided by the company.
During the past two years, we have repositioned the firm with a focus on CCM and are beginning to see our robust pipeline delivering through the income statement. We are particularly proud of the fact that over the last 12 months CCM has been the leading advisor for all of these SPACs. The CCM team has grown to 23 professionals and has developed a reputation for creating solid — creatively solving capital market problems with all clients. Although deal execution and closing timeliness remain extended, we have strong momentum moving forward in 2024, which you can see it in our results. CCM has generated over $24 million of advisory revenue in the first quarter. In addition to the strong CCM performance, we recognize substantial income from our equity method investments and the sponsors of six SPACs that closed their business combinations during the quarter.
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