Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
AMP · NYSE
Next quarter
Expected to report Jan 28, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.
Consensus is $12.22 EPS for Dec 2026 across 5 estimates, ranging $12.01 to $12.61.
AMP Sep 2026
- 4.05%
- $11.60
- $12.07
- —
- $5.19B
Reported results
- $5.19B
- $1.13B
- $12.32
Highlights
- Underlying EPS: Adjusted operating EPS excluding annual unlocking was $12.07, up 22% year over year and 4.1% above the $11.60 consensus; adjusted operating EPS including unlocking was $11.26, up 14%.
- GAAP results: Revenue was $5.19 billion, up 6% year over year and 4% sequentially; net income rose 23% year over year to $1.13 billion and diluted EPS increased 32% to $12.32.
- Advice and Wealth Management: Adjusted operating revenue grew 13% to $3.37 billion and pretax adjusted earnings rose 12% to $989 million; client assets were up 8% to $1.23 trillion.
- Capital returns: Ameriprise returned $1.03 billion, or 93% of operating earnings, in the quarter, including $871 million of repurchases, and authorized up to $5.5 billion of buybacks through September 2028.
- Flows: Advice & Wealth Management reported $8.5 billion of total client outflows, largely reflecting the Comerica transition; excluding Comerica, client inflows were $5.3 billion and wrap inflows were $6.6 billion.
- Asset Management: Pretax adjusted earnings grew 18% to $308 million and its margin expanded 360 basis points to 45.7%, despite $9.3 billion of net AUM and AUA outflows.
- Annual unlocking: The actuarial review reduced adjusted operating earnings by $74 million after tax, or $0.81 per share; management said the assumption updates were modest and the businesses remained in line with expectations.
- Advisor growth: The company added 79 experienced advisors, while the Huntington transition brought about 258 advisors and $28 billion of client assets, with another 29 advisors and nearly $4 billion expected in mid-2027.
Analysis
Ameriprise posted a strong third quarter, with consensus-comparable adjusted operating EPS excluding unlocking of $12.07 beating the $11.60 estimate by 4.1%. GAAP diluted EPS was $12.32, versus $9.33 a year ago and $11.98 in Q2; net income was $1.13 billion, up 23% year over year and 1% sequentially. Revenue of $5.19 billion increased 6% year over year and 4% from the prior quarter. The distinction between reported and underlying earnings matters: annual unlocking reduced adjusted EPS by $0.81, leaving adjusted operating EPS at $11.26, up 14% year over year, while EPS excluding unlocking rose 22%.
The print was principally about growth in the advice business and strong capital generation, supported by higher asset levels and client activity. Total assets under management, administration and advisement reached $1.78 trillion, up 8% year over year, and Advice & Wealth Management earnings increased 12% to $989 million. Excluding Comerica, that business generated $5.3 billion of client inflows, although reported total client flows were negative $8.5 billion. Asset Management earnings grew 18% to $308 million, but its $9.3 billion of net outflows remain a counterpoint. Ameriprise returned $1.03 billion to shareholders—93% of operating earnings—and announced a $5.5 billion repurchase authorization. Adjusted operating ROE excluding unlocking was 56.2%, compared with 52.8% a year earlier.
Earnings and unlocking
GAAP earnings benefited from a reversal in market effects on derivatives and market risk benefits versus the prior-year quarter, while the annual actuarial review weighed on adjusted results. The underlying earnings measure excluding unlocking more clearly captures the quarter's operating growth.
- GAAP: Net income rose to $1.126 billion from $912 million a year earlier; diluted EPS was $12.32 versus $9.33. Revenue increased 6% to $5.191 billion, while net income was 1% higher than Q2 and revenue was 4% higher.
- Adjusted: Adjusted operating EPS was $11.26, up 14% year over year. Excluding unlocking, it was $12.07, up 22% and 4.1% above the $11.60 consensus.
- Unlocking: The review had an unfavorable after-tax impact of $74 million, or $0.81 per share, on adjusted operating results. Management attributed it to modest policyholder-behavior assumption updates and said the affected businesses continued to perform in line with expectations.
Advice and Wealth
The largest operating engine drove most of the quarter's growth. Higher assets and client activity lifted fee and transactional revenues, while distribution costs rose alongside advisor-driven revenue. Market appreciation supported asset growth, but the Comerica transition made reported flows negative.
- Segment results: Adjusted operating net revenue increased 13% to $3.37 billion and pretax adjusted operating earnings rose 12% to $989 million. The pretax margin was 29.3%, down 20 basis points year over year but up from 28.9% in Q2.
- Assets and productivity: Total client assets grew 8% year over year to $1.23 trillion and wrap assets rose 12% to $729 billion. Trailing-12-month adjusted revenue per advisor reached a record $1.24 million, up 13%; 79 experienced advisors joined during the quarter.
- Flows: Reported total client flows were negative $8.5 billion. Excluding Comerica, client inflows were $5.3 billion, up 56% year over year, and wrap inflows were $6.6 billion, up 38%. Cash sweep balances ended at $27.0 billion, down from $28.8 billion in Q2, including a $1.5 billion Comerica-related impact.
Asset Management
Improved profitability and a wider margin came alongside continued outflows. Management pointed to institutional allocation decisions and pressure on active retail strategies, while highlighting inflows in selected strategies and newer investment formats.
- Profitability: Adjusted operating revenue rose 9% to $990 million and pretax adjusted earnings increased 18% to $308 million. The net pretax adjusted margin expanded 360 basis points to 45.7%; the underlying fee rate remained stable at about 48 basis points.
- Flows and assets: AUM and advisement assets were $743 billion, up 4% year over year. Total net AUM and AUA flows were negative $9.3 billion, including $5.5 billion of institutional AUM outflows and $2.9 billion of retail AUM and model-delivery outflows.
- Areas of inflow: The company reported $1.3 billion of net inflows into technology and healthcare strategies and $2.4 billion into ETFs, SMAs and Model Delivery offerings. It said 78% of retail funds were above median versus peers over three years, 74% over five years and 87% over ten years.
Capital and returns
High profitability and balance-sheet capacity supported an unusually large quarterly return of capital, alongside continued investment in growth. The company also reported strong adjusted returns on equity.
- Shareholder returns: Ameriprise returned $1.026 billion in the quarter, including $871 million of share repurchases and $155 million of dividends. The total represented 93% of operating earnings and was 22% higher than a year earlier.
- Authorization: The board approved a new $5.5 billion share repurchase authorization through September 30, 2028.
- Returns and capacity: Adjusted operating ROE excluding AOCI and unlocking was 56.2%, versus 52.8% a year earlier. Management reported $2.0 billion of excess capital and $2.3 billion of holding-company available liquidity.
Retirement and Protection
Sales momentum continued, but reported segment earnings fell sharply because of the unlocking impact. On the measure excluding unlocking, earnings were close to the year-ago level, with favorable life claims and market appreciation offset by annuity outflows and higher distribution expenses.
- Earnings: Pretax adjusted operating earnings excluding unlocking were $198 million, compared with $200 million a year earlier. Reported pretax adjusted operating earnings were $132 million, versus $217 million, reflecting the unfavorable review impact.
- Sales: Retirement & Protection Solutions sales increased 24% to $1.8 billion, with demand for structured variable annuities, variable annuities without living benefit riders and variable universal life insurance.
Advisor platform
Advisor recruitment, technology investment and the Huntington partnership were important parts of management's growth narrative. Executives emphasized productivity, retention and support for advisors amid questions about competitive recruiting packages, stating that the company had no broad new retention program.
- Huntington: Ameriprise completed the transition of approximately 258 Huntington advisors, representing $28 billion of client assets. A further 29 advisors managing nearly $4 billion are expected to join following Huntington's Cadence Bank acquisition, with assets anticipated to transition in mid-2027.
- Recruiting and retention: The company added 79 experienced advisors in the quarter and said retention remained in the high-90% range, including among advisors with more than ten years at the firm.
- Technology and AI: Management said nearly three-quarters of practices were using AI-generated insights and cited more than 30 hours of weekly capacity gains for practices using current capabilities. An AI meeting-preparation agent and service assistant were in early release.
