As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the investment banking & brokerage industry, including Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) and its peers.

Investment banks and brokerages facilitate capital raises, mergers and acquisitions, and securities trading. The sector benefits from corporate activity during economic expansion, increased retail trading participation, and advisory opportunities in emerging sectors. Headwinds include economic cycle vulnerability affecting deal flow, compressed trading commissions due to electronic platforms, and regulatory capital requirements constraining certain higher-risk activities.

The 16 investment banking & brokerage stocks we track reported a very strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 5.9% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 6.5% since the latest earnings results.

Jefferies (NYSE: JEF)

Tracing its roots back to 1962 and rebranded from Leucadia National Corporation in 2018, Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE: JEF) is a global investment banking and capital markets firm that provides advisory services, securities trading, and asset management to corporations, institutions, and wealthy individuals.

Jefferies reported revenues of $2.07 billion, up 5.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 21.5% since reporting and currently trades at $50.75.

Is now the time to buy Jefferies? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Perella Weinberg (NASDAQ: PWP)

Founded in 2006 by veteran investment bankers Joseph Perella and Peter Weinberg during a wave of boutique advisory firm launches, Perella Weinberg Partners (NASDAQ: PWP) is a global independent advisory firm that provides strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and government institutions.

Perella Weinberg reported revenues of $219.2 million, down 2.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 27.7%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Perella Weinberg achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 7.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $19.83.

Is now the time to buy Perella Weinberg? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

BGC (NASDAQ: BGC)

Tracing its roots back to 1945 and named after founder Bernard Gerald Cantor, BGC Group (NASDAQ: BGC) operates a global brokerage and financial technology platform that facilitates trading across fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, energy, and commodities markets.

BGC reported revenues of $723.3 million, up 32% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 3.7%. It was a slower quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

BGC delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 6.9% since the results and currently trades at $9.31.

Read our full analysis of BGC’s results here.

Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW)

Founded in 1971 as a disruptive force challenging Wall Street's high fees and limited access, Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) is a wealth management and brokerage firm that provides investment services, banking, and financial advice to individual investors and independent advisors.

Charles Schwab reported revenues of $6.34 billion, up 18.9% year on year. This print came in 0.6% below analysts' expectations. It was a mixed quarter as it also produced a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is down 5.4% since reporting and currently trades at $95.53.

Read our full, actionable report on Charles Schwab here, it’s free.

Piper Sandler (NYSE: PIPR)

Tracing its roots back to 1895 and rebranded from Piper Jaffray in 2020, Piper Sandler (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank that provides advisory services, capital raising, institutional brokerage, and research for corporations, governments, and institutional investors.

Piper Sandler reported revenues of $635 million, up 27.4% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 22.5%. Overall, it was an incredible quarter as it also recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 6% since reporting and currently trades at $311.69.

Read our full, actionable report on Piper Sandler here, it’s free.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 6 Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.