Ameriprise Financial Reports Strong Q1 Earnings, Raises Dividend
Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) reported impressive first-quarter earnings on Monday, surpassing analyst expectations and boosting its dividend payment. The investment firm’s adjusted operating earnings per share (EPS) reached $8.39, exceeding the average analyst estimate of $8.20 and a significant increase over the $7.20 reported in Q4 2023 and $7.25 in Q1 2023.
Pretax operating income climbed in each of Ameriprise’s primary business lines compared to the same period last year. Assets under management and administration grew to $1.42 trillion, up from $1.36 trillion on December 31, 2023.
Dividend Increase and Financial Performance
The company’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $1.48 per share, representing a 9.6% increase from the previous dividend of $1.35. Ameriprise’s adjusted operating net revenue amounted to $4.10 billion, compared to $3.95 billion in the previous quarter and $3.70 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Adjusted operating expenses rose to $3.02 billion, up from $2.97 billion in Q4 and $2.72 billion in Q1 2023.
Segment Performance
Ameriprise’s Advice & Wealth Management segment saw its pretax adjusted operating earnings rise by 10% year-over-year to $762 million, driven by a 19% increase in total client assets to $954 billion. Total client net flows, however, decreased by 31% to $8.5 billion.
The Asset Management segment reported a 25% year-over-year increase in pretax adjusted operating earnings to $206 million, as adjusted operating expenses declined by 2% to $649 million. Total segment assets under management (AUM) reached $652 billion, a 7% increase from the previous year.
Pretax adjusted operating earnings for the Retirement & Protection Solutions segment grew by 3% year-over-year to $199 million, reflecting the positive impact of higher interest rates and equity markets, partially offset by increased distribution expenses related to strong annuity sales levels.
Despite the strong earnings performance, Ameriprise’s stock price dipped slightly by 0.3% in after-hours trading on Monday. The company is scheduled to hold a conference call to discuss its Q1 results on April 23 at 9:00 AM ET.
