PJT Partners Reports Record First Quarter 2024 Results

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PJT Partners Inc. (NYSE: PJT) today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

Revenues

The following table sets forth revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:

Three Months Ended
March 31,

2024

2023

% Change

(Dollars in Millions)

Revenues

Advisory

$

288.7

$

168.1

72

%

Placement

34.5

27.6

25

%

Interest Income & Other

6.2

4.3

44

%

Total Revenues

$

329.4

$

200.0

65

%

Total Revenues of $329 million in the current quarter, up 65% from $200 million in the prior year.

Advisory Revenues of $289 million, up 72% from $168 million in the prior year. The increase in Advisory Revenues was due to significant increases in restructuring, strategic advisory and private capital solutions revenues.

Placement Revenues of $34 million, up 25% from $28 million in the prior year. The increase in Placement Revenues was due to an increase in fund placement revenues.

Interest Income & Other of $6 million, up 44% from $4 million in the prior year. The increase in Interest Income & Other was principally due to higher interest income.

Expenses

The following table sets forth information relating to the Company’s expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:

Three Months Ended March 31,

2024

2023

GAAP

As Adjusted

GAAP

As Adjusted

(Dollars in Millions)

Expenses

Compensation and Benefits

$

228.9

$

228.9

$

133.0

$

133.0

% of Revenues

69.5

%

69.5

%

66.5

%

66.5

%

Non-Compensation

$

46.6

$

45.2

$

37.8

$

36.5

% of Revenues

14.1

%

13.7

%

18.9

%

18.2

%

Total Expenses

$

275.5

$

274.2

$

170.8

$

169.5

% of Revenues

83.6

%

83.2

%

85.4

%

84.8

%

Pretax Income

$

53.9

$

55.2

$

29.2

$

30.4

% of Revenues

16.4

%

16.8

%

14.6

%

15.2

%

Compensation and Benefits Expense

Compensation and Benefits Expense was $229 million for the current quarter compared with $133 million in the prior year. The increase in Compensation and Benefits Expense was driven by the combination of higher revenues and a higher accrual rate compared with the prior year. The compensation accrual rate was 69.5% for the current quarter compared with 66.5% in the prior year and 69.8% for full year 2023.

Non-Compensation Expense

GAAP Non-Compensation Expense was $47 million for the current quarter compared with $38 million in the prior year. Adjusted Non-Compensation Expense was $45 million for the current quarter compared with $36 million in the prior year.

The increase in GAAP and Adjusted Non-Compensation Expense for the current quarter compared with the prior year was principally due to increases in Other Expenses, Occupancy and Related and Travel and Related expenses. Other Expenses increased principally due to higher bad debt expense. Occupancy and Related increased principally due to the further expansion and lease term extension of our New York headquarters. Travel and Related increased due to increased levels of business travel.

Provision for Taxes

As of March 31, 2024, PJT Partners Inc. owned 61.3% of PJT Partners Holdings LP. PJT Partners Inc. is subject to corporate U.S. federal and state income tax while PJT Partners Holdings LP is subject to New York City unincorporated business tax and other entity-level taxes imposed by certain state and foreign jurisdictions. Please refer to Note 11. “Stockholders’ Equity” in the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in “Part II. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 for further information about the corporate ownership structure. The effective tax rate for GAAP Net Income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was 1.0% and 4.1%, respectively.

In calculating Adjusted Net Income, If-Converted, the Company has assumed that all outstanding partnership units in PJT Partners Holdings LP (“Partnership Units”) (excluding partnership units that have yet to satisfy certain market conditions) have been exchanged into shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, subjecting all of the Company’s income to corporate-level tax.

The effective tax rate for Adjusted Net Income, If-Converted for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was 22.0% compared with 25.3% for full year 2023.

Capital Management and Balance Sheet

As of March 31, 2024, the Company held cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $236 million and had no funded debt.

During the first quarter 2024, the Company repurchased 1.1 million shares of Class A common stock in the open market, exchanged 0.2 million Partnership Units for cash and net share settled 0.3 million shares of Class A common stock to satisfy employee tax obligations. In total during the first quarter 2024, the Company repurchased 1.5 million share equivalents at an average price of $99.04 per share.

As of March 31, 2024, the Company’s remaining repurchase authorization was $406 million.

The Company intends to repurchase 0.1 million Partnership Units for cash on May 9, 2024 at a price to be determined by the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company’s Class A common stock on May 6, 2024.

Dividend

The Board of Directors of PJT Partners Inc. has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share of Class A common stock. The dividend will be paid on June 20, 2024 to Class A common stockholders of record as of June 5, 2024.

About PJT Partners

PJT Partners is a premier, global, advisory-focused investment bank that was built from the ground up to be different. Our highly experienced, collaborative teams provide independent advice coupled with old-world, high-touch client service. This ethos has allowed us to attract some of the very best talent in the markets in which we operate. We deliver leading advice to many of the world’s most consequential companies, effect some of the most transformative transactions and restructurings and raise billions of dollars of capital around the globe to support startups and more established companies. To learn more about PJT Partners, please visit our website at www.pjtpartners.com.