Investment platform AJ Bell's interim revenue up 19% on strong customer growth

AJ Bell

21/05/2026 07:13

Overview

UK investment platform's interim revenue up 19% yr/yr, underlying diluted EPS rose 18%

Company returned £77.3 mln to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks

Strong customer growth and higher platform assets drove financial performance

Outlook

AJ Bell expects full-year PBT and PBT margin to be higher than previously guided

Company plans to accelerate investment in brand and marketing in H2 while maintaining higher profitability

Company says ongoing geopolitical tensions likely to contribute to near-term market volatility

Result Drivers

RECURRING AND TRANSACTIONAL REVENUE - Revenue growth was driven by higher recurring ad valorem and transactional revenues, supported by increased customer activity and trading volumes

MARKETING INVESTMENT - Increased investment in brand and marketing led to record customer growth, especially on the D2C platform

NON-CORE BUSINESS SALE - Profit was boosted by the sale of the Platinum SIPP and SSAS business, resulting in a net exceptional gain

Company press release: ID:nRSU1633Fa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
H1 Revenue
GBP 183 mln
GBP 173.59 mln (2 Analysts)
H1 Pretax Profit
GBP 92.8 mln
GBP 73 mln (1 Analyst)
H1 Dividend
GBP 0.05


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 6 "strong buy" or "buy", 9 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the diversified investment services peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for AJ Bell PLC is GBp535.00, about 0.2% above its May 20 closing price of GBp534.00

The stock recently traded at 19 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 17 three months ago

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)