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Financial services
Perpetual sells wealth management arm to Bain Capital
Perpetual has announced the sale of its wealth management arm to private equity firm Bain Capital for A$500 million (US$350 million). The companies revealed that they agreed to an upfront cash agreement and a potential additional upfront cash payment completion based on performance and an earn-out of up to $50 million in an ASX release. As part of the transaction, Perpetual will also license the brands “Perpetual Wealth” and “Perpetual Private” to the Perpetual Wealth Management Group for a period of 15 years, as well as continue to own all rights in the “Perpetual” brand. The sale transaction will be implemented through the sale of all shares in Perpetual PWM Services as the head company of Perpetual Wealth Management Group, and is on a cash and debt-free basis. Perpetual CEO and managing director Bernard Reilly said the company believes this is the right outcome for its shareholders. “Following completion, Perpetual will have a stronger balance sheet and more simplified business, focused on two core businesses, asset management and corporate trustee services, while also enhancing its ability to invest for future growth and deliver improved shareholder returns over the longer term,” he said. “We believe we have
Financial services
Magellan and Barrenjoey to merge
Fund manager Magellan Financial Group (MFG) and investment bank Barrenjoey Capital Partners plan to merge to create a financial services group valued at A$1.6 billion (US$1.1 billion). They said Magellan would issue106.839 million MFG shares valued at $903 million to buy the 64% of Barrenjoey it does not already own, with 92.627 million shares going to 460 employees and some incoming directors and 14.212 million going to Barclays plc. Magellan has also agreed to buy up to 10% of Barrenjoey from Barclays for $148.9 million, funded by non-underwritten placement and share purchase plan at $8.45 per MFG share. The two companies said the Board believed the merger represented a compelling opportunity resulting in improved business diversification and resilience, an enhanced client proposition across both businesses, the ability to retain and attract the best talent, and a strong combined balance sheet providing opportunity for growth. “The merger creates a diversified, client-focussed Australian financial services group, with a proven talent base across investment management, corporate finance, equities, fixed income and capital markets,” they said in an ASX announcement. Barrenjoey generated $108 million in adjusted net
Financial services
PayPal CEO to exit as company misses estimates
Paypal has said its CEO will exit as the company missed earnings estimates last quarter, sending shares down 20.3%. Revenue was up 4% year-over-year to US$8.68 billion, below LSEG estimates of $8.80 billion. Earnings per share rose 3% to $1.23, under estimates of $1.28. “In 2025, PayPal delivered solid performance across multiple areas of the business. We grew revenue, transaction margin dollars, and earnings per share, underscoring the strength of our increasingly diversified platform,” said interim CEO Jamie Miller. “At the same time, our execution has not been where it needs to be, particularly in branded checkout.” Total payment volume rose 9% to $475.1 billion, and payment transactions were up 2% to 6.8 billion. Payment transactions per active account on a 12-month basis fell by 5%. Growth in branded checkout payment volumes fell from 6% one year ago to 1%. Branded experiences volume growth also halved from 8% to 4%, although Venmo volume growth rose from 10% to 13%. It expects full-year earnings per share to range from a low single-digit percentage decrease to a slight increase. LSEG estimates had projected 8% growth. CEO Alex Chriss will exit PayPal, the company said today. “While some progress has been
Financial services
Visa exceeds expectations amid strong holiday spending
Visa topped analysts' expectations in its first fiscal quarter of 2026 amid strong holiday spending. The payment firm's earnings per share surged by 15% to US$3.17, surpassing expectations of $3.14 per share in data compiled by Bloomberg. Net revenue also jumped by 15% to US$10.9 billion. This follows CEO Ryan McInerney saying that the company expects full-year net revenue to grow by a percentage in the “low-double-digit” range in October. McInernney attributed the strong first fiscal quarter to “resilient consumer spending and a strong holiday season, as well as continued strength in value-added services and commercial and money movement solutions”. This comes after the company expanded its offering to open its U.S. network to stablecoin settlement in December. Visa and its peers had been seeking to find ways to expand into the market for stablecoins as President Donald Trump’s administration provided more regulatory clarity. Visa’s biggest competitor, Mastercard, also recorded positive results for its final quarter of fiscal 2025 with adjusted earnings of $4.76 and net revenues of $8.8 billion. Both companies saw strong spending and surpassed analyst expectations. Both payment firms reached a pact in Nove
Financial services
BlackRock profit surges as assets reach US$14 trillion
Shares in BlackRock jumped more than 4% after the world’s largest asset manager reported fourth quarter (Q4) profit that surged past Wall Street estimates, driven by a market rally that boosted fee income and lifted assets under management (AUM) to a record US$14 trillion. The company also announced a 10% hike in its quarterly dividend to $5.73 per share and raised its share buyback authorisation, authorising the repurchase of an additional seven million shares. Key Highlights:Earnings per share: $13.16, beating analyst expectations of $12.21.Revenue: Rose 23% to $7 billion, exceeding estimates of $6.69 billion.Net Inflows: $342 billion in Q4; record full-year inflows of $698 billion.Assets Under Management: Record $14.04 trillion, up 22% year-over-year.United States stocks rallied last year on enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, easing interest rates, and steady economic growth, prompting investors to pour money back into lower-cost index strategies. As inflation eased and the job market cooled, the Federal Reserve turned more dovish, driving strong inflows into BlackRock's fixed-income products. Equity product inflow was $126.05 billion, down slightly from a year ago, while fixed-income products saw inflows of

Financial services
Goldman Sachs ranked top global deal adviser
Goldman Sachs has concluded 2025 as the top global advisor for corporate unions, leveraged off a resurgence in billion-dollar tie-ups to capture an eye-whopping 32% slice of total market activity. Final data from LSEG confirms the American advisory powerhouse marshalled US$1.48 trillion in capital deals over the last 12 months, marking its most robust performance by value since the 1980s. A flurry of elephant-sized consolidations came through, securing mandates on an impressive 38 of the 68 global boardrooms involving targets above the US$10 billion threshold.Fees upThe high intensity in throughput translated into a substantial revenue gap over its well-known rival, generating $4.6 billion in pure advisory fees for the calendar year, almost 50% above the others.JPMorgan Chase: $3.1 billionMorgan Stanley: $3 billionCitigroup: $2 billionEvercore: $1.7 billionWhile the blue-chip powerhouse held the top aggregate rank, it was notably absent from the two largest individual amalgamations: Union Pacific’s $88.2 billion absorption of Norfolk Southern and the contested bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery.Shifting guardrailsA primary catalyst was a perceived softening in U.S. competition oversight. as a permissive regulatory climate
Financial services
Twenty One shares plummet in NYSE debut as Bitcoin lags
Cryptocurrency treasury Twenty One Capital’s shares dropped by 20% in its New York Stock Exchange debut, as Bitcoin’s price continues to lag. Twenty One (NYSE: XXI) is majority-owned by stablecoin issuer Tether and cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, with SoftBank owning a minority stake. The company’s share price ended its first trading day at $11.42. “Listing on the NYSE is about giving Bitcoin the place it deserves in global markets and giving investors the best of Bitcoin: its strength as a reserve and the upside of a business built on it,” said Twenty One CEO Jack Mallers ahead of its trading debut. The company has more than 43,500 Bitcoin, it said, and is the cryptocurrency’s third-largest public corporate holder. It also plans to produce financial infrastructure and educational resources for Bitcoin. It merged with special-purpose acquisition company Cantor Equity Partners, which was backed by Cantor Fitzgerald, ahead of the initial public offering. Bitcoin prices are down 7.7% across 2025 to date, reaching US$92,508.90 as of 3:15 pm AEDT, and have fallen by more than 28% from their October peak. In November, Bitcoin saw its largest monthly drop in over four years. Standard Chartered halved its year-end Bitc
Financial services
PayPal raises guidance as earnings beat estimates
PayPal has raised its guidance after beating estimates last quarter, driven by revenue growth across segments and regions. Earnings per share were US$1.34, rising 12% year-over-year and above Zacks estimates of $1.19. Revenue was up 7% to $8.42 billion, beating estimates by 1.95%. “PayPal delivered another strong quarter and we are raising guidance, with broad-based profitable growth across branded experiences, PSP, and Venmo,” said PayPal CEO Alex Chriss. “We have returned the company to growth and are on pace for 6% to 7% transaction margin dollar growth in 2025 when excluding interest on customer balances. We are also building for an agentic future, partnering with leaders such as Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity.” Operating income was $1.57 billion, up 6%. Net income was $1.29 billion, rising 5%. The company’s full-year guidance projects earnings per share of $5.35-5.39. In July, it had forecast earnings per share of $5.15-5.30. Its fourth quarter outlook expects earnings per share of $1.27-1.31. Transaction revenues increased by 6% to $7.52 billion, while revenue from other services was up 15% to $895 million. The number of payment transactions dropped by 5%. United States revenues, which represent 56% o
Financial services
Visa revenue surges on payments volume growth
Visa surpassed estimates on revenue and earnings per share last quarter, driven by strong growth in payments volume. Revenue was US$10.72 billion, up 12% year-over-year and above market estimates of $10.62 billion. Earnings per share were $2.98, rising 10% and beating estimates of $2.97. "In our fourth quarter, continued healthy consumer spending drove net revenue up 12% to $10.7 billion. For the full year, Visa delivered strong performance, with net revenue of $40 billion, up 11%, and broad-based growth across key metrics, underscoring the durability of our diverse business model,” said Visa CEO Ryan McInerney. “We continued to invest in our Visa as a Service stack to serve as a hyperscaler across the payments ecosystem. As technologies like AI-driven commerce, real-time money movement, tokenisation and stablecoins converge to reshape commerce, our focus on innovation and product development positions Visa to lead this transformation.” Payments volume was up 9% last quarter, with cross-border volume rising by 12%. Total processed transactions increased by 10%. Across fiscal 2025, payments volume increased by 8%, and cross-border volume rose by 13%. Operating income was $6.15 billion, down from $6.35 billion year