AJ BELL (=) : H1-26 Results First Take - Strong revenue driven beat, guidance raised

Research evidence excerpt

AJ BELL (=) : H1-26 Results First Take - Strong revenue driven beat, guidance raised

EQUITIES

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIALS

AJ BELL NEUTRALPRICE* 534p  TARGET PRICE 520p (DOWNSIDE 3%)

FLASH NOTE

H1-26 Results First Take – Strong revenue driven beat, guidance raised

21 MAY 2026 Securities Research Report Production time: 07:46* (London time)

Research Analyst & Publishing Entities

Gregory Simpson BNP Paribas London Branch (+44) 203 430 8548 gregory.simpson@uk.bnpparibas.com

Summary

AJ Bell releases strong H1-26 results, a period covering the 6 months to March. Overall revenue is 6% ahead of the

company compiled consensus, with the strength of revenues translating into a 11-12% beat on consensus adj. PBT

and EPS. There is also an additional £15m buyback announced today (vs. £50m prior announcement) and refreshed

FY26 guidance as covered below is potentially high single digit ahead of consensus.

The H1 revenue surprise mainly came from strong transactional income, which was up 37% y/y, driven by higher foreign

exchange revenue resulting from elevated customer dealing activity in overseas shares. Recurring AUMA linked fees

are more in-line we think but AJ Bell do call out that NII was up and benefitted from higher average cash balances

(which they say has normalised somewhat in April). We do think given the strong D2C related trends reported by a

number of peers (e.g. Aberdeen/ii, IG Group) and the share price YTD, some of this strength will have been priced in

and the revenue delta on Bloomberg consensus appears a little smaller (~4% revenue beat). We see scope for the

shares to outperform today, potentially by mid-single digits or more.

FY26 guidance

Guidance is revised up to reflect the strong H1 as well as the market recovery since March. Main changes include