Stifel's Growth Looks Likely to Moderate but Business Remains Well Managed and Competitive

At this stage, Stifel Financial's business prospects depend on the fate of its global wealth and asset management segment, which accounted for 65% of 2025 revenue and 77% of operating profitability. Considering this, it's little surprise to see the firm prioritize growth in that segment and in Stifel Bancorp, which are fairly interdependent. The latter is predominately funded by wealth management client deposits and derives a significant portion of its assets from security-based lending, margin lending, and mortgage lending to those customers, although it has recently developed a sizable external loan book as well, quietly amassing more than $40 billion in assets. Overall, we view this tack as appropriate, particularly considering the less profitable and more cyclical profile of the capital markets business.