Investing.com -- Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) shares were falling in after-hours trading after it reported revenue of $1.04 billion, inline with expectations.
A slump in dealmaking across the investment banking industry is weighing on results. Revenue was down 22% from the same time last year. Investment banking revenue was $510 million, down 26%.
Capital markets revenue rose 30%, to $543M.
Earnings per share were 5 cents. Analysts expected adjusted earnings per share of 32 cents.
“We believe our second quarter results reflect a cyclically low period and a particularly challenging environment,” said CEO Richard Handler and President Brian Friedman. “The month of June has brought green shoots in our investment banking and capital markets business and we are growing increasingly optimistic about the return to a more normal environment.”
The company said the board increased its share buyback authorization back to a total of $250M.
Shares were down 1.7%, and are down 6.8% so far this year.