Lazard second-quarter earnings fall amid COVID-19 slump in dealmaking

(Reuters) – Investment bank Lazard Ltd on Friday reported an 8% fall in second-quarter adjusted earnings per share, a smaller drop than analysts had expected, as the slowdown in corporate dealmaking due to the COVID-19 pandemic weighed.

Lazard, whose business is split between financial advisory and asset management, said earnings per share was 67 cents, well ahead of a median of analysts’ expectations for 38 cents, according to Refinitiv, and compared to 73 cents a year earlier.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin in Boston; editing by John Stonestreet)