Hargreaves Lansdown had already primed the market for a stretch in the timing of hitting 2026 growth targets, but the surprise departure of the investment platform’s boss could pave the way for those ambitious goals to be scrapped altogether. Resetting medium-term market expectations could be no bad thing.
First-quarter revenue increased by 15 per cent, ahead of expectations, as rising interest rates have pushed up the returns generated by Hargreaves on cash held in client accounts. Revenue margin guidance has been raised to between 49 and 52 basis points, against the 44 to 47 range previously expected.
Analysts have raised earnings forecasts in response, with Numis increasing its figure by 5 per cent to 56.2p a share for this year, which also would represent an
