At a glance
LPL Financial Holdings Inc is worth $24.73B, about 29 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 37.2% to $16.99B in fiscal 2025, with 5.1% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 23.7% a year. It pays a 0.38% dividend yield, and returned $2.22B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −7.2% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +13.6% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 60.3% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 24.7% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 9 months and 1 month after the lows.
The business in plain English
LPL Financial calls itself the nation's largest independent broker-dealer (a firm licensed to trade securities for clients). It also acts as a custodian, which means it holds clients' investments. Its customers are financial advisors and financial institutions. They use LPL's trading, custody, compliance, technology and research to run their practices. In its annual report for 2025, LPL said it supported more than 32,000 advisors and about 1,200 institutions. Together they had roughly $2.4 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets and about 11.6 million client accounts.
Much of LPL's revenue comes from the commissions and advisory fees its advisors generate. Independent advisors typically keep 80% to 100% of that money, and LPL keeps the rest. Advisors at captive firms, which tie them to one company, typically get 30% to 50%. About 600 independent advisory firms, with roughly 6,240 advisors, keep all their advisory fees and pay LPL separately for custody, trading and support. LPL also serves over 7,400 advisors at financial institutions and about 4,200 who work with insurance companies.
LPL makes no investment products of its own and does no market-making or investment banking. It says this limits conflicts of interest. It also grows by buying other firms. It finished moving Atria Wealth Solutions' assets onto its platform in late 2025 and expected to finish converting Commonwealth Financial Network in late 2026. Revenue rose 37.2% to about $17.0 billion in 2025.
Price history
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LPLA -7.2% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $5.34B, up 17.4% from a year earlier, and net income was $356.6M.
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $16.99B (+37.2% year over year; +23.7% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 5.1% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +23.7% good |
|---|---|
| Free cash flow margin | -5.8% weak |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 16.1% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 4.7% watch |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $5.87B | $472.6M | $634.4M |
| FY2021 | $7.72B | $459.9M | $237.1M |
| FY2022 | $8.60B | $845.7M | $1.64B |
| FY2023 | $10.05B | $1.07B | $109.3M |
| FY2024 | $12.39B | $1.06B | $-284.9M |
| FY2025 | $16.99B | $863.0M | $-981.8M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $24.73B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 29.1 |
| Dividend yield | 0.38% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
LPL Financial Holdings’s market value went from $3.14B at the end of 2016 to $24.73B on Oct 27, 2026, about 7.9 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 13%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 27, 2026 | $24.73B | -13.5% |
| 2025 | $28.59B | +16.9% |
| 2024 | $24.45B | +42.0% |
| 2023 | $17.21B | +0.0% |
| 2022 | $17.21B | +34.1% |
| 2021 | $12.83B | +55.3% |
| 2020 | $8.26B | +10.8% |
| 2019 | $7.46B | +40.8% |
| 2018 | $5.30B | +2.8% |
| 2017 | $5.15B | +64.2% |
| 2016 | $3.14B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LPLA price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -10.8% | -7.2% | +13.2% | +13.6% | +27.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -10.8% |
| 2025 | +9.8% |
| 2024 | +44.1% |
| 2023 | +5.9% |
| 2022 | +35.7% |
| 2021 | +54.6% |
| 2020 | +14.6% |
| 2019 | +53.0% |
| 2018 | +8.5% |
| 2017 | +66.0% |
| 2016 | -14.2% |
| 2015 | -2.0% |
| 2014 | -3.4% |
| 2013 | +70.1% |
| 2012 | -1.2% |
| 2011 | -16.0% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 57.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 60.3%, back to its old high 8.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 48.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 24.7%, back to its old high 1.1 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 9 sales ($2.2M), 7 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2026 | Greg Gates Group Managing Director | sell | $1.5M |
| Jul 31, 2026 | Matthew Enyedi Group Managing Director | sell (plan) | $163K |
| Sep 11, 2026 | Katharine Reeping Principal Accounting Officer | sell | $153K |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Aneri Jambusaria Group Managing Director | sell (plan) | $110K |
| Jul 31, 2026 | Matthew Enyedi Group Managing Director | sell (plan) | $105K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.36% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| JANUS HENDERSON GROUP Ltd. | 5.3% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Dodge & Cox | 5.2% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Boston Partners | 5.01% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in LPLA
| KMID Virtus KAR Mid-Cap ETF | 3.39% |
| AMID Argent Mid Cap ETF | 3.32% |
| GABF Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF | 3.22% |
| IAI iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF | 3.18% |
| GK AdvisorShares Gerber Kawasaki ETF | 2.67% |
| PJFM PGIM Jennison Focused Mid-Cap ETF | 2.48% |
| CNAV Mohr Company Nav ETF | 2.41% |
| IWFG NYLI Winslow Focused Large Cap Growth ETF | 2.3% |
What could go wrong
- Growth depends on recruiting and keeping advisors. A large portion of LPL's revenue comes from commissions and fees its advisors generate. Its plan relies on adding advisors and replacing those who retire, while rivals compete for the same people.
- Supervising thousands of independent advisors. Most LPL advisors are independent practitioners, many using their own business names. LPL flags risks built into this model. Rule-breaking can bring lawsuits, arbitration claims (disputes decided outside court) and regulatory actions.
- Folding in the Commonwealth acquisition. LPL expected to finish moving Commonwealth Financial Network's assets onto its platform in late 2026. Large conversions can disrupt service or lead advisors to leave, and LPL lists acquisitions as a material risk.
- Profits swing with markets and interest rates. Advisory fees are often a percentage of client assets, so falling markets can cut revenue. LPL also warns that big changes in interest rates could hurt its profits and financial condition.
- Billions in debt limit flexibility. As of September 30, 2026, LPL had about $7.8 billion of debt against $1.2 billion in cash and investments. Its credit agreement restricts some actions, and the debt could limit future borrowing.
- Technology outages and cyber-attacks. LPL's platform handles clearing (settling trades) and custody for most advisor transactions, and it relies on vendors, some of them offshore. Outages or breaches, including at advisors or vendors, could bring losses, lawsuits and reputational harm.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Bylaws or fiscal year changed; Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
LPL pays a small dividend: the yield was 0.38% as of October 27, 2026. It paid $1.00 per share a year from 2020 to 2022 and $1.20 from 2023 to 2025, so it has no run of yearly increases. That payout used about 10.9% of 2025 earnings. Free cash flow was negative in 2024 and 2025, so it did not cover the dividend in those years. Buybacks are much larger: about $1.79 billion over 2021–2025, against $436 million in dividends. The share count fell 2.6% between February 2022 and October 2026.
In the 2020 COVID crash the stock fell 60.3% and took about 8.5 months to recover. In early 2022 it fell 24.7% but regained that ground in about a month. With a yield this low, an income investor would get little cash from the shares, and most of any return would have to come from price changes. A single stock like LPL carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does LPL Financial make money?
LPL makes much of its money from the commissions and advisory fees earned by the financial advisors it supports. Independent advisors typically keep 80% to 100% of that revenue, and LPL keeps the rest. It also charges separate fees for custody, trading and support to about 600 independent advisory firms whose advisors keep all their advisory fees. LPL sells no investment products of its own and does no investment banking or market-making. Revenue was about $17.0 billion in 2025.
Does LPL Financial pay a dividend?
Yes, but it is small. LPL paid $1.20 per share in dividends for 2025, the same as in 2023 and 2024, and the yield was 0.38% as of October 27, 2026. That payout used about 10.9% of 2025 earnings. LPL returns more cash through buybacks: it spent about $1.79 billion on them over 2021–2025, against $436 million on dividends. Both depend on its board and on LPL earning enough profit and cash.
How many financial advisors does LPL Financial have?
LPL supported more than 32,000 financial advisors, according to its annual report for the year ended December 31, 2025. The filing describes over 7,400 advisors at about 1,200 financial institutions, roughly 6,240 advisors at about 600 independent advisory firms, and about 4,200 advisors who work with insurance companies. Its advisors serve about 11.6 million client accounts. LPL services and holds roughly $2.4 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets.
How much debt does LPL Financial have?
LPL had about $7.8 billion of total debt as of September 30, 2026, against about $1.2 billion in cash and investments. That left net debt of about $6.6 billion. Shareholders' equity (assets minus liabilities) was about $5.8 billion. LPL warns that this debt could limit its ability to borrow for future needs and that its credit agreement restricts some actions. As a holding company, it relies on cash from its subsidiaries to make debt payments.
How has LPL stock performed over the long term?
It did well over the long run but lost ground in the 12 months to October 27, 2026. As of that date, the share price had gained about 27.2% a year over 10 years (about 1,007% in total). It had gained 13.6% a year over five years. These figures do not count dividends. Over the 12 months the price fell 7.2% and was at one point 32.3% below its peak. It was down 10.8% for 2026 through that date.