On Monday, Lazard Ltd. kicked off the week with bad news from its fourth quarter earnings report. The investment firm reported a $4.79 million loss (0.04 cents per share versus 0.37 cents per share estimates). This compared to the previous year's $99.9 million profit (0.77 cents per share).
So what attributed to the poor numbers? According to The Wall Street Journal, Lazard saw a decline in its advisory revenue and higher-than-expected compensation costs even with its 20 percent discretionary bonus cut at year's end.
For the fourth quarter, Lazard's advisory business revenue (including M&A fees, capital markets and restructuring) dropped to $260.5 million (26 percent) from...
