T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. Q1 2026 Earnings Recap

T. Rowe Price shares rose modestly by 2.9% following the Q1 print, reflecting a neutral market reaction to results that showed stable performance, persistent equity outflows, and incremental progress in new growth areas. The lack of a decisive move indicates investors saw little surprise either positively or negatively in the firm's update.

Key Takeaways

• Adjusted EPS of $2.52 was up 3% sequentially and 13% year-on-year, aided by higher revenue from increased average AUM, lower expenses, a lower tax rate, and a smaller share count.
• AUM ended at $1.71 trillion with $13.7 billion in total net outflows; equity and mutual fund outflows continued, partially offset by positive flows into multi-asset, fixed income, alternatives, ETFs ($2.8B inflows), and SMAs ($962M inflows).
• Fund performance was mixed: while long-term performance (3-, 5-, 10-year) among equity and target date products was strong on an asset-weighted basis, the 1-year numbers remained challenged.
• The target date series and ETFs stood out, with the franchise posting $4.9 billion in net inflows and ETF AUM surpassing $25 billion, while eight ETFs crossed the $1 billion threshold.
• Revenue for Q1 topped $1.8 billion (up 5% y/y), but investment advisory fees fell quarter-over-quarter, reflecting a lower effective fee rate and two fewer days in the period.