Franklin Resources Faces Challenges Despite Recent Earnings Boost

With a market cap of $10.1 billion, Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) is a major player in global investment management. The company operates under renowned brands like Franklin, Templeton, and Legg Mason, providing services such as mutual funds and alternative investments. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Franklin Resources caters to a broad audience, including individuals, institutions, and pension plans, across various asset classes like fixed-income and equity.

Stock Performance Shows Notable Declines

Currently, shares of Franklin Resources are trading 32.3% below their 52-week high of $28.08. Over the past three months, BEN’s stock has dropped 6.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) only fell by 2.3% during the same period.

Long-term performance paints a troubling picture for Franklin Resources. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, the stock is down 6.2%, trailing DOWI’s decline of 1.3%. Over the last 52 weeks, BEN has seen its shares decrease by 31.1%, starkly contrasting with the DOWI’s 5.5% return.

Since last year, BEN has also traded below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating ongoing pressure in the stock price.

Recent Earnings Report Provides Brief Reprieve

On January 31, Franklin Resources experienced a notable surge, with shares jumping 10.4% after reporting strong earnings for Q1 2025 that exceeded Wall Street expectations. The company announced an adjusted EPS of $0.59 and revenue of $2.3 billion, bolstered by a 9% increase in investment management fees to $1.8 billion. Additionally, assets under management (AUM) rose 8% year-over-year to $1.58 trillion, aided by a robust equities market rally. Although total net outflows widened to $50 billion, the market reacted positively to the revenue and earnings beat.

Comparative Performance Against Industry Rivals

Despite the recent earnings boost, Franklin Resources has struggled compared to its competitor, BlackRock, Inc. (BLK), which has seen a gain of 13.5% over the past 52 weeks. However, BlackRock’s YTD performance shows a decline of 7.7%, slightly worse than BEN’s recent performance.

The outlook for Franklin Resources remains cautious. Analysts have expressed a slightly negative sentiment, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Sell” from the 14 analysts covering BEN. Currently, the stock is trading below the mean price target of $20.95.

On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.