The stock rose about 1 percent today and is currently trading at its highest point in recent weeks after a steady month-long climb. We think this is mostly normal market movement on a quiet day, as the stock holds onto gains from its strong July earnings report.
Our view
The business is seeing its profit margins expand as it successfully adds new AI and private market services to its platform. If you've been thinking about buying it, this is still a fair price to pay for a company with such a clean balance sheet and high switching costs. Owners should sit tight.
SEI is adding an AI assistant called Zocks to its platform for financial advisors. The tool is designed to handle routine office work like taking notes and updating client records automatically.
This matters because SEI makes its money by being the essential software that banks and wealth managers use to run their businesses. By adding AI features that save advisors time, SEI makes its platform harder to replace and more valuable to the firms that pay for it.
SEI launched the Ang Research Enhanced U.S. Large Cap ETF, which uses a research-based approach to pick stocks rather than just tracking a standard index. This is part of a larger plan to grow its lineup of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which are investment funds that trade on an exchange like a stock. Expanding its own fund products allows SEI to capture more fees from the assets it manages.
Partnership with WTW to expand private market access
SEI is expanding its relationship with WTW Investments to build new investment options for retirement plans like 401(k)s. These solutions will focus on private markets, which include investments in companies or debts that are not traded on public stock exchanges.
This is a key part of SEI's strategy to move into higher-margin services. Private market products typically carry higher fees than standard stock or bond funds, and bringing them to the massive retirement market gives SEI a large new pool of assets to manage.
Executive sells about 2.6 million dollars in stock
Philip McCabe sold roughly $2.6 million worth of SEI stock after exercising options to buy shares at a set price. While the dollar amount is large, these types of sales are often planned in advance or used to cover the costs of the options themselves. It does not usually signal a change in how management views the company's future.
Analyst price updatePositive
Jul 23
UBS raises price target to 125 dollars
UBS raised its price target for SEI from $120 to $125 while keeping a positive outlook on the stock. A price target is what an analyst thinks the stock will be worth in the future. This move suggests the firm is confident in SEI's ability to grow its profits as it rolls out new technology and expands its investment platforms.
Analysts raised their price targets following the company's strong second-quarter earnings report in late July. Most analysts, 11 out of 14, rate the stock a buy, with the average target suggesting 17% upside from today's price.
Average target$123+17%vs $105.54 today
TodayAvg price
Low $120High $125
Strong Buy14 analysts
0Bearish
3Neutral
11Bullish
FirmRatingPrice TargetDate
UBS
—
$120→$125
7/23/2026
Piper Sandler
Overweight
$114→$120
7/23/2026
Piper Sandler
Overweight
$105→$114
7/13/2026
Raymond James
Outperform
$122→$124
7/6/2026
Raymond James
Outperform
$70→$82
4/29/2026
Piper Sandler
Overweight
$99→$105
4/23/2026
Piper Sandler
Overweight
$106
2/20/2026
UBS
—
$115
2/4/2026
Piper Sandler
Overweight
$102→$109
1/29/2026
Raymond James
Outperform
$117
1/5/2026
Piper Sandler
Overweight
$102
12/23/2025
Raymond James
Outperform
$118→$120
10/14/2025
SEI Investments Company earnings
The company has a very consistent habit of beating analyst estimates, often by a wide margin. This suggests management is conservative with its forecasts and the business is performing better than the market expects.
Earnings history
EstimateBeatMiss
SEI Investments Company past earnings results
Expected
Actual
Surprise
EPS
$1.44
$1.66
+15.3%
Revenue
$636M
$642M
+0.8%
Key highlights
Profitability remains strong: The adjusted operating margin, which measures how much profit the company keeps after business costs, reached 32% compared to 27% a year ago. This expansion shows the company is successfully controlling its expenses while growing its revenue.
Investment management growth: The investment managers segment grew its revenue 17% to $227.7 million and increased its operating profit by 25% to $91.6 million. This performance was driven by a high volume of new client wins and expanding work with existing customers.
Asset values climbing: Total assets under management grew 9.5% over the last year to reach $606.7 billion. This increase was primarily driven by higher market values, which helps the company because it earns fees based on the total value of those assets.
Alternative sales momentum: Approximately 75% of sales in the investment managers division came from alternative investments, which are assets like private equity or real estate rather than just stocks. These sales totaled $24 million during the quarter and generally represent higher-value business for the company.
Outlook for recurring revenue: Management expects the $32.6 million in new recurring sales events from this quarter to eventually translate into steady yearly revenue as these new accounts are officially opened and funded. This represents the long-term pipeline of new business added to the platform.
Our take: This was a strong and efficient quarter. The business is showing excellent leverage, with profits growing much faster than expenses across almost every division. While the decline in reported earnings looks scary, it was only due to a one-time gain from a business sale last year, and the underlying growth in assets and margins keeps the long-term case very healthy.
SEI Investments Company’s next earnings date
Q3 2026
OCT
28
Expectation
EPS
$1.58
Revenue
$656M
Metrics we are tracking
Metric
Expectations
Status
Adjusted Operating Margin
Sustaining a margin above 30%
32% in Q2 2026
Alternative Asset Sales
Recurring sales from alternatives exceeding $20M per quarter
$24M in Q2 2026
Total Assets under Management
Maintaining growth above 8% YoY
$606.7B (+12% YoY) in Q2 2026
Net Sales Events
Averaging above $40M in total sales events per quarter
$43.5M in Q2 2026
More SEI Investments Company coverage from around the web
