Financial services company Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q3 CY2025, with sales up 3.2% year on year to $2.03 billion. Its GAAP profit of $2.29 per share was 2.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Company Overview

Founded in 1889 during Chicago's post-Great Fire rebuilding boom, Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) provides wealth management, asset servicing, and banking solutions to corporations, institutions, families, and high-net-worth individuals globally.

Revenue Growth

Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Regrettably, Northern Trust’s revenue grew at a tepid 5.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This was below our standard for the financials sector and is a rough starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. Northern Trust’s annualized revenue growth of 8.4% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting some bright spots. Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.

This quarter, Northern Trust grew its revenue by 3.2% year on year, and its $2.03 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.

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Assets Under Management (AUM)

Assets Under Management (AUM) represents the total value of investments that a financial institution manages for its clients. These assets generate steady income through management fees, creating predictable revenue streams that remain stable so long as clients remain invested with the firm.

Northern Trust’s AUM has grown at an annual rate of 3.1% over the last four years, worse than the broader financials industry. When analyzing Northern Trust’s AUM over the last two years, we can see that growth accelerated to 12.6% annually. Fundraising or short-term investment performance were net contributors for the company over this shorter period since assets grew faster than total revenue. That said, assets aren't the be-all and end-all due to their unpredictable and cyclical nature.

In Q3, Northern Trust’s AUM was $1.77 trillion, beating analysts’ expectations by 3.2%. This print was 9.3% higher than the same quarter last year.

Key Takeaways from Northern Trust’s Q3 Results

We enjoyed seeing Northern Trust beat analysts’ AUM expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates.Zooming out, we think this was a decent quarter. Investors were likely hoping for more, and shares traded down 1.7% to $126.38 immediately after reporting.

Is Northern Trust an attractive investment opportunity right now? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free for active Edge members.