Jefferies’ Revenue Slips as Market Turmoil Crimps Dealmaking

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. said investment-banking and capital-markets revenue slipped 31% from a year earlier, while still beating analysts’ estimates, as a turbulent geopolitical and macroeconomic picture chilled the pace of deal activity.

The decline contributed to a 30% drop in overall revenue at the company during the three months through June, Jefferies said in a statement Monday. The company’s $1.1 billion in investment-banking and capital-markets revenue was higher than the $967 million consensus from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue from debt and equity underwriting was lower than a year earlier, “consistent with a reduction in industrywide deal activity,” the company said.