Profits return to pre-merger levels
A&O Shearman partners are taking home an average of ($2.9 million) £2.2 million despite broadly flat revenue, as profits return to pre-merger levels.
In its second full year since being created through the 2024 merger of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling, the international giant’s latest results show revenue edging down to £2.8 billion from £2.9 billion the year before, a slight fall in sterling, though flat in dollar terms at $3.7 billion.
Pre-tax profits, however, rose 14% to $1.6 billion (£1.2 billion), with profit per equity partner (PEP) up 12%.
This shift can be largely attributed to a slimming down of the partnership, with the number of partners falling from around 740 to about 710 over the year. Notably, A&O Shearman still runs a full equity partnership.
Hervé Ekué, A&O Shearman’s global managing partner, said:
“Clients are entrusting us with more of their most important and complex mandates. Combined with the way we have streamlined our operation, our profitability has grown significantly. We are a more profitable firm, with a stronger base for sustainable growth.”
This news follows reports of A&O Shearman cutting its London business services roles earlier this year.