New York, Feb 13, 2026, 10:23 (EST) — Regular session
- Affiliated Managers Group shares down about 1.5% in morning trade
- Board OKs new 4.2 million-share repurchase program; dividend set for March 9
- New minority stakes in HighBrook and Garda add to private-markets push; COO to leave March 6
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) shares fell 1.5% to $324.17 on Friday morning, easing after a busy stretch of earnings, buybacks and deal headlines from the asset manager.
Traders are picking through a mixed fourth-quarter report from Thursday — profit beat forecasts but revenue missed — and a fresh round of corporate actions that keep the story moving into next week. The bigger question is whether AMG can keep pulling client money into higher-fee strategies while it shrinks the share count. (TradingView)
On Thursday’s earnings call, AMG guided for first-quarter adjusted EBITDA, a measure of operating profit, of $310 million to $330 million. It forecast economic earnings per share — its main adjusted profit metric — of $7.98 to $8.52, assuming $40 million to $60 million of net performance fees, which depend on investment gains. Management also said equity strategies had net outflows of about $12 billion in the quarter and about $45 billion in 2025. (Insider Monkey)
AMG reported fourth-quarter economic EPS of $9.48 on diluted EPS of $11.21, and put full-year economic EPS at $26.05. It said it repurchased about $700 million of stock in 2025 and took in about $29 billion of net client cash inflows — the net money clients added — including roughly $12.1 billion in the fourth quarter, ending the year with about $813 billion of assets under management. Chief executive Jay Horgen called 2025 “one of the strongest years in our Company’s history.” (GlobeNewswire)
A filing on Thursday showed AMG’s board authorized an additional buyback program for up to 4.2 million shares, lifting total capacity to about 6 million shares across programs that do not expire. The company said it may use open-market purchases, private transactions or accelerated repurchase programs, including trading plans under Rule 10b5-1. The board also declared a $0.01 quarterly dividend payable March 9 to shareholders of record Feb. 23. (SEC)
AMG also said it bought a minority stake in HighBrook Investors, a real estate manager focused on value-add deals in the U.S. and Europe, including European last-mile logistics and U.S. data centers. HighBrook has committed more than $2.3 billion of equity across more than 80 investments, totaling about $5.7 billion in gross asset value, the companies said. Horgen said HighBrook’s focus gives it exposure to “long-term secular tailwinds,” while HighBrook co-founder Brian Carr said the firm was drawn to AMG’s “collaborative partnership.” (GlobeNewswire)
In a separate release, AMG said it increased its minority equity interest in Garda Capital Partners, a fixed-income relative-value manager and an affiliate since 2019. Garda’s assets under management have risen to more than $12 billion, it said, and AMG said it would remain a minority investor after the transaction. Garda CEO Jeff Drobny said AMG “has fully delivered” on its promises, adding that Garda has tripled in size since the partnership began. (GlobeNewswire)
The management shuffle is another moving part. AMG said Thomas Wojcik will step down as president and chief operating officer on March 6, with duties allocated to other senior leaders. A separate filing said Wojcik is set to receive $5.025 million in cash payments in 2026 and could get another $11.05 million in early 2027 if he meets post-employment conditions, while unvested equity awards would be cancelled on his departure date. (SEC)
But a lot of AMG’s earnings still swing with markets and performance fees, which can evaporate in a rough quarter. If risk assets sag or fundraising slows, the fee base could soften and the buyback could lose pace. Investors also have to assume a smooth handoff when Wojcik leaves.
A new ownership filing added one more datapoint. Clarkston Capital Partners and related entities reported beneficial ownership of 904,119 shares of AMG, or 3.21% of the company, in an amended Schedule 13G filed on Friday, and said the stake was held in the ordinary course and not to influence control. (Stock Titan)
For the rest of the session, traders will watch whether the stock stabilizes after this morning’s dip and how quickly the company steps into the market with buybacks. The next hard dates are close: the Feb. 23 dividend record date, the March 6 COO exit and the March 9 payment.
