Bear Stearns Reports Third Quarter 2003 Earnings of $2.30 Per Share, Up 87.0% from Third Quarter 2002

September 18, 2003 : Permanent Link

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 18, 2003– <pre> Net Income up 90.6% to $313.4 Million, Nearly Doubling from $164.4 Million in Third Quarter 2002 Pre-Tax Profit Margin Hits 32.5% Quarterly ROE 21.3% : Trailing 12-Month ROE 19.0% </pre>

The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE:BSC) reported today earnings per share (diluted) of $2.30 for the third quarter ended August 31, 2003, up 87.0% from $1.23 per share (diluted) for the quarter ended August 31, 2002. Net income for the third quarter of 2003 was $313.4 million, up 90.6% from $164.4 million for the third quarter of 2002. Net revenues were $1.49 billion for the third quarter, up 28.6% from $1.15 billion for the third quarter of 2002. Annualized after-tax return on average common stockholders’ equity for the current quarter was 21.3% and for the trailing 12-month period ended August 31, 2003 was 19.0%.

James E. Cayne, chairman and chief executive officer of Bear Stearns, commented, “Our firm takes great pride in its ability to prosper through the recent business cycles and our third quarter earnings illustrate our ability to do just that. A significant increase in revenues, combined with continued rigorous cost control measures, resulted in substantial improvement in our year-over-year profitability. Our solid and diverse fixed income franchise continued to perform remarkably well, while our equity businesses demonstrated improved results as those markets recover. The equity market recovery is also evident in Global Clearing Services net interest revenues, as margin debt balances and customer short balances increased. Progress in the development of the Wealth Management segment can be seen in a number of initiatives, including our successful recruiting effort of Private Client Services brokers and the significant steps we have taken in Bear Stearns Asset Management to diversify its alternative investment product range.”

Details of the firm’s three major business segments with comparative information follow:

CAPITAL MARKETS

Net revenues for the Capital Markets segment were $1.2 billion for the quarter ended August 31, 2003, up 42.0% from $859.5 million for the third quarter of last year.

— Institutional Equities net revenues were $200.5 million for

the third quarter of 2003, a 30.5% decrease from $288.6

million for the comparable prior year quarter. A decline in

market volatility and average daily trading volumes served to

reduce institutional commission revenues and convertible

arbitrage revenues.

— Fixed Income net revenues were $720.1 million, up 76.8% from

$407.3 million reported for the quarter ended August 31, 2002.

A steep yield curve, tightening corporate credit spreads and a

continued low interest rate environment fueled another strong

quarter in the Fixed Income Division. Despite a sharp rise in

treasury yields and drop in the federal funds rate, the

mortgage-backed securities, high yield and interest rate

product areas continued to perform exceptionally well.

— Investment Banking net revenues were $299.7 million for the

quarter ended August 31, 2003, up 83.2% from $163.6 million

for the quarter ended August 31, 2002. Included in these

results are Merchant Banking revenues of $92.0 million.

Merchant Banking revenues in the quarter are principally

attributable to the secondary offering in July 2003 of

approximately 6.5 million shares of Aeropostale and an

increase in the market value of the remaining investment of

3.8 million shares. Equity, high yield and municipal

underwriting were extremely active during the quarter, even as

merger and acquisition activity continued to reflect difficult

market conditions.

GLOBAL CLEARING SERVICES

Net revenues for Global Clearing Services were $200.9 million for the quarter ended August 31, 2003, up 4.9% from $191.5 million for the quarter ended August 31, 2002. Net interest revenues increased due to higher customer margin debt balances and customer short balances. Average customer margin debt balances were $42.1 billion during the quarter ended August 31, 2003, up from $33.7 billion in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2002. Customer short balances averaged $67.3 billion for the third quarter of 2003, as compared with $52.1 billion for the third quarter of 2002. Commission activity declined reflecting reduced trading activity levels of prime brokerage customers.

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Wealth Management net revenues for the quarter ended August 31, 2003 were $126.4 million, an increase of 1.9% from $124.0 million for the quarter ended August 31, 2002.

— Private Client Services revenues were $98.4 million in the

third quarter of 2003, an increase of 7.9% from $91.2 million

in the prior year quarter. The increase was primarily due to

improved customer activity levels and the increase in broker

headcount due to the success of the ongoing recruiting

efforts.

— Asset Management net revenues were down 15.0% to $27.9 million

for the third quarter of 2003, from $32.9 million in the prior

year quarter, reflecting reduced performance fees on

proprietary hedge fund products.

— Total assets under management stood at $25.7 billion on August

31, 2003, up 10.8% from $23.2 billion on August 31, 2002.

EXPENSES

Non-interest expenses rose 10.3% to $1.0 billion during the August 2003 quarter from $909.2 million in the August 2002 quarter. Compensation as a percentage of net revenues was 45.9% for the third quarter as compared with 51.6% in the quarter ended August 31, 2002. Non-compensation expenses were $321.1 million for the quarter ended August 31, 2003, up 2.4% from $313.6 million for the comparable prior year period. The significant increase in revenues combined with a stable cost base resulted in an increase in the third quarter 2003 pre-tax profit margin to 32.5% from 21.2% in the third quarter of 2002.

As of August 31, 2003, total capital, including stockholders’ equity and long-term borrowings, was $34.4 billion. Book value as of August 31, 2003 was $45.46 per share, based on 146,662,752 shares outstanding.

QUARTERLY COMMON STOCK CASH DIVIDEND DECLARED

The Board of Directors of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. declared a regular, quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share on the outstanding shares of common stock payable October 31, 2003, to stockholders of record on October 17, 2003.

QUARTERLY PREFERRED CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED

The Board of Directors of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. declared a quarterly cash dividend of 68.75 cents per share on the outstanding shares of Adjustable Rate Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A, payable October 15, 2003 to stockholders of record on September 30, 2003. In addition, other regular dividends declared by the Board of Directors include: (i) a cash dividend of $3.075 per share on the outstanding shares of 6.15% Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series E (which is equivalent to 76.875 cents per related depositary share); (ii) a cash dividend of $2.86 per share on the outstanding shares of 5.72% Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series F (which is equivalent to 71.50 cents per related depositary share); and (iii) a cash dividend of $2.745 per share on the outstanding shares of 5.49% Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series G (which is equivalent to 68.625 cents per related depositary share) all payable October 15, 2003 to stockholders of record on September 30, 2003.

Founded in 1923, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE:BSC) is the parent company of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., a leading investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm. With approximately $34.4 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company’s business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales, trading and research, private client services, derivatives, foreign exchange and futures sales and trading, asset management and custody services. Through Bear, Stearns Securities Corp., it offers financing, securities lending, clearing and technology solutions to hedge funds, broker-dealers and investment advisors. Headquartered in New York City, the company has approximately 10,500 employees worldwide. For additional information about Bear Stearns, please visit the firm’s Web site at http://www.bearstearns.com.

Certain statements contained in this discussion are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s future results, please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Management” in the Company’s 2002 Annual Report to Stockholders which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A conference call to discuss the company’s results will be held on Thursday, September 18th, at 10:00 a.m. E.S.T. The call will be open to the public. Those wishing to listen to the conference call should dial 1-800-419-0063 (or 1-703-464-5608 for international callers) at least 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the call to ensure connection. The conference call will also be accessible through our Web site at http://www.bearstearns.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast of the call, a replay will be available on our Web site or by dialing 1-888-266-2081 (or 1-703-925-2533 for international callers) at approximately 1:00 p.m. E.S.T. The passcode for the replay is 261191. The replay will be available until midnight on Friday, September 26th. If you have any questions on how to obtain access to the conference call, please contact Kerri Kelly at 1-212-272-2529 or via e-mail at [email protected].

<pre> THE BEAR STEARNS COMPANIES INC. SEGMENT DATA (UNAUDITED) Three Months Ended % Change From ———————————– —————– August August May August May 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 ———– ———– ———– ——– ——– (In thousands) NET REVENUES Capital Markets Institutional Equities $200,506 $288,609 $189,346 (30.5%) 5.9% Fixed Income 720,128 407,333 765,190 76.8% (5.9%) Investment Banking 299,742 163,583 223,439 83.2% 34.1% ———– ———– ———– Total Capital Markets 1,220,376 859,525 1,177,975 42.0% 3.6% Global Clearing Services 200,929 191,506 187,405 4.9% 7.2% Wealth Management 126,351 124,037 124,405 1.9% 1.6% Other (1) (62,596) (20,684) (27,065) (202.6%) (131.3%) ———– ———– ———– Total net revenues $1,485,060 $1,154,384 $1,462,720 28.6% 1.5% =========== =========== =========== PRE-TAX INCOME Capital Markets $540,942 $257,716 $483,971 109.9% 11.8% Global Clearing Services 68,456 66,637 37,798 2.7% 81.1% Wealth Management 9,851 (3,202) 4,948 407.7% 99.1% Other (1) (137,072) (75,947) (98,587) (80.5%) (39.0%) ———– ———– ———– Total pre-tax income $482,177 $245,204 $428,130 96.6% 12.6% =========== =========== =========== Nine Months Ended % Change ———————– ——— August 31, August 31, 2003 2002 ———– ———– (In thousands) NET REVENUES Capital Markets Institutional Equities $666,313 $835,351 (20.2%) Fixed Income 2,276,535 1,474,137 54.4% Investment Banking 710,945 790,408 (10.1%) ———– ———– Total Capital Markets 3,653,793 3,099,896 17.9% Global Clearing Services 564,112 597,794 (5.6%) Wealth Management 366,341 373,949 (2.0%) Other (1) (121,032) (70,411) (71.9%) ———– ———– Total net revenues $4,463,214 $4,001,228 11.5% =========== =========== PRE-TAX INCOME Capital Markets $1,490,832 $1,092,452 36.5% Global Clearing Services 158,404 209,737 (24.5%) Wealth Management 20,518 7,259 182.7% Other (1) (334,248) (271,265) (23.2%) ———– ———– Total pre-tax income $1,335,506 $1,038,183 28.6% =========== =========== (1) Includes consolidation and elimination entries, unallocated revenues (predominantly interest) and certain corporate administrative functions, including certain legal costs and costs related to the Capital Accumulation Plan for Senior Managing Directors (“CAP Plan”). Note: Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period amounts to conform to the current period’s presentation. THE BEAR STEARNS COMPANIES INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (UNAUDITED) Three Months Ended % Change From ————————————– ————— August August May August May 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 ———— ———— ———— ——- ——- (In thousands, except share and per share data) REVENUES Commissions $279,888 $297,191 $267,682 (5.8%) 4.6% Principal transactions 724,023 556,892 809,915 30.0% (10.6%) Investment banking 298,716 136,532 212,550 118.8% 40.5% Interest and dividends 503,135 543,653 522,565 (7.5%) (3.7%) Other income 36,509 47,129 37,500 (22.5%) (2.6%) ———— ———— ———— Total revenues 1,842,271 1,581,397 1,850,212 16.5% (0.4%) Interest expense 357,211 427,013 387,492 (16.3%) (7.8%) ———— ———— ———— Revenues, net of interest expense 1,485,060 1,154,384 1,462,720 28.6% 1.5% ———— ———— ———— NON-INTEREST EXPENSES Employee compensation and benefits 681,745 595,616 692,181 14.5% (1.5%) Floor brokerage, exchange and clearance fees 44,830 56,644 47,540 (20.9%) (5.7%) Communications and technology 93,047 90,736 90,744 2.5% 2.5% Occupancy 34,788 35,476 33,088 (1.9%) 5.1% Advertising and market development 24,550 26,628 27,507 (7.8%) (10.7%) Professional fees 36,608 29,878 28,995 22.5% 26.3% Other expenses 87,315 74,202 114,535 17.7% (23.8%) ———— ———— ———— Total non- interest expenses 1,002,883 909,180 1,034,590 10.3% (3.1%) ———— ———— ———— Income before provision for income taxes 482,177 245,204 428,130 96.6% 12.6% Provision for income taxes 168,762 80,786 147,719 108.9% 14.2% ———— ———— ———— Net income $313,415 $164,418 $280,411 90.6% 11.8% ============ ============ ============ Net income applicable to common shares $305,621 $156,094 $272,616 95.8% 12.1% ============ ============ ============ Adjusted net income used for diluted earnings per share (1) $334,180 $178,994 $299,533 86.7% 11.6% ============ ============ ============ Basic earnings per share $2.54 $1.32 $2.27 92.4% 11.9% ============ ============ ============ Diluted earnings per share $2.30 $1.23 $2.05 87.0% 12.2% ============ ============ ============ Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 128,681,694 132,436,184 128,711,363 ============ ============ ============ Diluted 145,599,540 145,895,494 146,062,838 ============ ============ ============ Cash dividends declared per common share $0.20 $0.15 $0.17 ============ ============ ============ (1) Represents net income reduced for preferred stock dividends and increased for costs related to the CAP Plan and the redemption of preferred stock. For earnings per share, the costs related to the CAP Plan (net of tax) are added back as the shares related to the CAP Plan are included in weighted average common shares outstanding. THE BEAR STEARNS COMPANIES INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (UNAUDITED) Nine Months Ended % Change ————————- ——— August 31, August 31, 2003 2002 ———— ———— (In thousands, except share and per share data) REVENUES Commissions $789,485 $834,926 (5.4%) Principal transactions 2,502,402 1,923,433 30.1% Investment banking 678,849 752,244 (9.8%) Interest and dividends 1,459,859 1,726,808 (15.5%) Other income 99,803 132,534 (24.7%) ———— ———— Total revenues 5,530,398 5,369,945 3.0% Interest expense 1,067,184 1,368,717 (22.0%) ———— ———— Revenues, net of interest expense 4,463,214 4,001,228 11.5% ———— ———— NON-INTEREST EXPENSES Employee compensation and benefits 2,131,815 1,942,827 9.7% Floor brokerage, exchange and clearance fees 137,050 144,831 (5.4%) Communications and technology 276,531 288,828 (4.3%) Occupancy 102,819 116,911 (12.1%) Advertising and market development 77,267 80,351 (3.8%) Professional fees 94,056 95,473 (1.5%) Other expenses 308,170 293,824 4.9% ———— ———— Total non-interest expenses 3,127,708 2,963,045 5.6% ———— ———— Income before provision for income taxes 1,335,506 1,038,183 28.6% Provision for income taxes 467,427 350,387 33.4% ———— ———— Net income $868,079 $687,796 26.2% ============ ============ Net income applicable to common shares $844,499 $660,380 27.9% ============ ============ Adjusted net income used for diluted earnings per share (1) $927,470 $751,266 23.5% ============ ============ Basic earnings per share $7.02 $5.51 27.4% ============ ============ Diluted earnings per share $6.34 $5.10 24.3% ============ ============ Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 129,055,575 133,661,864 ============ ============ Diluted 146,316,093 147,448,398 ============ ============ Cash dividends declared per common share $0.52 $0.45 ============ ============ (1) Represents net income reduced for preferred stock dividends and increased for costs related to the CAP Plan and the redemption of preferred stock. For earnings per share, the costs related to the CAP Plan (net of tax) are added back as the shares related to the CAP Plan are included in weighted average common shares outstanding. THE BEAR STEARNS COMPANIES INC. SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) Three Months Ended ————————————– August 31, May 31, February 28, 2003 2003 2003 ———— ———— ———— (In thousands, except common share data and other data) Results ——- Revenues, net of interest expense $1,485,060 $1,462,720 $1,515,434 Net income $313,415 $280,411 $274,253 Net income applicable to common shares $305,621 $272,616 $266,261 Adjusted net income used for diluted earnings per share (1) $334,180 $299,533 $293,756 Financial Position —————— Stockholders’ equity, at period end $6,875,668 $6,714,397 $6,529,628 Total stockholders’ equity and trust issued preferred securities, at period end $7,438,168 $7,276,897 $7,092,128 Total capital, at period end $34,438,022 $33,520,967 $31,987,917 Common Share Data —————– Basic earnings per share $2.54 $2.27 $2.21 Diluted earnings per share $2.30 $2.05 $2.00 Book value per common share, at period end $45.46 $43.52 $41.64 Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 128,681,694 128,711,363 129,773,603 Diluted 145,599,540 146,062,838 147,029,224 Common shares outstanding, at period end (2) 146,662,752 146,915,258 146,659,224 Financial Ratios —————- Return on average common equity (annualized) 21.3% 19.7% 19.9% Adjusted pre-tax profit margin (3) 35.8% 32.4% 31.2% Pre-tax profit margin (4) 32.5% 29.3% 28.1% After-tax profit margin (5) 21.1% 19.2% 18.1% Compensation & benefits / Revenues, net of interest expense 45.9% 47.3% 50.0% Other Data (in billions, except employees) ———– Margin debt balances, at period end $40.9 $43.4 $37.3 Margin debt balances, average for period $42.1 $39.0 $35.9 Customer short balances, at period end $65.7 $65.5 $55.9 Customer short balances, average for period $67.3 $61.4 $56.3 Stock borrowed, at period end $53.4 $49.8 $41.6 Stock borrowed, average for period $55.6 $48.5 $45.0 Free credit balances, at period end $19.8 $18.6 $16.7 Free credit balances, average for period $20.8 $18.8 $18.4 Assets under management, at period end $25.7 $24.4 $23.3 Employees, at period end 10,515 10,472 10,506 Three Months Ended ————————————————— November 30, August 31, May 31, February 28, 2002 2002 2002 2002 ———— ———— ———— ———— (In thousands, except common share data and other data) Results ——- Revenues, net of interest expense $1,127,008 $1,154,384 $1,607,666 $1,239,178 Net income $190,549 $164,418 $342,852 $180,526 Net income applicable to common shares $182,359 $156,094 $333,538 $170,748 Adjusted net income used for diluted earnings per share (1) $195,268 $178,994 $381,533 $190,739 Financial Position —————— Stockholders' equity, at period end $6,382,083 $5,954,431 $5,963,258 $5,760,905 Total stockholders' equity and trust issued preferred securities, at period end $6,944,583 $6,516,931 $6,525,758 $6,323,405 Total capital, at period end $30,625,982 $29,567,725 $31,038,949 $31,063,625 Common Share Data —————— Basic earnings per share $1.48 $1.32 $2.80 $1.39 Diluted earnings per share $1.36 $1.23 $2.59 $1.29 Book value per common share, at period end $39.94 $38.10 $37.16 $34.95 Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 130,133,459 132,436,184 133,772,110 134,793,949 Diluted 143,798,762 145,895,494 147,592,256 148,115,050 Common shares outstanding, at period end (2) 145,591,496 146,478,611 146,873,990 147,040,102 Financial Ratios —————— Return on average common equity (annualized) 14.5% 13.3% 29.5% 15.2% Adjusted pre-tax profit margin (3) 26.2% 24.0% 36.3% 24.9% Pre-tax profit margin (4) 24.2% 21.2% 32.3% 22.1% After-tax profit margin (5) 16.9% 14.2% 21.3% 14.6% Compensation & benefits / Revenues, net of interest expense 50.2% 51.6% 44.4% 51.1% Other Data (in billions, except employees) —————— Margin debt balances, at period end $36.7 $32.5 $36.7 $34.6 Margin debt balances, average for period $31.7 $33.7 $35.9 $35.1 Customer short balances, at period end $58.8 $52.6 $55.8 $54.5 Customer short balances, average for period $53.5 $52.1 $56.9 $55.9 Stock borrowed, at period end $46.2 $40.6 $43.3 $39.8 Stock borrowed, average for period $43.4 $41.9 $45.4 $45.6 Free credit balances, at period end $17.1 $18.3 $16.6 $17.9 Free credit balances, average for period $19.8 $19.4 $18.5 $19.6 Assets under management, at period end $24.0 $23.2 $24.8 $25.8 Employees, at period end 10,574 10,493 10,426 10,341 (1) Represents net income reduced for preferred stock dividends and increased for costs related to the CAP Plan and the redemption of preferred stock. For earnings per share, the costs related to the CAP Plan (net of tax) are added back as the shares related to the CAP Plan are included in weighted average common shares outstanding. (2) Represents shares used to calculate book value per common share. Common shares outstanding include units issued under certain stock compensation plans which will be distributed as shares of common stock. (3) Represents the ratio of income before both CAP Plan costs and provision for income taxes to revenues, net of interest expense. (4) Represents the ratio of income before provision for income taxes to revenues, net of interest expense. (5) Represents the ratio of net income to revenues, net of interest expense. </pre>

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