Lutnick Sons See Record Year as Cantor Denies Trump Conflicts

Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York financial boutique, is controlled by Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, the sons of Howard Lutnick, who joined President Donald Trump’s administration as Commerce Secretary earlier this year. The firm is on track to post revenue in 2025 of upwards of $2.5 billion, an all-time high. Much of Cantor’s revenue haul comes from a surge in crypto dealmaking, as well as the firm’s early push into covering now-booming sectors including rare-earth minerals, quantum computing, robotics and data centers. However, many executives in the building bristle at suggestions that their new connections in Washington are contributing to their success. Bloomberg's Todd Gillespie joined Norah Mulinda and Scarlet Fu on 'Bloomberg Businessweek Daily' to break it down.

One unusual item might appear on Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s year-end expense receipts.

“I just left the floor and told someone that I’m happy to buy them a cot because they need to come in on Sunday and not leave until Friday,” joked Sage Kelly, 53, co-chief executive officer at Cantor’s investment bank, as he sat down for an interview at its New York office.

Climbing Wall Street’s league tables, jumping out in front of the cryptocurrency boom and returning to SPAC-fueled dealmaking, the private New York financial boutique is having its busiest — and most successful — year on record.

Cantor is now controlled by Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, the sons of Howard Lutnick, who joined President Donald Trump’s administration as Commerce secretary earlier this year. The firm is on track to post revenue in 2025 of upwards of $2.5 billion, an all-time high and a jump of more than a quarter on last year, according to people familiar with the matter.

“When you have a titan of industry and an indomitable personality like Howard, who was here for 40 years and ran the firm for 30 years, it can create a significant vacuum when he leaves,” said Kelly, who runs the firm’s operations with co-CEOs Pascal Bandelier and Christian Wall. “The whole firm stepped up and succeeded. And that’s because of Brandon. That’s because of Kyle as well.”

The executives bristle at suggestions that their new connections in Washington are contributing to that success. Instead, they say, Cantor has grown with a lean team and is reaping the benefits of years of preparation for booms in sectors that more established banks kept at arm’s length.

Its 250 dealmakers are set to post revenue north of $1 billion, according to one of the people. At $4 million per banker, that’s about double the rate at the largest firms on Wall Street, according to data from Coalition Greenwich.

A spokesperson for Cantor declined to comment on the firm’s financial results.

Cantor has brokered more US initial public offerings by volume this year than any other firm, and is fifth in all US equity offerings, after overtaking stalwarts including Barclays Plc and Citigroup Inc. It’s seen a boom in trading, largely from clients outside the US, and is on track to acquire hedge fund O’Connor from UBS Group AG by the end of the year — a deal that’s facing a last-minute hitch after the unit was hit by losses related to bankrupt auto-parts supplier First Brands Group.

The firm has also hired bankers to expand in Germany and to broker the expected wave of regional-bank mergers in the US, a sector that includes about 4,000 firms. Another target is the Middle East, where Cantor has bankers in Dubai and is expanding into Abu Dhabi, with plans to bring equities sales and trading and investment banking into the region.

Much of Cantor’s revenue haul comes from a surge in crypto dealmaking, including fundraising for multibillion-dollar treasury companies — which hold and trade digital assets — but also from the firm’s early push into covering now-booming sectors including rare-earth minerals, quantum computing, robotics and data centers.

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