LPLA 10-K Analysis: Revenue Up 37%, Earnings Down 18% — The Acquisition Paradox
LPL Financial's FY 2025 10-K reveals a paradox: record $2.4 trillion in advisory assets and 37% revenue growth alongside an 18.5% decline in GAAP earnings, negative operating cash flow of -$411 million, and a leverage reality (4.74x) that management's preferred metrics (1.95x) obscure by 2.8 turns. We decompose the $740 million acquisition toll, expose a 30:1 asymmetric rate risk in the hidden profit engine, and identify the specific integration milestones that determine whether Commonwealth was worth $2.7 billion.