Markets · Earnings
The Wall Street back-office firm says a non-cash loss on digital assets cut its first-quarter profit, a year after a $46 million gain, while it held $185 million of Canton coins at Sept. 30.
Broadridge, the company that runs much of Wall Street's proxy voting and trade processing, reported a $40 million loss on its digital assets for its latest quarter on Tuesday, a swing from a $46 million gain a year earlier, as its net earnings fell 43%, by the release's figure [1].
The loss is non-cash, meaning no money left the company; it is an accounting change in what Broadridge's holdings are worth on paper. But it lands on a firm whose core business is plumbing for stocks, bonds and funds, and it shows how a crypto position can move the reported earnings of a company that is not a crypto company.
Broadridge reported results for its fiscal first quarter, the three months ended Sept. 30, in a press release and slide presentation furnished with an 8-K that the SEC accepted at 8:10 a.m. EST Tuesday [1][3].
The release says the company's Corporate and Other segment had a loss before income taxes of $93 million "due to non-cash Losses on Digital Assets of $40 million in the current year period compared to a gain of $46 million in the prior year period, and Restructuring and Other Related Costs of $15 million" [1].
The release defines the line item. "Gains or Losses on Digital Assets," it says, "represent the unrealized gains or losses, as applicable, related to the mark to market of the Company's digital asset holdings and the realized and unrealized gains or losses, as applicable, associated with the Canton Digital Asset Treasury transaction" [1]. Mark to market means valuing a holding at its current price each period, so the reported number rises and falls with the token even when nothing is sold.
The slides say what the holdings are. "As of September 30, 2026, Broadridge holds $185 million of Canton coins valued at $0.12 cents per coin and common stock and warrants in Canton Strategic Holdings, Inc. valued at $41 million," a footnote reads. "During Q1 FY'27, Broadridge recognized a $40 million loss related to the value of its Canton coin holdings, which was excluded from its calculation of Adjusted EPS" [2]. The filing gives no other terms for the Canton transaction.
| Measure | Q1 FY2027 | Q1 FY2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenues ($M) | 1,668.7 | 1,589.4 |
| Net earnings, GAAP ($M) | 94.8 | 165.4 |
| Gains or Losses on Digital Assets, adjustment ($M) | 40.2 | (45.8) |
| Diluted EPS, GAAP ($) | 0.83 | 1.40 |
| Adjusted EPS, non-GAAP ($) | 1.56 | 1.51 |
Source: Broadridge Ex. 99.1, Nov. 3, 2026 [1]. In the reconciliation, a positive adjustment adds back a loss and a negative one removes a gain.
| Holding | Value ($M) |
|---|---|
| Canton coins | 185 |
| Common stock and warrants in Canton Strategic Holdings, Inc. | 41 |
| Total shown on slide | 226 |
Source: Broadridge Ex. 99.2, slide footnote 3 and chart [2].
The release puts the swing in per-share terms. Its reconciliation adds back $0.35 a share for the digital-asset loss this quarter and removes $0.39 for last year's gain. Together that $0.74 swing, Le Coin's calculation, is larger than the $0.57 drop in GAAP diluted EPS, to $0.83 from $1.40, while adjusted EPS rose 3% to $1.56 [1]. Total revenues rose 5% to $1,669 million and recurring revenues 11% to $1,083 million [1].
The slides also show how large the line had been. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, the reconciliation lists a $227.0 million adjustment for gains on digital assets, against nothing in the four years before [2].
Broadridge's crypto exposure sits alongside a tokenization push. The slides list "Launched DLX, our multi-asset end-to-end tokenization platform, live supporting the DTCC Tokenization Service" among quarterly highlights [2]. Tokenization means recording a traditional security as a token on a blockchain-style ledger.
Canton Coin, the token of the Canton Network, traded at $0.0973 at 8:22 a.m. EST, up 3.08% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Its CoinGecko daily price for Sept. 30 was $0.1236, so it has moved about 21% lower since quarter-end, by Le Coin's calculation [4]. That is a price move only; Broadridge has not reported a value for its holdings after Sept. 30.
The obvious objection is that this is noise. The loss is non-cash, Broadridge strips it out of adjusted EPS, and the company reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 guidance for 8-12% adjusted EPS growth [1]. Its guidance "Excludes Gains and Losses on Digital Assets as they are not capable of being forecasted," the slides say [2]. On that reading, investors can look straight through it.
There is something to that. Revenue grew, closed sales rose 10% to $36 million, and the company bought back $200 million of stock in the quarter, by the release's account [1].
But GAAP earnings are what the company actually reports, and the size of the swing is no longer small. A $40 million loss after a $46 million gain a year ago, and $227 million of gains in the last fiscal year, means one token's price now accounts for a large share of the gap between Broadridge's reported and adjusted results. The filing also leaves a loose end: the release puts the loss at $40 million, while the cash-flow statement shows a $32.5 million "change in fair market value" of digital assets, and the filing does not reconcile the two [1].
In Le Coin's view, the tell is the next 10-Q. The slides give a single footnote on the Canton position; the quarterly report should say more about how the coins and the Canton Strategic Holdings stake are valued and what the Canton Digital Asset Treasury transaction involved. If that disclosure grows, Broadridge is treating the position as a lasting part of the business. If it stays a footnote, the company is betting investors keep reading the adjusted line.
Holding the Corner.
Not financial advice.