Operator

Good morning, and welcome to Lazard's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. This call is being recorded. [Operator Instructions]

At this time, I will turn the call over to Alexandra Deignan, Lazard's Head of Investor Relations and Treasury. Please go ahead.

Alexandra Deignan
Head of Treasury & IR

Thank you, Chelsea. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Lazard's earnings call for the first quarter of 2026. I'm Alexandra Deignan, Head of Investor Relations and Treasury. In addition to today's audio comments, we've posted our earnings release on our website. A replay of this call will also be available on our website later today.

Before we begin, let me remind you that we may make forward-looking statements about our business and performance. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance, achievements, or other events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, those factors discussed in the company's SEC filings, which you can access on our website. Lazard assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of these forward-looking statements and assumes no duty to update them.

Please also