Firm news

A&O Shearman posts USD3.7bn revenue, marking strong first year

A&O Shearman posts USD3.7bn revenue, marking strong first year
Published Date
Aug 21 2025
A&O Shearman today announced client revenue of GBP2.9 billion (USD3.7bn) for the financial year ended April 30, 2025. The results – the first since the completion of the merger last year – reflect both the strength of the firm’s single, integrated global partnership and a year of investment in the newly combined firm.

FY25 headline figures  

  • Client revenue: GBP2.9bn; USD3.7bn; EUR3.4bn
  • Profit before tax: GBP1.1bn; USD1.4bn; EUR1.3bn
  • Profit per equity partner (PEP): GBP2.0 million; USD2.6m; EUR2.4m 

As this is the first year of reporting as a combined firm, legacy financials are not comparable (see notes to editors).

Delivering on the merger’s client-first vision

In its first year, A&O Shearman advanced its strategy to be the firm of choice for the world’s leading global businesses. The firm strengthened cross-border collaboration, enhanced its focus on high-growth industries, advanced innovation programs, and invested in talent, including 33 internal partner promotions and 16 strategic lateral hires.

Hervé Ekué, A&O Shearman’s global managing partner, said: “In our first year as a merged firm, we have delivered strong results while making important investments in our business, including reshaping the firm to ensure we are optimally positioned to meet client needs.”

“We have created a significantly enhanced proposition for our clients: when global businesses face their most pressing strategic needs, they need counsel that can deliver seamlessly across markets and industries. That’s exactly what we’ve built.”

Landmark client successes 

  •  Liberty Global on its USD3.2bn Sunrise Communications spin-off and dual listing
  • Prosus on its EUR4.1bn acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com
  • Exscientia on its combination with US-based biotech company Recursion
  • The lenders on the restructuring of over USD11.5bn in offshore debt for Shimao Group Holdings
  • The underwriters on TD Bank’s USD14.6bn exit from Charles Schwab
  • The underwriters and funders on the EUR5.8bn debt refinancing of XpFibre
  • Uber on a litigation victory in a Securities Exchange Act case against Uber and its officers
  • SAP on a litigation victory in connection with the USD12.5bn sale of Qualtrics to Silver Lake Capital 

Innovation leadership – pioneering AI and transforming legal delivery through technology 

The firm continues to advance the boundaries of technology for lawyers. A&O Shearman was the first firm globally to deploy generative AI enterprise-wide when it rolled out Harvey in 2022. ContractMatrix, the firm’s award-winning AI-based contract management platform, is built in collaboration with Harvey and Microsoft. 

In April 2025, the firm began rolling out a suite of agentic AI agents, built in partnership with Harvey, that tackle complex legal workflows. The initial agents focus on antitrust filing analysis, cybersecurity, fund formation, and loan review – high-value areas requiring deep legal expertise and multi-step reasoning. 

A&O Shearman brings this understanding of AI technologies (and the infrastructure used to build them) and real-world AI governance to deliver innovative and uniquely pragmatic advice to clients on managing AI legal risk. The firm has dedicated AI experts in every major jurisdiction across the full risk spectrum and every stage of the AI value chain. The firm counsels numerous tech and industry giants, some of the largest AI foundation model developers, three of the five biggest Western banks in the world, and a G20 country on its national AI strategy and AI regulation.

A&O Shearman has begun FY26 with landmark client wins, including advising Partners Group on its joint acquisition of Techem – the largest M&A transaction in Germany this year; Athora on its GBP5.7bn acquisition of Pension Insurance Corporation Group; Sanmina in its USD3bn acquisition of ZT Systems’ data center business; the lenders on EQT’s USD5.5bn acquisition of Fortnox AB; Froneri on its EUR4.25bn financing; and Sizewell C on its supply chain and contracting strategy for the GBP38bn nuclear project.

“We enter our second year as an established global firm, ready to tackle the most critical opportunities and risks facing business today, and we are excited about what lies ahead.”

“Our clients are seeing the benefits of this scale and integration, and that momentum is accelerating. Looking ahead, we remain committed to delivering even greater value and impact, continuing to innovate and to provide the decisive difference our clients expect from a firm built for the future,” added Ekué.

Social impact – commitment to community and inclusion 

In FY25, A&O Shearman delivered almost 120,000 hours of pro bono work – a 23% increase in average hours per lawyer – and contributed more than GBP2.1 million (USD2.7 million) in fundraising, pro bono and in-kind support through its global charity partnership with Women for Women International. The firm maintained its silver status in the Stonewall Global Workplace Equality Index and received an Innovation Award for its 2024 global Pride campaign.

Notes to editors

Reporting period: May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2025 

This is A&O Shearman’s first set of financial results as a combined firm following the merger completed in May 2024. 

Legacy financials are not comparable due to different financial years and accounting methods. In addition, Allen & Overy’s FY24 results benefited from the strategic partnership with Inflexion relating to aosphere. On a like-for-like basis, A&O Shearman's PEP for FY25 is higher than the prior year PEP of both legacy firms individually.