Jefferies’ Investment-Banking Windfall Eroded by Credit Woes

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. posted results that missed Wall Street estimates, dragged down by losses on wayward credit bets.

Even though the firm’s investment bankers posted their strongest first quarter on record, earnings of 70 cents a share missed the 87-cent average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. That included a $17 million loss related to the bank’s involvement with two recent credit blowups: Market Financial Solutions and First Brands Group.

“There’s some noise in our numbers, things that everyone is aware of, and we’re trying to draw people’s attention to what we think matters most, which is the ...