JEF vs WCC Comparison

Jefferies is a full-service investment banking and capital markets firm that was founded in 1962. After nearly 30 years of focusing on institutional trading services, it entered the investment banking industry in the early 1990s, which ultimately grew into the core business. In 2013, Jefferies merged with Leucadia, a manufacturing-focused holding company. Since merging, Jefferies became the bedrock of the business as the bulk of the legacy portfolio was sold off and the parent company was renamed to match the subsidiary. Within the investment banking landscape, Jefferies predominately serves the North American middle market and has captured considerable market share over the past decade.

Wesco can be traced back to the late 1800s but was officially founded in 1922, acting as the distribution arm of Westinghouse Electric. Throughout the 1900s, Wesco entered and subsequently exited the consumer electronics, transit, bottling, and nuclear plant distribution markets. It was sold to a private equity firm in 1994 and then went public in 1999, and numerous acquisitions have since been made to fill the gaps in Wesco's geographical and product coverage. Today, the firm primarily distributes electrical, networking, security, and utility equipment used in the construction and repair of structures such as offices, data centers, power transmission lines, and manufacturing plants. Wesco has operations around the globe but generates the majority of its revenue in the United States.