Houlihan Lokey, Inc.
- Open
- 142.07
- Day high
- 144.48
- Day low
- 140.63
- Prev close
- 140.23
- Volume
- 326K
- Mkt cap
- $9.7B
- P/E (TTM)
- 21.9
- EPS (TTM)
- $6.43
- P/B
- 4.2
- P/S
- 3.7
- Yield
- 1.78%
- Per share
- $2.50
- ▼Insiders net selling -$941K over the last 3 months (0 open-market buys, 1 sale)
- 🏛Institutions mixed (13F)
Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (HLI) is a Financial Services company listed on NYSE. The stock is down 28% over the past year. Over the trailing 3 months, insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 1 sale (SEC Form 4). Drillr has 1 published research article covering HLI.
Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (HLI) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 3 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
HLI earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2026 | $1.79 | $1.63 | -8.9% | $636M | -6.4% |
| Jan 28, 2026 | $1.85 | $1.94 | +4.9% | $717M | -1.8% |
| Oct 30, 2025 | $1.68 | $1.84 | +9.5% | $659M | +1.2% |
| Jul 29, 2025 | $1.68 | $2.14 | +27.4% | $605M | +4.4% |
| Jan 28, 2025 | $1.50 | $1.64 | +9.3% | $634M | +1.4% |
| Jul 30, 2024 | $1.21 | $1.22 | +0.8% | $514M | +1.0% |
| Feb 1, 2024 | $1.14 | $1.22 | +7.0% | $511M | +3.7% |
| Oct 26, 2023 | $1.03 | $1.11 | +7.8% | $467M | +4.7% |
| Jul 27, 2023 | $1.01 | $0.89 | -11.9% | $416M | -4.1% |
| Jan 31, 2023 | $1.15 | $1.14 | -0.9% | $456M | -3.0% |
| Oct 27, 2022 | $1.04 | $1.19 | +14.4% | $490M | +12.6% |
| Jul 28, 2022 | $0.94 | $1.10 | +17.0% | $419M | +5.5% |
HLI insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2026 | SIEGERT PAUL ERICofficer: CO-CHAIRMAN | Grant | 19,815 | — |
| May 22, 2026 | ALLEY J LINDSEYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Grant | 3,322 | — |
| May 22, 2026 | Adelson Scott Josephdirector, officer: CEO | Grant | 3,322 | — |
| May 22, 2026 | ALLEY J LINDSEYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Grant | 3,778 | — |
| May 22, 2026 | CRAIN CHRISTOPHER Mofficer: GENERAL COUNSEL | Grant | 3,197 | — |
| May 22, 2026 | Adelson Scott Josephdirector, officer: CEO | Grant | 13,952 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | ZUBER PAUL ANDREWdirector | Grant | 797 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Bassey Ekpedeme Mdirector | Grant | 797 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | SCHRIESHEIM ROBERT Adirector | Grant | 1,129 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Zucker Gillian Bethdirector | Grant | 996 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Walker Cyrus D.director | Grant | 996 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Mund Ronald Scottdirector | Grant | 476 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | BEISER SCOTT Ldirector, 10 percent owner, officer: CO-CHAIRMAN | Sell | 6,265 | $150.26 |
| May 19, 2026 | ALLEY J LINDSEYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Tax | 2,983 | — |
| May 19, 2026 | Carter Todd Jdirector | Tax | 13,707 | — |
Source: HLI SEC Form 4 filings, latest May 22, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full HLI insider & 13F page →Houlihan Lokey, Inc. company profile
Overview
Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a global investment banking firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company went public in August 2015 and has grown to become one of the leading middle-market investment banks in the world. With offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific region, Houlihan Lokey provides specialized financial advisory services to corporations, institutions, and governments. The firm has built a reputation for its expertise in complex transactions and has maintained consistent growth through strategic acquisitions and talent recruitment.
Business
Houlihan Lokey operates as a middle-market investment bank providing specialized financial advisory services across three primary business segments. Investment banking differs from traditional commercial banking in that it focuses on helping companies and institutions raise capital, execute mergers and acquisitions, and navigate complex financial situations rather than taking deposits or making loans. The company's three main business segments are: 1. Corporate Finance (approximately 55-60% of revenues): This segment provides merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory services, helping companies buy or sell businesses, and capital markets services, which assist companies in raising money through debt or equity offerings. The team advises both buyers and sellers in transactions, provides fairness opinions on deal valuations, and helps structure complex financing arrangements. This includes working with private equity firms on leveraged buyouts and helping companies go public through initial public offerings (IPOs). 2. Financial Restructuring (approximately 25-30% of revenues): This segment specializes in helping financially distressed companies reorganize their operations and debt obligations. When companies face bankruptcy or severe financial difficulties, Houlihan Lokey advises debtors, creditors, and other stakeholders on how to restructure debt, negotiate with lenders, and develop viable business plans. This includes advising on Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, and debt refinancing transactions. 3. Financial and Valuation Advisory (approximately 15-20% of revenues): This segment provides independent valuations of companies, securities, and intellectual property for various purposes including financial reporting, tax compliance, litigation support, and transaction planning. The team also provides fairness opinions that help boards of directors determine whether proposed transactions are fair to shareholders, and dispute resolution services for complex financial litigation.
Revenue model
Houlihan Lokey generates revenue primarily through advisory fees charged for completed transactions and ongoing engagements. The firm operates on a success-based fee model where the majority of revenue comes from fees paid upon successful completion of transactions, though some revenue comes from retainer fees and ongoing advisory work. In Corporate Finance, the company earns fees as a percentage of transaction value for completed M&A deals, typically ranging from 0.5% to 2% depending on deal size and complexity. For capital markets transactions, fees are generally based on the amount of capital raised. The firm also earns fees for providing fairness opinions and other advisory services to boards of directors. The Financial Restructuring segment generates revenue through success fees for completed restructuring transactions, monthly retainer fees during lengthy restructuring processes, and fees for specific advisory services. These engagements can last months or years, providing more predictable revenue streams during the restructuring process. The Financial and Valuation Advisory segment operates on a more recurring revenue model, charging fees for individual valuation reports, ongoing portfolio valuation services, and hourly rates for dispute resolution and expert testimony services. Several factors influence the firm's profitability and margins. Market volatility and economic uncertainty can reduce M&A activity, impacting Corporate Finance revenues, but often increase demand for restructuring services. Interest rate environments significantly affect both deal activity and the number of companies requiring restructuring services - higher rates typically reduce M&A activity but increase restructuring opportunities. Regulatory changes can impact transaction volumes and create demand for specialized advisory services. The firm's compensation structure, which maintains approximately 61.5% of revenues as employee compensation, directly impacts margins, while the firm's ability to attract and retain senior talent affects both revenue generation and cost structure.
Competitive moat
Houlihan Lokey's competitive moat is moderately strong but faces ongoing challenges from larger competitors and market dynamics. The firm's primary competitive advantages stem from its specialized expertise in middle-market transactions and complex financial situations, particularly in restructuring where it has built a leading market position. The company's relationship-based business model creates switching costs, as clients typically work with the same advisory teams across multiple transactions over many years. The firm's track record and reputation in complex restructuring situations provides credibility that is difficult for new entrants to replicate quickly. Additionally, the specialized knowledge required for middle-market transactions and restructuring work creates barriers to entry for less experienced firms. However, the moat faces several vulnerabilities. Large investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase have significantly greater resources and can compete aggressively for larger transactions. The industry has low barriers to entry for experienced professionals who can start their own boutique firms, leading to frequent talent defection and new competition. The business is highly people-dependent, making it vulnerable to key personnel departures who can take client relationships with them. The firm's middle-market focus provides some protection from the largest competitors who often prioritize bigger deals, but this also limits growth potential. Technological disruption poses a long-term threat, as fintech companies and automated platforms could potentially commoditize certain advisory services, though complex restructuring and M&A work remains relationship and expertise-driven. Overall, while Houlihan Lokey has carved out a defensible niche, particularly in restructuring, the moat is not exceptionally wide and requires continuous investment in talent and client relationships to maintain competitive positioning.
Risks & safety
The company demonstrates a strong margin of safety with excellent liquidity and conservative capital structure, though valuation metrics suggest limited downside protection at current prices. • Liquidity and Solvency: Exceptional financial position with $971 million in cash and short-term investments, current ratio of 26.1, and minimal debt burden. The company generates strong free cash flow of $344 million annually, providing substantial cushion for economic downturns. • Debt Profile: Very conservative with debt-to-equity ratio of only 0.20, indicating low financial risk and flexibility to weather market volatility or invest in growth opportunities. • Valuation Metrics: Current P/E ratio of 21.9x and EV/EBITDA of 15.3x suggest the stock is trading at premium valuations, offering limited margin of safety for value-oriented investors. Price-to-book ratio of 4.9x indicates significant premium to tangible assets. • Business Model Resilience: Diversified revenue streams across three segments provide some stability, with restructuring business often counter-cyclical to M&A activity, though overall revenues remain sensitive to market conditions and economic cycles. • Return Metrics: Strong ROE of 18.4% demonstrates efficient capital allocation, though this reflects the asset-light nature of the advisory business rather than sustainable competitive advantages.
Recent development
Over the past few years, Houlihan Lokey has pursued an aggressive growth through acquisition strategy, completing several strategic acquisitions to expand its geographic reach, industry expertise, and service capabilities. The firm acquired Triago to enhance its private funds and capital markets capabilities, Prytania Solutions to add tech-enabled portfolio valuation services in the UK, and Waller Helms to strengthen its financial services industry coverage. The company has also focused heavily on talent acquisition and development, hiring 37 new Managing Directors in fiscal 2025 alone while promoting 16 colleagues to Managing Director internally. This dual approach of external hiring and internal promotion helps maintain culture while expanding capabilities. A significant strategic development was the rebranding of its Capital Markets division to Capital Solutions, reflecting an expanded focus on alternative capital sources including continuation funds, direct investments, and other non-traditional financing structures. This positions the firm to capitalize on evolving private capital markets. The firm has also undergone a leadership transition, with Scott Adelson becoming CEO as Scott Beiser stepped down, ensuring continuity in strategic direction. Throughout this period, the company has maintained its disciplined approach to compensation, keeping the compensation expense ratio steady at approximately 61.5% of revenues. Recent quarters have shown strong performance across all business segments, with Corporate Finance benefiting from improving M&A markets, Financial Restructuring maintaining elevated activity levels due to higher interest rates and corporate balance sheet challenges, and Financial and Valuation Advisory achieving record revenues through both organic growth and acquisitions.
HLI company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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