Houlihan Lokey, Inc.

Investment Advice

HLIStrained9 of 11 basics passed

$130.16

+3.69%

Market cap $9.10B

$130.16

+3.69%

Market cap $9.10B

Houlihan Lokey Inc is an investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring, valuation, and strategic consulting. The firm serves corporations, institutions, and governments world-wide with offices in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

It is a $9.10B financial services company. Revenue grew 1.7% over the last year, and it keeps 16¢ of every dollar of sales as profit. It trades at 22.4× earnings — in the cheapest third of its own history.

Website: hl.com
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Employees: 2 800
Sector: Financial Services
Founded: 1972

Share price · 3 years

$107.61 → $130.16+21.0%

price only — dividends excluded

Key facts · TTM

Revenue: total sales; $2.52B
Profit: keeps 16¢ of every $1 sold; $406M
Free cash flow: cash left after running the business; $485M
P/E: years of profit in the price; 22.4
EPS: earnings per share, TTM; $5.94
Dividend: pays out 45% of profit · 38% of FCF; 2.01%
Shares: up 8% since 2016 — dilution; 68.4M
Volatility: beta vs the market — under 1 swings less; 0.94

Revenue, last 8 years

52-week range

Low $123.39$130.16High $202.25

Today's price is 9% of the way from the year's low to its high.

P/E vs its history5y

22.4×median 26.6×

Higher than 30% of past days — in the cheapest third of its own history.

Valuation vs own history

P/E

22.4×

71%

P/S

3.6×

69%

EV/EBITDA

16.6×

47%

P/B

3.8×

91%

FCF yield

5.3%

43%

Share of the last ~5 years that was pricier than today (cheaper than usual). Based on the daily valuation record.

Insider activity · 90 days

+$360Knet buying

Purchases$501K

Sales$140K

Insiders trading, last 14d0 buy · 0 sell

Standing in Financial Services

Size$9.10Btop 93%
Revenue growth+13%top 31%
Net margin16%top 49%
Return on equity18%top 34%
P/E22.4×top 73%
Dividend yield2.01%top 52%

Ranked against 129 Financial Services companies with a full CV — for P/E, lower ranks higher.

Skills

Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.

Strong quality and moat; Growth and Health lag behind.

Valuation72

P/E vs own history30th pct · 20/25
FCF yield5.3% · 20/25
P/S3.6x · 20/25
EV/EBITDA15.2x · 12/25

Growth43

Revenue CAGR3.6% · 6/25
Net income CAGR-0.7% · 0/25
EPS CAGR ~5Y6.4% · 12/25
Fwd implied growth33.1% · 25/25

Profitability60

ROICn/a · 0/25
ROE17.8% · 20/25
Net margin16.1% · 20/25
Operating margin20.4% · 20/25

Health31

Altman Zn/a · 0/25
Current ratio0.98 · 6/25
Interest coverage1833.2x · 25/25
Net cash / debtn/a · 0/25

Quality90

Piotroski F6/9 · 15/25
Beneish M-7.05 · 25/25
FCF conversion119% · 25/25
Margin stabilityσ 3.7% · 25/25

Moat75

ROIC >12% years10/10 yrs · 25/25
Median gross marginn/a · 0/25
FCF-positive years11/11 yrs · 25/25
Worst-year net marginworst 14.0% · 25/25

How the scores work →

Experience

The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.

FY2022Financial
Best year on record
$438M net income
FY2019Financial
Revenue crossed $1B
$1.08B for the year
2017Acquisition
Houlihan Lokey acquired Black Stone IP, a leader in Tech+IP advisory work
FY2016Financial
Profitable every year on record
11 consecutive profitable years in our data
FY2016Financial
Positive free cash flow every year since
11-year streak
Aug 13, 2015IPO
Houlihan Lokey completed its initial public offering, beginning trading as HLI on the NYSE
2015Acquisition
Houlihan Lokey acquired management consulting firm Bridge Strategy Group, digital media and entertainment…
2014Acquisition
Houlihan Lokey acquired ArchPoint Partners
2013Acquisition
Houlihan Lokey expanded its Financial Institutions Group through the acquisition of Milestone Advisors
2010Acquisition
Houlihan Lokey bought a sizable minority stake in Avista Advisory Group, giving the firm offices in both…
2001Product
Houlihan Lokey launched its first non-U.S. office by expanding into London
1995Acquisition
To grow its information services division, Houlihan Lokey acquired Mergerstat, a publishing company with a…
1986Milestone
Kenneth Friedman founded and became President of Houlihan Lokey’s investment banking broker dealer to…
1972Founded
Houlihan Lokey was founded in 1972 and is headquartered at Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California

Achievements

Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.

$10 000 invested in 2021 would be worth ~$13 648 today — price return only

$2.6B revenue in FY2026

Profitable 11 years in a row

Positive free cash flow 11 years in a row

2 800 employees

Strengths & watch-outs

What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.

Strengths

Strong cash conversion — FCF is 19.2% of revenue
Interest covered 1833.2× by operating earnings

Watch-outs

Nothing stands out as a concern in the available data.

Qualifications

The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.

9 of 11 checks passed

Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+1.7% YoY
Profitable — makes more than it spends$406M TTM
Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year+18.3% YoY
Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$485M TTM
Debt under control — could handle its obligationscurrent ratio 0.98
Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$9.10B market cap
Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-0.3% shares over ~5y
Proven track record — years of profitability behind it11/11 profitable years
Financially stable — balance sheet not near distresshealth score 31/100
Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersyield 2.01%
Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 22.4

Peer comparisonHoulihan Lokey, Inc. vs 6 largest financial services peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾

Company	Market cap	P/E	Revenue growth	Net margin	Profile
HLI this company	$9.1B	22.4	+1.7%	16.1%	Strained
BRK.A Berkshire Hathaway Inc.	$1.1T	11.6	+3.9%	22.3%	Mixed
BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway	$1.1T	11.6	+0.0%	18.0%	Strong
JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$886.2B	13.6	+13.5%	32.6%	Strained
V VISA Inc.	$723.9B	31.9	+14.4%	50.8%	Solid
MA Mastercard Incorporated	$516.4B	31.7	+16.0%	46.3%	Mixed
BAC Bank of America Corporation	$380.4B	11.3	+15.9%	27.8%	Mixed

Head-to-head: HLI vs BRK.A · HLI vs BRK.B · HLI vs JPM

References

What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.

Strong buy 1Buy 6Hold 7

Appendix · Financial records

The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2026. For readers who want to check the numbers.

Profit & lossRevenue $2.52B · net income $406M (TTM)Open ▾

Profit & loss

Revenue and profit over the company's career — the income statement, visualised.

RevenueNet income

Revenue (TTM)

$2.52B

YoY 1.7%

Net income (TTM)

$406M

Margin 16.1%

Operating margin

20.4%

P/E ratio

22.4

Dividend yield

2.01%

Income statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions · EPS in USD

	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Revenue	1.5	2.3	1.8	1.9	2.4	2.6
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income (EBIT)	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.5
Net income	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.4
EPS (diluted)	4.55	6.41	3.76	4.11	5.82	6.22

Cash flowFree cash flow $485M · operating cash flow $500M (TTM)Open ▾

Cash flow statement

Cash generated by the business and what is left after investment — year by year.

Operating cash flowFree cash flow

Free cash flow (TTM)

$485M

Margin 19.2%

Operating cash flow (TTM)

$500M

FCF margin

19.2%

Cash flow statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Operating cash flow	0.6	0.7	0.1	0.3	0.8	0.7
Capital expenditure	-0.0	-0.0	-0.1	-0.1	-0.0	-0.0
Free cash flow	0.6	0.7	0.1	0.3	0.8	0.7
FCF margin	37.1%	32.1%	4.7%	13.7%	33.9%	26.0%

Balance sheetAssets — · debt n/a (FY2026)Open ▾

Balance sheet

How the balance sheet is built — what it owns versus how it is financed.

Debt repayment

0.0 yrs

Years of free cash flow to clear net debt

Interest coverage

1833.2x

EBIT ÷ interest expense

ROE

17.8%

Profit per $1 of equity

Balance sheet — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Cash & equivalents	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.0	—
Total assets	2.4	2.9	3.0	3.2	3.8	—
Total liabilities	1.0	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.6	—
Total debt	—	—	—	—	—	—
Equity	1.4	1.4	1.6	1.8	2.2	—
Net debt	—	—	—	—	—	—

Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?

Deeper analysis of HLI on PreMarketPrice

Figures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $130.16 · market cap $9.10B.