Houlihan Lokey Inc.
Established in 1972, Houlihan Lokey, Inc. is a leading global independent investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions ( M&A ), capital markets, financial restructurings and liability management, and financial and valuation advisory. Through our offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East, we serve a diverse set of clients worldwide, including corporation…
$133.65
+$5.26 (+4.10%)
EOD Oct 22, 2026
20.13% operating margin is above average. ROIC at 14.28%.
Revenue grew 9.5%, steady but not accelerating. Free cash flow declined 16% despite revenue growth, conversion is weakening.
Free cash flow declined 16% versus the prior year, cash generation momentum has weakened.
22.5x earnings, 18.6x FCF. Valuation is in a reasonable range. The main question is whether the business can re-accelerate or if current trajectory is already priced in.
Price History
Valuation & Multiples
Based on TTM earnings · Diluted shares
Profitability & Returns
Revenue (TTM)
$2.52B
▲ +9.5% YoY
Net Income (TTM)
$406M
▲ +6.5% YoY
Op. Margin
20.41%
▼ -0.9pp YoY
ROIC
13.35%
▼ -1.0pp YoY
Cash Flow & Balance Sheet
FCF (TTM)
$485M
▼ -15.7% YoY
Op. Cash Flow (TTM)
$500M
▼ -17.0% YoY
Net Debt
-$252M
Net Cash Position
Cash & Equiv.
$745M
5Y CAGR: +11.4%
5Y CAGR: +3.8%
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SourceComputed from the 10-Q filed 31 Jul 2026, covering the period ending 30 Jun 2026, as reported to the SEC. Data last refreshed 12 Oct 2026. How this is calculated.
Price from market data, last close as of 22 Oct 2026. Fiscal year ends Mar. Sector medians are approximate S&P 500 benchmarks and update periodically.
Is Houlihan Lokey (HLI) overvalued?
At a P/E of 22.5 and a price-to-free-cash-flow of 18.6, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) trades above a two-stage DCF intrinsic value of about $128.01 per share, so at $133.65 the stock looks overvalued (4.2% above estimated intrinsic value). A high multiple is not the same as overvalued: fast-growing, high-quality businesses can deserve a premium. See the general approach in how to tell if a stock is overvalued.
On quality, Houlihan Lokey scores 83/100 on Intrinsiqq's quality scorecard (a high-quality business on these measures), weighing growth, margins, returns on capital, share count, and balance-sheet strength. It currently yields about 2.0%; see dividend safety for coverage and history. All figures are computed from SEC filings; read the full methodology, or see how the market compares in our US profitability statistics. This is analysis, not investment advice.
Frequently asked
What is Houlihan Lokey's fair value?+
Intrinsiqq's two-stage DCF estimates an intrinsic value of about $128.01 per share for HLI, projecting its recent free cash flow forward with a growth rate that fades toward a long-run rate and discounting it back to today. Applying a 25% margin of safety gives a more conservative fair-value entry around $96.01. At today's $133.65, that puts the stock about 4.2% above estimated intrinsic value. The result is sensitive to the growth and discount-rate inputs, so it is best to run conservative, base and optimistic cases. You can adjust all of them yourself with the sliders on the DCF tab.
Is Houlihan Lokey a high-quality business?+
Houlihan Lokey scores 83 out of 100 on Intrinsiqq's quality score, a weighted blend of 8 metrics each scored 0 to 100, which makes it a high-quality business on these measures. Recent fundamentals include a 20.4% operating margin and a 13.4% return on invested capital. The score weighs revenue and free-cash-flow growth, operating margins, return on invested capital, share-count change, and balance-sheet strength, all computed from SEC filings, not opinion. Because valuation only means something relative to quality, the full metric-by-metric breakdown is on the quality scorecard.
Does Houlihan Lokey (HLI) pay a dividend, and how much?+
Yes, Houlihan Lokey pays a regular dividend of about $2.69 per share per year (typically in quarterly installments), a yield of roughly 2.0% at the current price. That is a payout ratio of about 44.9% of earnings, so the dividend is well covered. Houlihan Lokey has grown the dividend at roughly 11.0% a year over the past few years. A low headline yield is not the same as a weak dividend: what matters is how well earnings and free cash flow cover the payout and whether it is growing, not the percentage alone. For HLI's full payout history, growth streak and dividend-safety score, see the dividends tab.
Is Houlihan Lokey a good stock to buy right now?+
That depends on valuation and quality together, not either alone. HLI currently trades above its estimated intrinsic value and scores 83/100 on quality (high-quality). It also yields about 2.0%. A cheap price is only a bargain if the business is durable, and a premium can be justified by genuine quality, so the two questions, "is it cheap?" and "is it good?", only make sense side by side. Read the valuation against the quality scorecard, run the DCF on your own assumptions, and decide for yourself. This is analysis from SEC filings, not investment advice.
Related stocks: Investment Advice
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings and third-party price providers. Scores, valuations, and metrics are algorithmic estimates. This is not investment advice. See our Terms and Methodology.
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