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Houlihan Lokey, Inc.

HLI · Other · FY2026 filings · · not refreshed in 37 days · Narrow moat ·

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The five investor questions

56

2022–2026 (latest 5 aligned FYs; v3 window cap 5): revenue $2.3B to $2.6B, increasing; diluted EPS 6.41 to 6.22, decreasing.

46

Median gross margin 29.8% over 9y, stable.

100

Median ROIC 28.9%, above the 12% hurdle in 100% of years.

100

Net cash position — no leverage risk.

80

Owner earnings changed +17.0%/yr over up to the ten most recent annual observations, share count n/a.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today
No price data
$401M
Unavailable — insufficient owner-earnings data
Unavailable — insufficient growth-model data
$140.23
No price data

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. The recent FY revenue series does not trigger the three-consecutive-declines flag.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 239% above the zero-growth estimate across 48 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Jul 26, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, META, MEDP, IBEX, MSFT, GOOGL, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, VEEV, GRMN, SSD, MNST, DOCS, MCO, CPRT, NTAP, LRCX, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, RMD, ROL, PAYC, IRMD, INTU, DECK, MORN, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, CTAS, LOPE, MRK, CMG, FAST, BKNG, ORLY

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF, BKNG.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 4% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

14 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $872M (FY2017) to $2.6B (FY2026) — about 13.0% a year compounded over 9 years.

It earned 34.5% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2026. Across the full 13-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was 25.8%. Over the v3 recent window (10 measurable filed years), median ROIC was 28.9%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 100/100.

HLI's latest filed year, FY2026, doesn't disclose total debt in a form the methodology can use, so current leverage is treated as unmeasured — never assumed to be zero.

Put together: Returns on Capital is the strongest of the five filters (100/100) and Pricing Power the weakest (46/100), which is how HLI lands at 76/100 — a Narrow moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2013–FY2026 · 14 fiscal years, normalized from HLI’s SEC filings

Sales, as filed$2.6B FY2026
$0$1B$2B2013201820232026
Revenue kept after cost of goods32.3% FY2025
0%20%2013201820232026
Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICROIC 34.5% FY2026
0%50%2013201820232026
Cash an owner could take out$446M FY2026
$0$200M$400M2013201820232026

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in HLI’s filings for that year. The series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Flagship explainer

How Houlihan Lokey, Inc. makes its money

Houlihan Lokey, Inc.'s filing does not supply enough comparable lines for a truthful flow chart — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of revenueSource
$2.6B100%
$527M20%
Income before tax$562M21%
Income tax$138M5%
$426M16%
Source: · event Mar 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What Houlihan Lokey, Inc. owns — and owes

Houlihan Lokey, Inc.'s filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of assetsSource
Total assets$4.3B100%
Cash and equivalents$1.2B28%
Stockholders’ equity$2.3B54%
Source: · event Mar 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives Houlihan Lokey, Inc.’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont return on equity factor treeReturn on equity branches into tax burden, interest burden, operating margin, asset turnover, and the equity multiplier.Return on equity19%Tax burden76%net income ÷ pretax incomeInterest burden107%pretax ÷ operating incomeOperating margin20%operating income ÷ revenueAsset turnover0.64×revenue ÷ average assetsEquity multiplier1.80×average assets ÷ average equityAs of 2026-03-31 · 2 SEC filing sourcesBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com
DuPont source inputs
InputValueFiscal yearSource
$426MFY2026
Income before tax$562MFY2026
Operating income$527MFY2026
$2.6BFY2026
Ending assets$4.3BFY2026
Beginning assets$3.8BFY2025
$2.3BFY2026
$2.2BFY2025
Source:
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001302215-25-000024
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001302215-26-000053
· event Mar 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set
Embed this chart

Flagship explainer

Where Houlihan Lokey, Inc.'s cash went

Houlihan Lokey, Inc.’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of cash from operationsSource
Cash from operations$704M100%
Depreciation and amortization$42.6M6%
Source: · event Mar 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding Houlihan Lokey, Inc.

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q2—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

0 holding0 exited1 not holding1/19 resolved18 not retrieved

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
ManagerReported positionQuarter-over-quarterFiling accession
Markel / Markel-GaynerNo position reportedNo position reported
Abrams CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Akre CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Baupost GroupNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Berkshire HathawayNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Brave Warrior AdvisorsNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Dodge & CoxNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
First EagleNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
FundsmithNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gardner Russo & QuinnNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gates Foundation TrustNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Mairs & PowerNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Oakmark / Harris AssociatesNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Pershing SquareNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Polen CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Sequoia / Ruane CunniffNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Southeastern Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Tweedy, BrowneNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Yacktman Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source: · event Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026

Flagship explainer

What Houlihan Lokey, Inc. insiders reported

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Sep 1, 2026.

Partial coverage: the incomplete Form 4 walk cannot establish no activity, an activity date, or zero counts.

Moat Score history

16 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale76.4 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026Jul 26, 2026

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

Tier changesSame-methodology and same-normalizer crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

  1. Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)moat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
  2. Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0moat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
  3. Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0moat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record cannot be reconstructed retroactively, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

This machine-readable surface covers SEC ownership filings from 2003; it does not represent earlier paper-era records.

Records still being gathered — partial as of retrieval Sep 1, 2026.

Trailing-12-month totals and the 90-day cluster result are withheld because this issuer walk is incomplete.

InsiderShares owned afterDateFiling detail
ALLEY J LINDSEYChief Financial OfficerOpen-market or private purchase (P)Table I · Acquired · CLASS A COMMON STOCK4,020$124.52$500,5704,020Aug 3, 2026
1 filed lot
  • Table I · CLASS A COMMON STOCK: 4,020 shares at $124.52 · code P · owned after 4,020 ·

Source-event as of . Retrieved .

Track record

How Houlihan Lokey, Inc.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

Point-in-time scores 2015–2025, one methodology version · reconstructed from filings on file each Dec 31 — never with hindsight

Point-in-time Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored HLI on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatPoint-in-time Moat Score100200500Indexed price · log scale (2016 = 100)2015201720192021202320252026

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the 7 years HLI rated Wide-moat (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), the median forward total return that followed — measured only after each year’s filings were public — was:

  • 1 year 38% vs the S&P 500’s 20% (price basis) · median over 6 years
  • 3 years 90% vs the S&P 500’s 25% (price basis) · median over 4 years
  • 5 years 237% vs the S&P 500’s 83% (price basis) · median over 2 years

These are medians computed from the data, not a claim about any one year. The company figures are total returns (dividends reinvested); the S&P 500 is the price-only ^GSPC index, which excludes dividends and so understates the index — the gap flatters the company. A quality rating is not a return forecast, and past returns don’t predict future ones. Educational only, not investment advice.

Other context

#7 of 45 scored Other companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #5WT WisdomTree, Inc.81.2Wide moat
  2. #6SEIC SEI INVESTMENTS COMPANY78.8Narrow moat
  3. #8APAM Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc.75.4Narrow moat
  4. #9CME CME GROUP INC.74.6Narrow moat

Compare HLI with its nearest peers →All Other companies on the Index →

Common questions about HLI

Does Houlihan Lokey, Inc. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2026 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (HLI) 76.4 out of 100 — a Narrow moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 56, pricing power 46, returns on capital 100, balance-sheet safety 100, capital allocation 80.
How has HLI's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 16 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 76.4 out of 100 (narrow moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell HLI. See the disclaimer.