Houlihan Lokey Stock Earnings Reports

Houlihan Lokey reported a strong start to fiscal 2026 with Q1 revenues of $605 million (+18% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $2.14 (+75% YoY). All three business lines contributed to growth: Corporate Finance ($399M, +21%) with improving transaction size and fees, Financial Restructuring ($128M, +9%) remaining elevated due to higher rates and overleveraged companies, and Financial & Valuation Advisory ($79M, +16%) benefiting from noncyclical services and improving U.S. M&A conditions. The firm highlighted continued senior hiring (3 new MDs this quarter), a healthy acquisition pipeline, and the successful inaugural Houlihan Lokey ONE conference. Expense discipline remains a focus: the adjusted compensation expense ratio was 61.5% (company expects to maintain a 61.5% long-term target) and adjusted non-comp expense growth is expected to be high-single-digits for the year (Q1 non-comp was elevated partly due to the ONE conference). The adjusted effective tax rate outlook is ~25–26% for fiscal 2026 after a policy change. Balance sheet: ~$867M in unrestricted cash and investment securities; cash declined after paying a large portion of FY2025 bonuses and issuing ~1.1M shares while withholding ~800k shares for taxes. Outlook is cautiously optimistic—management sees quarter-to-quarter improvement and resilience across sectors and geographies, expects sponsor activity to pick up post-Labor Day, but remains measured given macro volatility and tariff/inflation risks.