Houlihan Lokey Inc
HLIAbove valueHeld by 3 superinvestors.
SEC 10-K · fundamentals
Business quality
as of 2026-03-31Valuation basis: trailing twelve months to 2026-06-30 — latest 10-K plus unaudited 10-Q filings.
- Revenue growth
- +9.5%
- Net margin
- 16.3%
- ROE
- 18.2%
- FCF margin
- 26.0%
Valuation · value band
Above fair value
Zero-growth floor
$53
Central IV
$55
Optimistic top
$81
Houlihan Lokey Inc (HLI): Two methods value the business — a conservative owner-earnings DCF and a growth-credited Greenwald estimate, $53–$81 / sh. Today’s price sits above both (price $129 as of 2026-08-24).
The middle figure is the main read. The right end is the optimistic case under the same conservative caps — not an absolute ceiling.
- Recent earnings are below the multi-year average, so the band uses the lower run-rate.
Revenue growth 0% (history declining, capped at zero) · moat 10 yr · discount 10.6% · Zero-growth downside $53
Price as of 2026-08-24 · yahoo · DGS10 4.7% @ 2026-08-21.
Method & numbers
Buybacks over the years shown roughly only offset stock-based-compensation dilution — read them as maintaining the share count, not a net return of capital.
Model cautions
- The two methods’ midpoints differ materially — growth assumptions warrant review (over 20%).
A conservative intrinsic-value band (zero-growth floor to growth-capped DCF) plus a tangible asset floor — not investment advice, not a buy/sell signal, and not a price target.
Owner-earnings DCF $49.01 – $63.65 · Greenwald $81.27 – $81.27 (neutral $81.27) · zero-growth base $81.27 · reproduction $12.71
Moat Franchise (moat) · terminal value 36% of present value · owner-earnings yield 5% vs 10Y 4.7%.
Graham earnings-power value (normalized NOPAT)$68.49 – $81.27 / sh
Normalized NOPAT = average operating margin over the years shown × latest-year revenue × (1 − normalized tax); then + D&A − maintenance capex (write A). Unlevered (pre-interest, attributable to all capital). Capitalized at the 9–11% rate band (read as a WACC proxy). Enterprise → equity bridge applied: + cash − total debt.
Years: TTM 2026-06-30, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
v1 simplifications: Maintenance capex (degraded) deducted in full cash (write A): EPV = (NOPAT + D&A − maintenance capex) / WACC; no tax shield on the capex term. Maintenance-capex methods diverge by 189% (> 50%); estimate is degraded. Share-based compensation is left as a real expense (not added back). Operating margin is below its multi-year average (cyclical/declining): normalized margin capped at the latest year — no peak-margin capitalization (audit #2).
Buffett owner-earnings value$53.47 – $65.35 / sh
Owner earnings = average net income + average D&A − maintenance capex (zero-growth floor; no ΔNWC). Levered (starts from net income, already after interest — an equity-holder stream). Capitalized at the 9–11% rate band (read as a cost-of-equity proxy). No enterprise→equity bridge: the capitalized result is already equity value (subtracting debt would double-count interest).
Years: TTM 2026-06-30, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
v1 simplifications: Owner earnings = net income + D&A − maintenance capex (degraded); the working-capital change is excluded (maintenance ΔNWC ≈ 0; growth ΔNWC is carried in growth value, not double-counted). Maintenance-capex methods diverge by 189% (> 50%); estimate is degraded. One-time items are not separately normalized (multi-year averaging smooths them partially). Share-based compensation is left as a real expense (not added back); see the SBC/OE disclosure. Capitalized at the 9–11% band as a cost-of-equity proxy; no leverage premium applied (net cash or debt within the no-charge range).
Reproduction value = tangible net assets $859.00M = $12.71 / sh. Tangible net assets = shareholders' equity − goodwill − intangibles, ÷ diluted shares (no R&D history to capitalize).
Moat reading: Franchise test compares earnings power (EPV) against reproduction value on both AV_conservative (tangible + capitalized R&D) and AV_reproduction (conservative + acquired-reset proxy). Both must clear the franchise multiple for a moat signal; near it, a commodity; below it, value destruction. A directional reading, not a verdict.
Assumes a narrow moat · competitive-advantage period ≈ 10 years.
Growth value: if the moat holds for 10 yr at ROIIC ≈ -202%, $0.00–$0.00 / sh (neutral $0.00). Conservative, not a forecast.
Window TTM 2026-06-30, FY 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 · discount band 9%–11% · normalized tax 21% (Average effective tax rate over 5 year(s), capped at the statutory 21%.) · diluted shares.
Owner-earnings DCF: growth g₁ 0% (history declining → capped at 0) · OE FY TTM 2026-06-30, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 · Discount band: 9.24%–12.00% (DGS10 +4.5% to a 12% strict end, as of 2026-08-21). No enterprise→equity bridge: owner earnings already flow to shareholders (post-interest), so no net cash is added and no debt subtracted — matching the engine owner-earnings lamp. Two-method midpoint gap 38%.
Valuation basis: trailing twelve months to 2026-06-30 — latest 10-K plus unaudited 10-Q filings.
What the price is betting
Today's price pencils in about 16.3% a year in owner-earnings for the next few years. Revenue actually grew 8.7% a year.
The market wants it well ahead of its own track record.
Roughly, the price needs its historical revenue growth to run about 18 more years to hold up.
Even when the value band is low-confidence: use this to see what the price assumes — not as a cheapness confirmation.
SEC 13F · holders
Superinvestors Holding This Security
3 holders · $57.7M combined · this quarter +1 opened / -0 exited
- Value$32.8MWeight (prev→now)New · 0.3%
- Value$22.8MWeight (prev→now)0.1% → 0.1% ▲
- Value$2.1MWeight (prev→now)0.0% → 0.0% ▼
SEC 13F · notes
Written summary
Written summary
Houlihan Lokey Inc (HLI) is held by 3 of the superinvestors tracked on Compounder, with a combined $57.7M in reported 13F value. The largest position belongs to John Rogers, where it makes up 0.3% of the portfolio.
Other notable holders by value include Jeremy Grantham (0.1% of its book) and Ray Dalio (0.0% of its book).
Over the latest quarter, 1 of the tracked filers opened a new position in HLI, 1 added to existing ones, 1 trimmed, and 0 sold out entirely.
Holder counts and values reflect the most recent SEC Form 13F filings, through the quarter ended 2026-06-30. Source: SEC EDGAR. A 13F shows only long US-listed positions and can lag the real portfolio by up to 45 days, so this is disclosed long ownership, not a complete picture.
SEC 13F · co-ownership
Also held by these investors
Investors holding Houlihan Lokey Inc (HLI) also commonly hold →
- Johnson & JohnsonJNJ3 holders
- Jones Lang Lasalle IncJLL3 holders
- Middleby CorpMIDD3 holders
- Zebra Technologies Corp-Cl AZBRA3 holders
- Covista IncCVSA3 holders
- Mattel IncMAT3 holders
See which stocks look cheap against a conservative value band. Browse all valued stocks
Sources· SEC EDGAR 13F as of 2026-06-30 · filed 2026-08-14
Educational data only — not investment advice. 13F positions are self-reported and can lag up to 45 days.
Stay Updated
New-quarter 13F moves and valuation updates, to your inbox.