ARES vs. HLI: Ares Management vs. Houlihan Lokey Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though ARES is classified under Asset Management & Custody Banks while HLI falls under Investment Banking & Brokerage.

Company profile comparison for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Profile Item	ARES	HLI
Name	Ares Management Corp. Class A Common Stock	Houlihan Lokey, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Asset Management & Custody Banks	Investment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization	44.45 billion USD	10.13 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	May 2, 2014	August 13, 2015
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ARES

HLI

GSPC

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
Total Return (1Y)	-5.55%	-16.23%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	13.18%	15.13%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	13.38%	6.74%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ARES

HLI

GSPC

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	44.09%	31.00%
Beta (5Y)	1.45	0.87
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-49.97%	-40.30%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.20M	816.85K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ARES and HLI are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.22	-0.66
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.31	-0.91

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Houlihan Lokey (HLI) earns 17.29% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Ares Management (ARES) has no ROE this period.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%
ARES: --

HLI

Financial Services industry group

17.29%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
HLI: 17.29%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): ARES does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; HLI is benchmarked against the Financial Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Ares Management (ARES) at 8.69% and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 15.80% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

8.69%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
ARES: 8.69%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

HLI

Financial Services industry group

15.80%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
HLI: 15.80%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 24.42% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Ares Management (ARES) at 2.89% operates in the bottom quartile.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

2.89%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
ARES: 2.89%
Min: -44.34%

HLI

Financial Services industry group

24.42%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
HLI: 24.42%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
ROE (TTM)	--	17.29%
ROA (TTM)	--	10.38%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.69%	15.80%
Operating Margin (TTM)	2.89%	24.42%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Ares Management (ARES) at 44.19% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 9.55% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ARES.

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Ares Management (ARES) at -16.67% and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 6.87% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	44.19%	9.55%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	22.39%	13.10%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-16.67%	6.87%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	25.02%	16.05%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Ares Management (ARES) in Financial Services and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Ares Management (ARES) in Financial Services and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Ares Management (ARES) at 3.87% and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 1.77% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

3.87%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
ARES: 3.87%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HLI

Financial Services industry group

1.77%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
HLI: 1.77%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ares Management (ARES) reports payout ratio above 100% at 423.77%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Houlihan Lokey (HLI) reports 43.62%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

423.77%

ARES: 423.77%
Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HLI

Financial Services industry group

43.62%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
HLI: 43.62%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.87%	1.77%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	423.77%	43.62%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 24.47 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Ares Management (ARES) at 109.82 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for ARES’s trailing earnings.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

109.82

ARES: 109.82
Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

HLI

Financial Services industry group

24.47

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
HLI: 24.47
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 3.96 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Ares Management (ARES) at 8.92 sits in the pricier quartile — ARES costs more per dollar of sales.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

8.92

Max: 9.23
ARES: 8.92
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

HLI

Financial Services industry group

3.96

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
HLI: 3.96
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 4.39 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Ares Management (ARES) at 12.15 prices even higher, above its industry range.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

12.15

ARES: 12.15
Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

HLI

Financial Services industry group

4.39

Max: 7.79
HLI: 4.39
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Houlihan Lokey (HLI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Metric	ARES	HLI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	109.82	24.47
P/S Ratio (TTM)	8.92	3.96
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	12.15	4.39
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--