HLI vs. MA: Houlihan Lokey vs. Mastercard Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA) 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

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but HLI is classified in Capital Markets while MA is classified in Financial Services.

Company profile comparison for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Profile Item	HLI	MA
Name	Houlihan Lokey, Inc.	Mastercard Inc. Class A Common Stock
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Financial Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Investment Banking & Brokerage	Transaction & Payment Processing Services
Market Capitalization	10.13 billion USD	568.62 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	August 13, 2015	May 25, 2006
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HLI

GSPC

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Mastercard (MA), 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 Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
Total Return (1Y)	-16.23%	20.00%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	15.13%	19.98%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	6.74%	14.49%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HLI

GSPC

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Mastercard (MA), 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 Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.00%	23.57%
Beta (5Y)	0.87	0.76
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-40.30%	-28.25%
Avg. Volume (3M)	816.85K	2.98M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

HLI and MA 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 Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.66	0.67
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.91	1.00

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 231.37% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 17.29%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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%

MA

Financial Services industry group

231.37%

MA: 231.37%
Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 46.73% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 15.80%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

MA

Financial Services industry group

46.73%

Max: 62.84%
MA: 46.73%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Mastercard (MA) at 60.53% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 24.42%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

MA

Financial Services industry group

60.53%

Max: 107.33%
MA: 60.53%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
ROE (TTM)	17.29%	231.37%
ROA (TTM)	10.38%	24.45%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.80%	46.73%
Operating Margin (TTM)	24.42%	60.53%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 9.55% and Mastercard (MA) at 16.42% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 6.87% and Mastercard (MA) at 18.93% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Mastercard (MA): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
Revenue Growth (YoY)	9.55%	16.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	13.10%	13.82%
EPS Growth (YoY)	6.87%	18.93%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	16.05%	17.36%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Houlihan Lokey (HLI) in Financial Services and Mastercard (MA) 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: Houlihan Lokey (HLI) in Financial Services and Mastercard (MA) 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 Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 1.77% and Mastercard (MA) at 0.53% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

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%

MA

Financial Services industry group

0.53%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
MA: 0.53%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 43.62% and Mastercard (MA) at 17.63% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

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%

MA

Financial Services industry group

17.63%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
MA: 17.63%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.77%	0.53%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	43.62%	17.63%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 24.47 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 34.15 sits in the richer quartile — MA needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

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

MA

Financial Services industry group

34.15

Max: 45.85
MA: 34.15
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) at 3.96 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Mastercard (MA) at 15.67 clears its benchmark range — MA looks notably rich on sales.

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

MA

Financial Services industry group

15.67

MA: 15.67
Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) vs. Mastercard (MA): 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 Mastercard (MA) at 84.30 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

MA

Financial Services industry group

84.30

MA: 84.30
Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Houlihan Lokey (HLI) and Mastercard (MA)
Metric	HLI	MA
P/E Ratio (TTM)	24.47	34.15
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.96	15.67
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.39	84.30
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--