BAC
Bank of America Corporation
BAC has the edge over HLI overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
HLI
Houlihan Lokey, Inc.
HLI's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
BAC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
BAC's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like BAC.
HLI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
HLI's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like HLI.
BAC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.4x | $39.50 | -22% |
| Forward | 10x | $50.51 | — |
| Current | 12x | $50.51 | — |
| Fair | 13x | $53.81 | +6.5% |
| Expensive | 15x | $62.23 | +23% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BAC has the edge over HLI in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
HLI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 17x | $101 | -29% |
| Forward | 18x | $143 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $134 | -6.7% |
| Current | 24x | $143 | — |
| Expensive | 32x | $193 | +34% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HLI's PE is in its fair range at 24x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
BAC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BAC, with profitability improving.
HLI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for HLI, with profitability improving.
BAC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.92 | +17% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.19 | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.34 | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.02 | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.81 | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.66 | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.41 | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.35 | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.21 | +4.2% |
BAC's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $4.19 over the past year, up 14% from the year before, and higher year over year for eight quarters in a row.
HLI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.11 | +36% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.96 | -3.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.95 | +0.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.22 | +6.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.51 | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.20 | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.94 | +32% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.82 | +42% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.24 | +35% |
HLI earned $5.96 per share over the past year, down 3.9% from the year before.
BAC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $30B | +6.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.6B | +19% |
| Q1 2026 | $30.3B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $31.2B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $28.1B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.5B | +4.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.4B | +6% |
| Q4 2024 | $25.3B | +15% |
BAC's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $30B last quarter, up 6.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 30% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 37% | +7.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +4.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | +12 points |
| Q3 2025 | 34% | +4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 29% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 30% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 28% | +14 points |
BAC has the edge over HLI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
HLI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $692M | +4.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $511M | -16% |
| Q1 2026 | $635.6M | -4.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $717.1M | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $659.5M | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $605.3M | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $666.4M | +28% |
| Q4 2024 | $634.4M | +24% |
HLI's revenue fell from its 2021 peak and has held roughly level since: $692M last quarter, up 4.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 22% | -0.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 22% | +1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | +0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | -3.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 21% | +1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +2.6 points |
HLI's operating margin was 22% last quarter, down 0.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
BAC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$6.5B | -114% |
| Q2 2026 | $29B | +$38.2B |
| Q1 2026 | $41.8B | +$44B |
| Q4 2025 | -$22.9B | -189% |
| Q3 2025 | $46.9B | +$84.2B |
| Q2 2025 | -$9.1B | -150% |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.2B | +$13.4B |
| Q4 2024 | $25.9B | -21% |
BAC has the edge over HLI on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
HLI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $240M | -26% |
| Q2 2026 | -$342M | -$197.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $286.8M | -17% |
| Q4 2025 | $217M | -17% |
| Q3 2025 | $322.8M | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | -$144.8M | -$69.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $343.9M | +61% |
| Q3 2024 | $278.7M | +148% |
HLI's free cash flow was $402M over the past year, down 49% from the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like HLI.
BAC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -72M shares |
| 1 year | -5.3% | -405M shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -854M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -1.3B shares |
| Available history | -24% | -2.2B shares |
BAC has the edge over HLI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6B |
| Q2 2026 | $6B |
| Q1 2026 | $7.2B |
| Q4 2025 | $6.3B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $5.3B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q4 2024 | $3.5B |
BAC spent $25.6B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 37% from the year before.
HLI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -600K shares |
| 1 year | -2.3% | -1.6M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -867K shares |
| 5 years | -2.3% | -1.6M shares |
| Available history | +2.1% | +1.4M shares |
HLI has 67M diluted shares, down 2.3% from a year ago, with $238M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50M |
| Q2 2026 | $50M |
| Q1 2026 | $50M |
| Q4 2025 | $87.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $29.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $7.8M |
| Q1 2025 | $52.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $86,000 |
HLI spent $238M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 165% from the year before.
BAC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 6.7x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 7.1x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 7.7x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.3x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.8x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 9.0x | High |
BAC's net debt is about 6.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.3 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like BAC.
HLI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
HLI has the edge over BAC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BAC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 37.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 4.9 | Oversold |
BAC's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 5 (oversold).
HLI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 68.0 | Neutral |
HLI's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 68 (neutral).
BAC PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | BAC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 13x | 7.5% below |
| PE % | 40 | 63 | 23 pts below |
BAC has the edge over HLI on valuation relative to its sector.
HLI PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | HLI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 13x | 85% above |
| PE % | 57 | 63 | 6 pts below |
HLI is trading at 24x earnings, a 85% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
BAC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $52.1 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $57.8 | 13% below |
| 50 week MA | $54.7 | 7.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $50.5 | 0% below |
| 200 week MA | $42.5 | 19% above |
BAC has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 19% above its 200-week average.
HLI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $134.2 | 6.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $134.0 | 7.1% above |
| 50 week MA | $149.1 | 3.8% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.4 | 13% below |
| 200 week MA | $143.2 | 0.2% above |
HLI has the edge over BAC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BAC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $35.4 | $30.0 | -15% |
| 2021 | $30.0 | $44.4 | +48% |
| 2022 | $44.4 | $32.5 | -27% |
| 2023 | $32.5 | $33.7 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | $33.7 | $44.3 | +32% |
| 2025 | $44.3 | $56.2 | +27% |
| 2026 YTD | $56.2 | $50.5 | -10% |
BAC has the edge over HLI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
HLI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $48.9 | $67.2 | +37% |
| 2021 | $67.2 | $103.6 | +54% |
| 2022 | $103.6 | $89.2 | -14% |
| 2023 | $89.2 | $119.9 | +35% |
| 2024 | $119.9 | $174.3 | +45% |
| 2025 | $174.3 | $178.5 | +2.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $178.5 | $143.4 | -20% |
HLI has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 20% so far in 2026.