HLNE
Hamilton Lane Incorporated
HLNE has a slight edge over MS overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
HLNE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
HLNE's revenue and profitability are currently strong. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like HLNE.
MS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MS.
HLNE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 13x | $93.88 | — |
| Current | 14x | $93.88 | — |
| Cheap | 17x | $116 | +24% |
| Fair | 27x | $179 | +91% |
| Expensive | 37x | $249 | +165% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HLNE has the edge over MS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $134 | -29% |
| Fair | 14x | $178 | -5.7% |
| Forward | 14x | $189 | — |
| Current | 15x | $189 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $223 | +18% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MS's PE is in its fair range at 15x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
HLNE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for HLNE, with profitability improving.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
HLNE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $7.30 | +8.4% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.74 | +22% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.56 | +26% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.91 | +9.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.57 | +1.6% |
| Q4 2021 | $4.59 | +89% |
| Q3 2021 | $4.15 | +115% |
| Q2 2021 | $3.40 | +86% |
| Q1 2021 | $2.73 | +28% |
HLNE's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $6.74 over the past year, up 22% from the year before, and higher year over year every quarter since late 2020. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
MS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.39 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.60 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.37 | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.04 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.21 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.76 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.84 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.53 | +55% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.95 | +53% |
MS has the edge over HLNE on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
HLNE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $204.4M | +7.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $275.3M | +56% |
| Q1 2026 | $193.6M | -2.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $198.6M | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $190.9M | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $176M | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $198M | +18% |
| Q2 2024 | $196.7M | +57% |
HLNE's revenue is growing: $204M last quarter, up 7.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 87% | +46 points |
| Q2 2026 | 46% | +2.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 42% | 0 points |
| Q4 2025 | 43% | -1.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 42% | -3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 44% | -1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 42% | -2.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 45% | N/A |
HLNE has the edge over MS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.3B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.9B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.7B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | +26% |
MS has the edge over HLNE on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +5.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +14 points |
MS's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
HLNE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $22.8M | -81% |
| Q2 2026 | $98.9M | -22% |
| Q1 2026 | $101.2M | +182% |
| Q4 2025 | $72.4M | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $120.1M | +3.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $127.6M | +63% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.8M | +78% |
| Q2 2024 | $78.2M | 0% |
HLNE has the edge over MS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
MS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$46B | -$42.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.7B | -123% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.1B | +$16.9B |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.4B | -120% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.3B | +$14B |
| Q2 2025 | $11.8B | +368% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24B | -650% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.8B | +$29.6B |
MS's free cash flow was −$58.3B over the past year, against −$3.7B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
HLNE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +2.5% | +1.3M shares |
| 1 year | +2.3% | +1.3M shares |
| 3 years | +3.8% | +2M shares |
| 5 years | +60% | +21M shares |
| Available history | +88% | +26.1M shares |
HLNE has 56M diluted shares, up 2.3% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $50.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $23.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $595,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $835,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $7,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $252.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $72,000 |
| Q3 2024 | $391,000 |
MS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -77M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -246M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -74M shares |
MS has the edge over HLNE on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
HLNE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
HLNE has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9x | High |
MS's net debt is about 7.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.4 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
HLNE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 31.1 | Neutral |
HLNE's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 31 (neutral).
MS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.7 | Oversold |
MS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
HLNE PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | HLNE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 14x | 13x | 7% above |
| PE % | 4 | 63 | 59 pts below |
HLNE has the edge over MS on valuation relative to its sector.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS is trading at 15x earnings, a 15% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
HLNE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $86.3 | 8.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $90.6 | 3.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $101.7 | 7.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $123.8 | 24% below |
| 200 week MA | $117.2 | 20% below |
HLNE has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 20% below its 200-week average.
MS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $186.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $203.3 | 6.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.9 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $129.3 | 46% above |
MS has the edge over HLNE on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
HLNE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.2 | $78.7 | +29% |
| 2021 | $78.7 | $103.7 | +32% |
| 2022 | $103.7 | $65.5 | -37% |
| 2023 | $65.5 | $113.4 | +73% |
| 2024 | $113.4 | $151.6 | +34% |
| 2025 | $151.6 | $138.5 | -8.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $138.5 | $93.9 | -32% |
HLNE is down 32% so far in 2026, after finishing higher in four of the previous six years.
MS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $51.1 | $68.1 | +33% |
| 2021 | $68.1 | $99.3 | +46% |
| 2022 | $99.3 | $86.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $86.1 | $93.3 | +8.3% |
| 2024 | $93.3 | $126.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $126.8 | $181.9 | +43% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.9 | $189.2 | +4% |
MS has the edge over HLNE on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.