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Earnings documents stored for MC.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-12Moelis (MC) Stock Looks Reasonable On Fair Value Yet Rich On Earnings
Simply Wall St.
Moelis (MC) Stock Looks Reasonable On Fair Value Yet Rich On Earnings
Get insights on thousands of stocks from the global community of over 7 million individual investors at Simply Wall St. Moelis stock sits at an interesting valuation crossroads right now. The Excess Returns intrinsic value estimate points to meaningful upside from the current US$66.60 share price, while the earnings multiple screen suggests the stock trades at a richer level, and the broader checks sit in the middle. Moelis has returned 64.3% over the past 3 years, which puts recent short term weakness into a longer track record of gains. Future advisory fee growth and deal activity can support the intrinsic value case, while any pressure on transaction volumes or pricing remains a key risk for how much of that value is realised. The valuation checks are mixed, with Moelis screening as attractive on 3 of 6 measures, which points to neither a clear bargain nor a clearly expensive stock overall according to the value score. The issue now is whether Moelis' current price better reflects the richer earnings multiple signal or the Excess Returns estimate that suggests the stock still trades below intrinsic value. Find out why Moelis' -5.8% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers. The Excess Returns model looks at how much profit Moelis generates on its equity base after covering the cost of that equity. For Moelis, the inputs indicate a company earning well above that hurdle, with an average return on equity of 54.05% on a book value of $6.83 per share and a calculated excess return of $3.67 per share. The model uses a stable EPS figure of $4.29 per share, based on weighted future Return on Equity estimates from 4 analysts, and a stable book value of $7.94 per share from 3 analyst estimates. After accounting for a cost of equity of $0.63 per share, this stream of excess returns is capitalised into an intrinsic value estimate of $95.82 per share, compared with the current Moelis share price around $66.60. On this basis, the stock screens as roughly 30.5% undervalued. On the Excess Returns view, Moelis stock appears undervalued relative to the earnings power implied by its equity base. Our Excess Returns analysis suggests Moelis is undervalued by 30.5%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 49 more high quality undervalued stocks. Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value…Read full documentShow less
Get insights on thousands of stocks from the global community of over 7 million individual investors at Simply Wall St. Moelis stock sits at an interesting valuation crossroads right now. The Excess Returns intrinsic value estimate points to meaningful upside from the current US$66.60 share price, while the earnings multiple screen suggests the stock trades at a richer level, and the broader checks sit in the middle. Moelis has returned 64.3% over the past 3 years, which puts recent short term weakness into a longer track record of gains. Future advisory fee growth and deal activity can support the intrinsic value case, while any pressure on transaction volumes or pricing remains a key risk for how much of that value is realised. The valuation checks are mixed, with Moelis screening as attractive on 3 of 6 measures, which points to neither a clear bargain nor a clearly expensive stock overall according to the value score. The issue now is whether Moelis' current price better reflects the richer earnings multiple signal or the Excess Returns estimate that suggests the stock still trades below intrinsic value. Find out why Moelis' -5.8% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers. The Excess Returns model looks at how much profit Moelis generates on its equity base after covering the cost of that equity. For Moelis, the inputs indicate a company earning well above that hurdle, with an average return on equity of 54.05% on a book value of $6.83 per share and a calculated excess return of $3.67 per share. The model uses a stable EPS figure of $4.29 per share, based on weighted future Return on Equity estimates from 4 analysts, and a stable book value of $7.94 per share from 3 analyst estimates. After accounting for a cost of equity of $0.63 per share, this stream of excess returns is capitalised into an intrinsic value estimate of $95.82 per share, compared with the current Moelis share price around $66.60. On this basis, the stock screens as roughly 30.5% undervalued. On the Excess Returns view, Moelis stock appears undervalued relative to the earnings power implied by its equity base. Our Excess Returns analysis suggests Moelis is undervalued by 30.5%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 49 more high quality undervalued stocks. Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for Moelis. The P/E ratio is a useful metric for Moelis because earnings are a primary factor in how investors value advisory-focused capital markets companies. At the current US$66.60 share price, Moelis trades on a P/E of about 21.6x. That sits below the wider Capital Markets industry average of 37.4x, yet above the peer group average of 19.5x. The tailored fair P/E for Moelis, which considers its size, margins, sector and risk profile, is 15.6x. That is meaningfully below the current 21.6x multiple. On this framework, the stock trades at a premium to what the model suggests would be in line with its fundamentals, even if it does not appear stretched against the broader industry. On the P/E lens, Moelis stock appears overvalued relative to the fair multiple implied by its fundamentals and peer group. See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. Simply Wall St Narratives for Moelis pick up where this valuation puzzle leaves off. They spell out which assumptions on Moelis' future growth, margins and earnings would need to hold for the stock to be worth materially more or less than today's price, and sit on the company’s Community page. Rather than relying on a single multiple or model, each Narrative sets out its own assumptions so you can compare them with the actual results as they come through. The community is split on Moelis, with one camp focused on expansion upside and another worried about fee pressure and business model risk. Bull case: 6% undervalued Read the full Bull Case to see why Moelis could be undervalued Bear case: 11% overvalued Read the full Bear Case to see why Moelis could be overvalued Do you think there's more to the story for Moelis? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying! For Moelis, the Excess Returns intrinsic value estimate points to meaningful upside, while the P/E view signals that the stock already trades on a richer multiple than its tailored fair ratio. That split reflects different drivers. The intrinsic value view leans on how efficiently Moelis uses its equity base, while the multiple view hinges on what investors are currently willing to pay for that earnings profile versus peers. The key question from here is whether advisory fee growth and deal activity are strong and durable enough to justify the current premium multiple, or whether the market instead prices in fee pressure and thinner economics. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include MC. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-30Moelis & Company Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
MarketBeat
Moelis & Company Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
Interested in Moelis & Company? Here are five stocks we like better. Moelis reported record results: Second-quarter revenue rose 12% year over year to $409 million, while first-half revenue increased 9% to $729 million. Management said the firm entered the second half with a record pipeline, including an announced pipeline more than 80% above the prior-year level. M&A and growth businesses strengthened: Improving financing conditions and demand for scale supported larger transactions, while capital markets and private capital advisory revenue helped offset weaker capital structure advisory results. Moelis also expects additional IPO activity and continued expansion in private-market advisory. Profitability and shareholder returns improved: The adjusted pretax margin increased to 18.6% in the second quarter, and the company returned approximately $246 million to shareholders in the first half through dividends and share repurchases. Moelis ended the quarter with $481 million in cash and no debt. Burger King’s Turnaround Is Putting Restaurant Brands Back in Focus Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) reported record second-quarter and first-half revenue for 2026, citing higher average fees per completed transaction and growing contributions from its capital markets and private capital advisory businesses. Second-quarter revenue totaled $409 million, up 12% from a year earlier, while first-half revenue reached $729 million, an increase of 9%. Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Navid Mahmoodzadegan said the firm entered the second half with a record total pipeline, including an announced pipeline that was more than 80% higher than at the same point a year earlier. → Refiner Stocks Are Near Record Highs—Can Iran-Driven Margins Keep Them There? Cheap Thrills: Why These 3 Entertainment Stocks Are Soaring “Client engagement and transaction activity has remained strong,” Mahmoodzadegan said, despite market volatility related to the Middle East war, concerns around private-credit redemptions, and the evolving effects of artificial intelligence. Mahmoodzadegan said improving financing availability, strong equity-market performance, demand for greater scale, and what he described as a more constructive regulatory environment have supported M&A activity. The firm has seen increased opportunities involving larger-capitalization clients and higher average fee opportunities. → Why…Read full documentShow less
Interested in Moelis & Company? Here are five stocks we like better. Moelis reported record results: Second-quarter revenue rose 12% year over year to $409 million, while first-half revenue increased 9% to $729 million. Management said the firm entered the second half with a record pipeline, including an announced pipeline more than 80% above the prior-year level. M&A and growth businesses strengthened: Improving financing conditions and demand for scale supported larger transactions, while capital markets and private capital advisory revenue helped offset weaker capital structure advisory results. Moelis also expects additional IPO activity and continued expansion in private-market advisory. Profitability and shareholder returns improved: The adjusted pretax margin increased to 18.6% in the second quarter, and the company returned approximately $246 million to shareholders in the first half through dividends and share repurchases. Moelis ended the quarter with $481 million in cash and no debt. Burger King’s Turnaround Is Putting Restaurant Brands Back in Focus Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) reported record second-quarter and first-half revenue for 2026, citing higher average fees per completed transaction and growing contributions from its capital markets and private capital advisory businesses. Second-quarter revenue totaled $409 million, up 12% from a year earlier, while first-half revenue reached $729 million, an increase of 9%. Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Navid Mahmoodzadegan said the firm entered the second half with a record total pipeline, including an announced pipeline that was more than 80% higher than at the same point a year earlier. → Refiner Stocks Are Near Record Highs—Can Iran-Driven Margins Keep Them There? Cheap Thrills: Why These 3 Entertainment Stocks Are Soaring “Client engagement and transaction activity has remained strong,” Mahmoodzadegan said, despite market volatility related to the Middle East war, concerns around private-credit redemptions, and the evolving effects of artificial intelligence. Mahmoodzadegan said improving financing availability, strong equity-market performance, demand for greater scale, and what he described as a more constructive regulatory environment have supported M&A activity. The firm has seen increased opportunities involving larger-capitalization clients and higher average fee opportunities. → Why SK hynix Could Be the Best AI Chip Stock to Buy Now Gen Z Trends Make These 3 Stocks Worth Watching He said industry activity has been concentrated in transactions valued above $5 billion, though Moelis observed an increase during the second quarter in deals valued between $1 billion and $5 billion. Mahmoodzadegan said that trend could signal a broader expansion of the M&A market into the middle market. Among transactions cited during the quarter, Moelis advised on: Taylor Morrison’s $8.5 billion sale to Berkshire Hathaway; Magnolia Oil & Gas’ $4.1 billion acquisition of WildFire Energy; AtaiBeckley’s $3.8 billion sale to Eli Lilly; and Bridgepoint’s acquisition of Kayne Anderson Real Estate. → AMD’s AI Bubble Could Burst Into Explosive Upside The firm also advised Office Properties Income Trust on its $2.4 billion restructuring, Carlyle on a continuation vehicle for Content Partners, and served as active bookrunner and lead placement agent for Doncasters’ $1.1 billion initial public offering and concurrent private placement. Mahmoodzadegan characterized the current point in the M&A cycle as “early innings,” pointing to technology disruption, companies’ need for scale, sponsor portfolio assets awaiting exits, and the regulatory backdrop as factors that could support activity over time. He cautioned that transaction volumes could still experience periodic fluctuations. Capital markets and private capital advisory were the primary sources of growth during the first half, partially offsetting declines in capital structure advisory revenue. For the first half, Moelis’ revenue mix was approximately two-thirds M&A and one-third non-M&A. The capital markets business generated record second-quarter and first-half revenue, supported by demand for late-stage growth and pre-IPO financings, IPO activity, and demand for hybrid and structured financing solutions. The firm expects additional IPO activity later in the year. Moelis has added senior talent to broaden the platform, including a managing director with debt capital markets and private-credit expertise and another who will help establish securitization capabilities. Mahmoodzadegan said the securitization effort will expand the firm’s structured-products offering and asset-backed financing capabilities. Private capital advisory was also a meaningful contributor to first-half growth. Moelis has expanded its GP-led secondaries team to seven dedicated managing directors, including one expected to join shortly. The firm also hired managing directors to launch LP-led secondaries and promoted co-investment capabilities. Mahmoodzadegan said GP-led continuation vehicles have ramped relatively quickly because of the firm’s sponsor relationships and collaboration between sector bankers and private capital advisory teams. He said the firm expects the business to achieve revenue per managing director generally in line with the broader firm over time, although some areas, such as primary fundraising, may take longer to develop. Chief Financial Officer Chris Callesano said Moelis’ adjusted compensation ratio was 65.8% in both the second quarter and first half, compared with 69% in the comparable 2025 periods. The company expects to continue improving the compensation ratio during 2026, with the pace dependent on revenue, senior hiring and the market for talent. Adjusted non-compensation expenses were $66.5 million during the second quarter, equal to 16.2% of revenue. First-half adjusted non-compensation expenses were $134 million, or 18.3% of revenue. The expense increase reflected higher transaction-related travel and entertainment, client conference costs, underwriting syndication costs tied to expanding public equity capital markets activity, technology and data investments including AI, and higher occupancy costs. Callesano said quarterly non-compensation expenses are expected to run in the mid- to high-$60 million range for the remainder of the year. He added that, excluding distinct transaction-related underwriting syndication costs, non-compensation expense growth would have tracked the company’s original forecast. Adjusted pre-tax margin improved to 18.6% in the second quarter from 17.6% a year earlier, and to 17% in the first half from 16%. The company’s second-quarter effective tax rate was 29.1%. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, unchanged from the prior quarter. Moelis repurchased approximately 337,000 shares in the second quarter at an average price of $64.43 per share. During the first half, it repurchased about 2.3 million shares through open-market repurchases and net share settlements at a total cost of about $141 million. Including the declared dividend, the company said it returned approximately $246 million of capital to shareholders in the first half. It ended the quarter with $481 million in cash and no debt. Moelis hired four managing directors since its prior earnings call, bringing year-to-date lateral managing director hires to 12. The company also promoted 13 managing directors internally at the beginning of the year. The recent hires included bankers focused on private capital advisory, capital structure advisory, and European infrastructure. Mahmoodzadegan said competition for senior bankers remains intense, but the firm is focused on recruiting and retaining talent that fits its collaborative culture. Of the 12 lateral managing director hires this year, he said about five were sector bankers and seven were product bankers spanning M&A, private capital advisory and capital markets. On AI, management said the company is testing and deploying tools across its workflows, with the goal of improving productivity and client service. Callesano said many of the firm’s AI tools are currently under fixed contracts without variable costs for higher usage through part of next year. Mahmoodzadegan said Moelis is also focused on safeguarding client information and proprietary data as AI adoption expands. While he expects some AI tools to become broadly available across the industry, he said the firm believes effective adoption can help bankers generate ideas, improve advice and operate more efficiently. Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Moelis & Company Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for July 2026.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-30Moelis & Co (MC) (Q2 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenue and Surging Pipeline ...
GuruFocus.com
Moelis & Co (MC) (Q2 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenue and Surging Pipeline ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Revenue: $409 million in Q2 2026, up 12% year-over-year; $729 million in the first half of 2026, up 9% year-over-year. Both represent record revenues for the quarter and first half. Business Mix: For the first half of 2026, approximately two-thirds M&A and one-third non-M&A. Adjusted Compensation Ratio: 65.8% for both Q2 and the first half of 2026, compared to 69% in the prior-year periods. Adjusted Non-Compensation Expenses: $66.5 million in Q2 2026, with a 16.2% ratio; $134 million in the first half of 2026, with an 18.3% ratio. Adjusted Pre-Tax Margin: 18.6% for Q2 2026 and 17% for the first half of 2026, compared to 17.6% and 16% in the prior-year periods. Effective Tax Rate: 29.1% for Q2 2026, roughly in line with Q2 2025. Dividend: Regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share declared. Share Repurchases: Approximately 337,000 shares repurchased in Q2 2026 at an average price of $64.43 per share; approximately 2.3 million shares repurchased in the first half of 2026 for a total cost of approximately $141 million. Capital Returned to Shareholders: Approximately $246 million returned in the first half of 2026, including the declared dividend. Cash Position: $481 million in cash and no debt at the end of Q2 2026. Pipeline: Announced pipeline increased over 80% versus the prior-year period at the end of Q2 2026; record total pipeline entering the second half of the year. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with MC. Is MC fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 29, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Record revenues for both Q2 and first half of 2026, driven by higher average fees per completed transaction and strong contributions from non-M&A businesses. Announced pipeline increased over 80% year-over-year, with a record total pipeline entering the second half, supporting a strong outlook. Capital Markets business achieved record revenues, driven by constructive market conditions and strong demand for late-stage growth and IPO activity. Private Capital (Trades, Portfolio) Advisory (PCA) franchise is a meaningful contributor to revenue growth, with significant momentum in deal completions and new-client mandates. Continued investment in talent with 12 lateral Managing Director hires year-to-date,…Read full documentShow less
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Revenue: $409 million in Q2 2026, up 12% year-over-year; $729 million in the first half of 2026, up 9% year-over-year. Both represent record revenues for the quarter and first half. Business Mix: For the first half of 2026, approximately two-thirds M&A and one-third non-M&A. Adjusted Compensation Ratio: 65.8% for both Q2 and the first half of 2026, compared to 69% in the prior-year periods. Adjusted Non-Compensation Expenses: $66.5 million in Q2 2026, with a 16.2% ratio; $134 million in the first half of 2026, with an 18.3% ratio. Adjusted Pre-Tax Margin: 18.6% for Q2 2026 and 17% for the first half of 2026, compared to 17.6% and 16% in the prior-year periods. Effective Tax Rate: 29.1% for Q2 2026, roughly in line with Q2 2025. Dividend: Regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share declared. Share Repurchases: Approximately 337,000 shares repurchased in Q2 2026 at an average price of $64.43 per share; approximately 2.3 million shares repurchased in the first half of 2026 for a total cost of approximately $141 million. Capital Returned to Shareholders: Approximately $246 million returned in the first half of 2026, including the declared dividend. Cash Position: $481 million in cash and no debt at the end of Q2 2026. Pipeline: Announced pipeline increased over 80% versus the prior-year period at the end of Q2 2026; record total pipeline entering the second half of the year. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with MC. Is MC fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 29, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Record revenues for both Q2 and first half of 2026, driven by higher average fees per completed transaction and strong contributions from non-M&A businesses. Announced pipeline increased over 80% year-over-year, with a record total pipeline entering the second half, supporting a strong outlook. Capital Markets business achieved record revenues, driven by constructive market conditions and strong demand for late-stage growth and IPO activity. Private Capital (Trades, Portfolio) Advisory (PCA) franchise is a meaningful contributor to revenue growth, with significant momentum in deal completions and new-client mandates. Continued investment in talent with 12 lateral Managing Director hires year-to-date, enhancing capabilities across sectors and products. Market volatility persists due to geopolitical tensions, private-credit redemption concerns, and the evolving impact of AI. Capital Structure Advisory (CSA) revenues declined, as liability management dominates deal activity amid lender selectivity. Sponsor M&A activity remains modest industry-wide, with challenges in exiting portfolio companies at desired valuations due to higher rate environments and technology disruption. Non-compensation expenses increased due to higher deal-related costs, underwriting syndication costs, and investments in technology and AI. Competitive market for senior talent continues to pressure compensation costs, requiring careful balance between investment and margin improvement. Q: Can you talk about the key drivers of Moelis' progress in winning roles on larger strategic transactions and where you are focusing efforts to sustain that?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: The M&A market has been geared towards larger transactions, particularly the $5 billion-plus range, though we are also seeing an upswing in the $1 billion to $5 billion tier. Our increased activity on larger deals is due to a combination of market conditions, the maturation of talent we've assembled through lateral hires and internal development, and a better organizational focus on marshaling resources around bigger-cap opportunities. Q: How is the increasingly competitive environment for senior talent affecting your hiring plans and returns, and what industries, geographies, or products are you targeting?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: The market for hiring and retaining world-class bankers is very competitive. We focus on best-in-class talent that fits our collaborative culture. Of the 12 MDs hired laterally this year, about five are in sectors like energy, industrials, and healthcare, while seven are product bankers in M&A, PCA, and Capital Markets. We balance this with internal promotions, having promoted 13 MDs this year, and aim to keep both engines humming. Q: With a record backlog, can the typical seasonal second-half revenue pick-up play out this year similar to prior years?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: I won't make specific predictions, but our overall pipeline is at a record level. More importantly, the announced pipeline is up 80% versus a year ago, giving us strong visibility. Combined with new business activity and feedback from our bankers, we feel really good about the overall level of activity and are encouraged about the second half. Q: What are your observations on how AI is impacting the software space, and how are sponsors approaching the uncertainty?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: We see a clear differentiation playing out. Some software companies are net beneficiaries of AI, adopting and thriving, which is leading to M&A and capital raising. Others are being materially disrupted, creating opportunities for liability management and balance sheet work, which our tech and CSA teams are pursuing. In the middle, it's too early to tell, and those companies may explore capital markets trades or continuation vehicles. Our collaborative model allows sector and product teams to work together to bring solutions to sponsor clients. Q: How would you characterize where we are in the M&A cycle and how long can it continue to grow?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: I still think we are in the early innings of the M&A cycle. Factors promoting M&Asuch as the need for scale, technology disruption, the large number of sponsor portfolio companies needing exits, and a more relaxed regulatory environmentare likely to be around for a while. There will be ups and downs, but the underlying forces are strong. Q: Can you help us think about your structural margin profile over time, weighing a higher comp ratio against a lower non-comp ratio?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: We've done a good job bringing our comp ratio back in line with historical levels while investing in talent. We are committed to bringing the comp ratio down further over time as revenues grow, which will also give us more leverage over our non-MD cost base and non-comp expenses. Chris Callesano, CFO, added that pre-tax margins have improved sequentially and year-over-year, and we target leverage over time. Q: Sponsor engagement is important for your franchise. Why hasn't it improved more broadly, and what are you watching for?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: Engagement with sponsors is very high. The issue is not engagement but the difficulty in exiting portfolio companies bought in a different rate and growth environment, where values don't yet correspond to expected returns. It will take time for those companies to grow into valuations or for sponsors to decide to move assets. We are seeing some improvement in the $1 billion to $5 billion range. Meanwhile, our Capital Markets and CV businesses provide creative solutions for partial liquidity. Q: Regarding the growing PCA business, what is the expected revenue per MD versus the rest of the firm, and how long will it take to get there?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: The business should generally be in line with the rest of the firm on revenue per MD. Some parts, like GP-led continuation vehicles, have a quick ramp due to our collaborative model and deep sponsor relationships. Other areas, like primary fundraising, will take longer. We are well on our way to building a sizable PCA business across most of its components over the next few years. Q: Can you provide more color on the record Capital Markets performance and the outlook for the rest of the year?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: The Capital Markets team is doing an exceptional job, spanning debt and equity, public and private, and soon securitization. The business is growing and dynamic, partially dependent on market strength, but we see a significant long-term opportunity to expand capabilities due to client demand for objective advice in navigating capital markets and private credit. Q: How do you think about the risks of AI, such as the idea that efficiency gains get competed away and margins don't improve?A: Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder: We spend a lot of time protecting our data and information, which is our competitive moat. While some AI tools will be commoditized, how we adopt and incorporate them into workflows will improve our performance. Like past innovations (spreadsheets, mobile), AI can make bankers better, more efficient, and able to do more transactions, even if everyone has access to the same tools. The number of transactions per senior banker has increased over time. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-30Moelis & Company Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher Revenues
Zacks
Moelis & Company Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher Revenues
Moelis & Company’s MC second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The bottom line increased 18.9% from the prior-year quarter.Results benefited from a rise in revenues. These were partially offset by an increase in expenses and lower other income. Also, the company had a solid liquidity position in the quarter.Net income (GAAP basis) was $55.1 million compared with $46.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for the metric was $40.4 million. Total revenues (GAAP basis) in the quarter grew 12% year over year to $409.4 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $391.6 million. The increase was attributable to higher average fees earned per completed transaction.Total quarterly operating expenses (GAAP basis) were $336.6 million, up 10.4% year over year. The rise was due to an increase in compensation and benefits and non-compensation expenses. Our estimate for total operating expenses was $323.8 million.Other income (GAAP basis) was $2.5 million, down 30.1% from the prior-year quarter. We projected the metric to be $6.7 million.As of June 30, 2026, the company had cash and liquid investments of $481.1 million, with no funded debt. In the reported quarter, the company repurchased 0.3 million shares on the open market at an average price of $64.43 per share. MC’s continued expansion of its advisory capabilities, strong client engagement and momentum in transaction activity bode well. The company also continues to execute its growth strategy. However, lower other income and rising expenses remain concerns. Moelis & Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Moelis & Company Quote Currently, Moelis & Company has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Jefferies Financial Group’s JEF second-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended May 31) adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.03 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09. However, the bottom line increased significantly from the prior-year quarter.Results were primarily aided by record investment banking advisory and underwriting net revenues, as well as record equities net revenues. However, a rise in expenses hurt Jefferies’ results to an extent.Lazard Inc.’s LAZ second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents missed the Zacks Conse…Read full documentShow less
Moelis & Company’s MC second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The bottom line increased 18.9% from the prior-year quarter.Results benefited from a rise in revenues. These were partially offset by an increase in expenses and lower other income. Also, the company had a solid liquidity position in the quarter.Net income (GAAP basis) was $55.1 million compared with $46.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for the metric was $40.4 million. Total revenues (GAAP basis) in the quarter grew 12% year over year to $409.4 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $391.6 million. The increase was attributable to higher average fees earned per completed transaction.Total quarterly operating expenses (GAAP basis) were $336.6 million, up 10.4% year over year. The rise was due to an increase in compensation and benefits and non-compensation expenses. Our estimate for total operating expenses was $323.8 million.Other income (GAAP basis) was $2.5 million, down 30.1% from the prior-year quarter. We projected the metric to be $6.7 million.As of June 30, 2026, the company had cash and liquid investments of $481.1 million, with no funded debt. In the reported quarter, the company repurchased 0.3 million shares on the open market at an average price of $64.43 per share. MC’s continued expansion of its advisory capabilities, strong client engagement and momentum in transaction activity bode well. The company also continues to execute its growth strategy. However, lower other income and rising expenses remain concerns. Moelis & Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Moelis & Company Quote Currently, Moelis & Company has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Jefferies Financial Group’s JEF second-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended May 31) adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.03 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09. However, the bottom line increased significantly from the prior-year quarter.Results were primarily aided by record investment banking advisory and underwriting net revenues, as well as record equities net revenues. However, a rise in expenses hurt Jefferies’ results to an extent.Lazard Inc.’s LAZ second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents. This compared unfavorably with earnings of 52 cents in the year-ago quarter.Lazard’s results were affected by lower revenues in the Financial Advisory segment and an increase in operating expenses. However, growth in the Asset Management segment and higher assets under management offered some support. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Moelis & Company (MC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lazard, Inc. (LAZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29Moelis & Co Q2 Adjusted Earnings, Revenue Rise; Declares Dividend
MT Newswires
Moelis & Co Q2 Adjusted Earnings, Revenue Rise; Declares Dividend
Moelis & Co (MC) reported late Wednesday Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.63 per diluted share, down from
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29Moelis (MC) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
Zacks
Moelis (MC) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
Moelis (MC) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.62 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.53 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +1.61%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this investment bank would post earnings of $0.59 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.5, delivering a surprise of -15.25%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Moelis, which belongs to the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry, posted revenues of $409.39 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.56%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $365.38 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Moelis shares have lost about 0.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.5%. While Moelis has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Moelis was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.…Read full documentShow less
Moelis (MC) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.62 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.53 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +1.61%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this investment bank would post earnings of $0.59 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.5, delivering a surprise of -15.25%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Moelis, which belongs to the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry, posted revenues of $409.39 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.56%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $365.38 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Moelis shares have lost about 0.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.5%. While Moelis has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Moelis was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.76 on $418.58 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $3.17 on $1.69 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Financial - Investment Bank is currently in the top 9% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. MarketAxess (MKTX), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 7. This operator of bond trading platforms is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.88 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -6%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.3% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. MarketAxess' revenues are expected to be $217.34 million, down 1% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Moelis & Company (MC) : Free Stock Analysis Report MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29Moelis: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
Associated Press
Moelis: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Moelis & Co. (MC) on Wednesday reported second-quarter earnings of $48.6 million. The New York-based company said it had earnings of 62 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 63 cents per share. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 62 cents per share. The investment bank posted revenue of $409.4 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $409.4 million, also surpassing Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $391.5 million. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MC
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-29Moelis & Company Reports Second Quarter and First Half 2026 Financial Results; Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 Per Share
Business Wire
Moelis & Company Reports Second Quarter and First Half 2026 Financial Results; Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 Per Share
Record second quarter revenues of $409.4 million, up 12% from the prior year period Record first half revenues of $729.2 million, up 9% from the prior year period GAAP net income of $0.62 per share (diluted) and $1.10 per share (diluted) for the second quarter and first half of 2026, respectively; Adjusted net income of $0.63 per share (diluted) and $1.13 per share (diluted) for the second quarter and first half of 2026, respectively Second quarter 2026 Adjusted pre-tax margin of 18.6% versus 17.6% in the prior year period; first half 2026 Adjusted pre-tax margin of 17.0% versus 16.0% in the prior year period Continued to execute on our growth strategy: Strong balance sheet with cash and short-term investments of $481.1 million and no debt or goodwill NEW YORK, July 29, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. The Firm's second quarter revenues of $409.4 million increased 12% from the prior year period. The Firm reported second quarter GAAP net income of $55.1 million, or $0.62 per share (diluted). On an Adjusted basis, the Firm reported net income of $54.1 million, or $0.63 per share (diluted) for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with net income of $45.5 million, or $0.53 per share (diluted), in the prior year period. The Firm's first half revenues of $729.2 million increased 9% from the prior year period. The Firm reported GAAP net income of $97.4 million, or $1.10 per share (diluted) for the first half of 2026. On an Adjusted basis, the Firm reported net income of $97.2 million, or $1.13 per share (diluted) in the first half of 2026, as compared with net income of $99.9 million, or $1.17 per share (diluted), in the prior year period. GAAP and Adjusted net income in the first half of 2026 include net tax benefits of approximately $0.11 per share (diluted) related to the settlement of share-based awards, as compared with net tax benefits of approximately $0.28 per share (diluted) in the prior year periods. "Our record second-quarter and first-half revenues reflect the depth of our client franchise and the continued expansion of our advisory capabilities. We are seeing strong client engagement and momentum in transaction activity, and we are well positioned to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients while creating long-term value for our shareholders," said Navi…Read full documentShow less
Record second quarter revenues of $409.4 million, up 12% from the prior year period Record first half revenues of $729.2 million, up 9% from the prior year period GAAP net income of $0.62 per share (diluted) and $1.10 per share (diluted) for the second quarter and first half of 2026, respectively; Adjusted net income of $0.63 per share (diluted) and $1.13 per share (diluted) for the second quarter and first half of 2026, respectively Second quarter 2026 Adjusted pre-tax margin of 18.6% versus 17.6% in the prior year period; first half 2026 Adjusted pre-tax margin of 17.0% versus 16.0% in the prior year period Continued to execute on our growth strategy: Strong balance sheet with cash and short-term investments of $481.1 million and no debt or goodwill NEW YORK, July 29, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. The Firm's second quarter revenues of $409.4 million increased 12% from the prior year period. The Firm reported second quarter GAAP net income of $55.1 million, or $0.62 per share (diluted). On an Adjusted basis, the Firm reported net income of $54.1 million, or $0.63 per share (diluted) for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with net income of $45.5 million, or $0.53 per share (diluted), in the prior year period. The Firm's first half revenues of $729.2 million increased 9% from the prior year period. The Firm reported GAAP net income of $97.4 million, or $1.10 per share (diluted) for the first half of 2026. On an Adjusted basis, the Firm reported net income of $97.2 million, or $1.13 per share (diluted) in the first half of 2026, as compared with net income of $99.9 million, or $1.17 per share (diluted), in the prior year period. GAAP and Adjusted net income in the first half of 2026 include net tax benefits of approximately $0.11 per share (diluted) related to the settlement of share-based awards, as compared with net tax benefits of approximately $0.28 per share (diluted) in the prior year periods. "Our record second-quarter and first-half revenues reflect the depth of our client franchise and the continued expansion of our advisory capabilities. We are seeing strong client engagement and momentum in transaction activity, and we are well positioned to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients while creating long-term value for our shareholders," said Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder. The Firm’s revenues and net income can fluctuate materially depending on the number, size and timing of completed transactions as well as other factors. Accordingly, financial results in any particular quarter may not be representative of future results over a longer period of time. Currently 91% of the operating partnership (Moelis & Company Group LP) is owned by the corporate partner (Moelis & Company) and is subject to corporate U.S. federal and state income tax. The remaining 9% is owned by other partners of Moelis & Company Group LP and is primarily subject to U.S. federal tax at the partner level (certain state, local and foreign income taxes are incurred at the company level). The Adjusted results included herein apply certain adjustments from our GAAP results, including the assumption that 100% of the Firm’s operating result was taxed at our corporate effective tax rate. We believe the Adjusted results, when presented together with comparable GAAP results, are useful to investors to compare our performance across periods and to better understand our operating results. A reconciliation between our GAAP results and our Adjusted results is presented in the Appendix to this press release. GAAP and Adjusted (non-GAAP) Selected Financial Data (Unaudited) Revenues We earned revenues of $409.4 million in the second quarter of 2026, as compared with $365.4 million in the prior year period, representing an increase of 12%. For the first half of 2026, we earned revenues of $729.2 million, as compared with $672.0 million in the prior year period, representing an increase of 9%. The increase in revenues during both current year periods is attributable to an increase in average fees earned per completed transaction. We continue to execute on our growth strategy. Year-to-date, we have hired 12 Managing Directors, six of whom have joined the Firm across Private Credit Secondaries, Securitization, Debt Capital Markets and Private Credit, Energy, Chemicals, and Healthcare IT. The remaining six are expected to join later this year, including three in Private Capital Advisory, two in Europe focused on Sponsors and Infrastructure, and one in Capital Structure Advisory. Expenses The following tables set forth information relating to the Firm’s operating expenses. Total operating expenses on a GAAP basis were $336.6 million for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with $304.7 million in the prior year period. On an Adjusted basis, operating expenses were $335.8 million for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with $304.7 million in the prior year period. For the first half of 2026, total operating expenses on a GAAP basis were $615.8 million, as compared with $574.4 million in the prior year period. On an Adjusted basis, operating expenses were $613.4 million for the first half of 2026, as compared with $574.4 million in the prior year period. The increase in operating expenses in both current year periods is attributable to increased compensation and benefits and non-compensation expenses, as compared with the prior year periods. Compensation and benefits expenses on a GAAP and Adjusted basis were $269.4 million for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with GAAP and Adjusted compensation and benefits expenses of $252.1 million in the prior year period. For the first half of 2026, compensation and benefits expenses on a GAAP and Adjusted basis were $479.8 million, as compared with GAAP and Adjusted compensation and benefits expenses of $463.7 million in the prior year period. The increase in compensation and benefits expenses during both current year periods is primarily attributable to increased headcount, as compared with the prior year period. Non-compensation expenses on a GAAP basis were $67.2 million for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with $52.6 million in the prior year period. On an Adjusted basis, non-compensation expenses were $66.5 million for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with $52.6 million in the prior year period. For the first half of 2026, non-compensation expenses on a GAAP basis were $136.0 million, as compared with $110.8 million in the prior year period. On an Adjusted basis, non-compensation expenses for the first half of 2026 were $133.6 million, as compared with $110.8 million in the prior year period. The increase in non-compensation expenses during the second quarter and first half of 2026 are primarily attributable to increased deal-related travel and entertainment and client conferences, occupancy and depreciation expenses related to new office space, professional fees associated with our public equity capital markets business, communication and technology expenses driven by AI investment, and other expenses driven by increased business administration costs. Other Income (Expenses) Other income (expenses) on a GAAP basis was income of $2.5 million for the second quarter of 2026, as compared with $3.5 million in the prior year period. On an Adjusted basis, other income for the second quarter of 2026 was $2.7 million, as compared with $3.8 million in the prior year period. For the first half of 2026, other income (expenses) on a GAAP basis was $8.1 million, as compared with $9.7 million in the prior year period. On an Adjusted basis, other income for the first half of 2026 was $8.5 million, as compared with $9.9 million in the prior year period. Provision for Income Taxes The corporate partner (Moelis & Company) currently owns 91% of the operating partnership (Moelis & Company Group LP) and is subject to corporate U.S. federal and state income tax on its allocable share of earnings. The remaining 9% of activity is subject to certain state, local and foreign income taxes (including New York City Unincorporated Business Tax), which is accounted for at the partner level through the noncontrolling interests. For Adjusted purposes, we have assumed that 100% of the Firm’s second quarter 2026 operating results were taxed at our corporate effective tax rate of 29.1% resulting in a tax expense of approximately $22.2 million. Capital Management and Balance Sheet Moelis & Company continues to maintain a strong financial position, and as of June 30, 2026, we held cash and liquid investments of $481.1 million and had no funded debt on our balance sheet. The Board of Directors of Moelis & Company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share. The $0.65 per share will be paid on September 17, 2026, to common stockholders of record on August 10, 2026. During the second quarter of 2026, we repurchased 0.3 million shares on the open market at an average price of $64.43 per share. During the first half of 2026, we repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares through open market repurchases and net share settlements for a total cost of $140.8 million. Including the dividend declared today, we will have returned $246.4 million to shareholders with respect to the first half of 2026. Earnings Call We will host a conference call beginning at 5:00pm ET on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, accessible via telephone and the internet. Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, and Chris Callesano, Chief Financial Officer, will review our second quarter 2026 financial results. Following the review, there will be a question and answer session. Investors and analysts may participate in the live conference call by dialing +1 (833) 461 5787 and using meeting ID 263 383 779. Please dial in 15 minutes before the conference call begins. The conference call will also be accessible as a listen-only audio webcast through the Investor Relations section of the Moelis & Company website at www.moelis.com. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after the live call ends. The replay can be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the Moelis & Company website at www.moelis.com. About Moelis & Company Moelis & Company ("Moelis") is a leading global independent investment bank that provides innovative strategic advice and solutions to a diverse client base, including corporations, governments, and financial sponsors. The Firm assists its clients in achieving their strategic goals by offering comprehensive integrated financial advisory services across all major industry sectors. Moelis’s experienced professionals advise clients on their most critical decisions, including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, secondary transactions and primary fundraising, and other corporate finance matters. The Firm serves its clients from locations across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. For further information, please visit: www.moelis.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Firm’s current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "target," "approximately," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and estimates and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe these factors include, but are not limited to, those described under "Risk Factors" discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, subsequent reports filed on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the SEC. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release. In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. The Firm undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company prepares its consolidated financial statements using accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). From time to time, the Company may disclose certain "non-GAAP financial measures" in the course of its earnings releases, earnings conference calls, financial presentations and otherwise. The Securities and Exchange Commission defines a "non-GAAP financial measure" as a numerical measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position, or cash flows that is subject to adjustments that effectively exclude, or include amounts from the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by the Company are provided as additional information to analysts, investors and other stakeholders in order to provide them with greater transparency about, or an alternative method for assessing our financial condition, operating results, or capital adequacy. Adjusted results are a non-GAAP financial measure which provide additional information on management’s view of operating results. These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for GAAP, and may be different from or inconsistent with non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Whenever we refer to a non-GAAP financial measure, we will also generally define it or present the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, along with a reconciliation of the differences between the non-GAAP financial measure we reference and such comparable GAAP financial measure. The Company’s Adjusted revenues may include amounts reflected within other income (expenses) which are considered the equivalent of revenues for compensation. Such adjustments may include gains on founder investments where our employees and the Moelis advisory platform contributed meaningfully to the value creation; or the mark-to-market impact of equity instruments held by the Company that were originally received as payment for our banking services and included in revenues. We believe these adjustments are useful to allow comparability of period-to-period operating performance and compensation levels. The Company’s Adjusted compensation and benefits expenses may include adjustments reflected within other income (expenses) associated with compensation awards forfeited or returned to the Company by former employees. Management views the credits associated with such forfeitures as an offset to compensation and benefits expenses since the Firm will utilize the forfeited economics to recruit and or retain talent. We believe the netted presentation of forfeiture credits and compensation expenses is useful to allow comparability of period-to-period operating performance. The Company’s Adjusted non-compensation expenses and other income (expenses) may exclude certain one-time items that reduce the comparability of our operating performance as well as the amounts related to revenues and compensation and benefits expenses discussed above and adjustments to our provision for income taxes discussed below. Such adjustments increase the comparability of our financial performance across reporting periods and versus our peers. The Company’s Adjusted provision (benefit) for income taxes is adjusted to illustrate the result as if 100% of the Firm’s income is being taxed at our corporate effective tax rates for the periods presented. Adjusted provision (benefit) for income taxes periodically includes the tax impact related to the settlement of share-based awards, the reclassification of TRA liability adjustments, or adjustments to our deferred tax assets and liabilities that occur in connection with new tax legislation. Such adjustments increase the comparability of our financial performance across reporting periods and versus our peers. The Company’s Adjusted basic and diluted shares of Class A common stock outstanding is presented for each period as if all outstanding Class A partnership units have been exchanged into Class A common stock. The Adjusted presentation helps analysts, investors, and other stakeholders understand the effect of the Firm’s ownership structure on its results, including the impact of all the Firm’s income becoming subject to corporate-level tax. Appendix GAAP Consolidated Statement of Operations (Unaudited) Reconciliation of GAAP to Adjusted (non-GAAP) Financial Information (Unaudited) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260729967572/en/ Contacts Investor Contact: Matt TsukroffMoelis & Companyt: +1 212 883 3800m: +1 917 526 [email protected] Media Contact: Melissa ChilesMoelis & Companyt: +1 212 883 [email protected]
TranscriptFY2026 Q22026-07-29FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 70 paragraphs
FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript
Good afternoon, and welcome to the Moelis & Company Earnings Conference Call for the Q2 of 2026. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. To begin, I turn the call over to Mr. Matt Tsukroff. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us for Moelis & Company's Q2 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. On the phone today are Navid Mahmoodzadegan, CEO and Co-Founder, and Chris Callesano, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to note that the remarks made on this call may contain certain forward-looking statements, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those identified from time to time in the risk factor section of Moelis & Company's filings with the SEC. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated. The firm undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Our comments today include references to certain adjusted financial measures. We believe these measures, when presented together with comparable GAAP measures, are useful to investors to compare our results across several periods and to better understand our operating results.
The reconciliation of these adjusted financial measures with the relevant GAAP financial information and other information required by Regulation G is provided in the firm's earnings release, which can be found on our investorrelations.moelis.com. I'll now turn the call over to Navid.
Thank you, Matt, and good afternoon, everyone. Appreciate your being with us today. The Q2 was another strong period for our firm. We reported revenues of $409 million, up 12% year-over-year. For the H1 of 2026, revenues were $729 million, an increase of 9% from the prior year period. These results represent record revenues for both the quarter and the first half, driven by higher average fees per completed transaction and meaningful contributions from the businesses we have built and expanded in recent years. Collectively, our non-M&A businesses generated record revenues in the first half, led by capital markets and the growing contribution from private capital advisory. Since our last earnings call, we've advised on a number of notable transactions.
These include Taylor Morrison's $8.5 billion sale to Berkshire Hathaway, Magnolia Oil & Gas's $4.1 billion acquisition of WildFire Energy, AtaiBeckley's $3.8 billion sale to Eli Lilly, and Bridgepoint's acquisition of Kayne Anderson Real Estate. Beyond M&A, we advised Office Properties Income Trust on its $2.4 billion restructuring, Carlyle on its continuation vehicle for content partners, and we served as active bookrunner and lead placement agent on Doncasters' $1.1 billion IPO and concurrent private placement. Despite market volatility driven by the war in the Middle East, concerns about private credit redemptions, and the evolving impact of AI, client engagement and transaction activity has remained strong. At the end of the second quarter, our announced pipeline had increased over 80% versus the prior year period. In addition, new business origination accelerated in the Q2, and we entered the back half of the year with a record total pipeline. These factors supports strong outlook for the end of the year.
Let me turn to each of our businesses. In M&A, market conditions continued to improve in the second quarter. Accessible financing and strong equity market performance are supporting increased transaction activity, while the strategic need for scale and a more constructive regulatory environment are driving greater interest in larger transactions. This is evident in our performance and pipeline, which includes a higher number of opportunities advising larger cap clients and substantially higher average fee opportunities. While industry-wide sponsor M&A activity has remained modest year-to-date, our sponsor business continues to perform well. In the first half, announcement activity in our sponsor M&A business grew meaningfully over the prior year period, and our overall sponsor pipeline remains strong.
We are encouraged by this and are confident in our ability to support our sponsor clients across a variety of market environments, given our broad capabilities, including continuation vehicles and bespoke private capital raising. In capital markets, our expanded capabilities continue to drive meaningful growth. Our capital markets business achieved record second quarter and first-half revenues driven by constructive market conditions, strong demand for late-stage growth and pre-IPO financings, and healthy IPO activity. We remain active across the public markets, with further IPO activity expected later this year. At the same time, demand for hybrid and structured financing solutions is robust. To support this growth, we've continued to invest in our capital markets platform. On our last earnings call, we referenced two managing director hires who have now joined our team. One brings deep expertise in debt capital markets and private credit.
The second will help establish our securitization capabilities, expanding our offering into structured products and enabling us to provide clients with asset-backed financing solutions across the capital structure. Turning to private capital advisory, our PCA franchise was a meaningful contributor to our revenue growth in the H1 of the year, and the team has significant momentum in deal completions and new client mandates. The market for GP-led secondaries remains very active, and its growth is structurally supported by sponsor liquidity needs and institutional investor demand for exposure to seasoned private market assets. To address this opportunity, we've aggressively expanded our GP-led secondaries capabilities, achieving critical mass with seven dedicated managing directors, including one MD who will be joining shortly.
The team's early success is a testament to both the quality of talent we have hired and our collaborative model, where our sector bankers work closely with our PCA team to deliver exceptional client solutions. We are now expanding the business into complementary areas and have hired one managing director to launch our LP-led secondaries capability, and another to develop our promoted co-investment expertise. Both of these areas will be important in building a comprehensive platform that serves the full PCA ecosystem. In capital structure advisory, we enter the H2 of the year with high levels of engagement. Liability management continues to dominate deal activity, and while well-positioned borrowers can still access capital, increasing lender selectivity is making refinancing more challenging for some highly levered companies.
We are beginning to see AI create differentiation among software businesses. We expect that demand for liability management as well as capital market solutions will pick up for certain companies as the sector continues to evolve. Combined with the strength of our technology franchise, we are well-positioned to support our clients as their needs develop. In addition, we are expanding our CSA team with an MD hire who will further enhance sponsor and creditor coverage when joining later this year. This brings me to our investment in talent, which continues to be one of our highest strategic priorities. To summarize since our last earnings call, we have hired four managing directors, which include the two PCA hires and one CSA MD already mentioned, and an MD in Europe focused on infrastructure.
This brings our total lateral MD hires year to date to 12, in addition to the 13 internal promotions announced at the beginning of the year. Recruiting exceptional bankers is a core priority. We are excited about the quality of senior talent that is joining our firm. Finally, we continue to make meaningful progress deploying AI across the firm. These tools are becoming increasingly embedded in our workflows and are enhancing the quality of our client engagement. We remain optimistic that growing adoption of AI tools will increase the efficiency and productivity of our business. In closing, I'm very pleased with the way our firm is performing. I expect a strong H2 of the year.
With the best talent and most comprehensive capabilities across products and sectors in our firm's history, we continue to be focused on delivering exceptional outcomes for clients, executing our strategic growth priorities, and creating long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I'll pass the call to Chris to review our financial results in more detail.
Thanks, Navid, good afternoon, everyone. As Navid noted, second quarter revenues were $409 million, up 12% from the prior year period. First half revenues were $729 million, up 9% year-over-year. Growth in full current year periods was driven primarily by capital markets and private capital advisory, partially offset by declines in capital structure advisory. For the H1 of the year, our business mix was approximately 2/3 M&A, and 1/3 non-M&A. Turning to expenses. Our adjusted compensation ratio for both the second quarter and H1 of 2026 was 65.8%, compared with 69% in both prior year periods. As we have stated previously, we expect to make continued progress on our compensation ratio this year with the magnitude of improvement depending on full-year revenues, senior hiring, and the competitive market for talent.
Adjusted non-compensation expenses were $66.5 million in the Q2, resulting in a 16.2% non-compensation expense ratio. For the H1 of the year, our adjusted non-compensation expenses were $134 million, representing a non-compensation expense ratio of 18.3%. The main drivers of the expense growth in both the Q2 and H1 of the year are attributable to increased business and client activity, including higher deal-related T&E, expenses associated with client conferences, and underwriting syndication costs from our expanding public equity capital markets capabilities. Additionally, we continue to invest in technology and data, including AI and increased occupancy to support the growth of the business. We expect our quarterly non-comp expenses to be in the mid to high $60 million range for the remainder of the year.
Our adjusted pre-tax margin was 18.6% for the Q2 and 17% for the H1 of 2026, an improvement compared with 17.6% and 16% respectively in the prior year periods. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 29.1%, roughly in line with the Q2 of 2025. Turning to capital allocation. The board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, consistent with the prior period. In the Q2, we repurchased approximately 337,000 shares on the open market at an average price of $64.43 per share. During the H1 of the year, we have repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares through open market repurchases and net share settlements for a total cost of approximately $141 million. Including the dividend declared today, we will have returned approximately $246 million of capital to shareholders with respect to the H1 of 2026.
Finally, we ended the quarter with a strong cash position of $481 million and no debt. With that, we can open the line for questions.
We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again.
We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Devin Ryan with Citizens Bank. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Hey, guys. This is Neil on for Devin. My first question is on Moelis progressing upstream in deal size. Obviously you've had some increasing success winning roles on some of the larger strategic transactions, which appears to be becoming a more important part of the franchise. Can you talk a little bit about the key drivers of that progress and where you're focusing your efforts to kind of sustain that?
Sure. Thanks, Neil. As I think most people are aware, the M&A market, certainly for the last number of quarters, has been geared more towards larger transactions. That's where a lot of the activity is, primarily up until this quarter in kind of the $5 billion-plus range. Interestingly enough, we noticed an upswing in kind of that next tier down, the $1 billion-$5 billion this quarter, both in the market data and in our own practice. We're going to watch that, but I'm optimistic that that could signal an expansion of the overall M&A market into more of the middle market. You're right, we're more active than we've been historically on larger transactions.
Part of that's because that's where the market activity is, but it's also because the investment in talent we've made, both laterally and with respect to our internal talent development, a lot of that hiring and the people who have joined our firm maturing on our platform, creating critical mass in some of our spaces, enhancing and expanding our product capabilities. It's all of that coming together to really support larger cap, bigger fee opportunities. I think on top of that, as an institution, I think we're doing a better job of really focusing and organizing and marshaling our resources around bigger cap opportunities. I think it's a combination of the market. It's a combination of the maturation of the talent that we've assembled at the firm, as well as organizational focus.
Great. For my follow-up, could I ask a question on the rising cost of senior talent? How is the increasingly competitive environment affecting your hiring plans, and the returns you require when adding senior bankers? Are there any particular industries, geographies, or products that you guys are targeting?
Sure. Look, it's definitely competitive out there. The market for hiring world-class talented bankers, both in sectors and products and geographies, is certainly very competitive. Retaining our talent is also very competitive marketplace out there. We put a lot of care, attention, and effort on both of those things, retention and recruitment. What we're really looking for and what we're really focusing on is best-in-class talent that's consistent with the culture, that's going to add to the culture, and wants to be part of a collaborative culture and firm. If you look at the 12 MDs we've hired this year laterally, about five of those are in various sectors, including energy and industrials and healthcare, et cetera. Seven of those MDs are product bankers sitting across M&A and PCA and capital markets, et cetera. We like that balance and mix in our lateral hiring.
We also love the balance and mix of this internal talent development. We promoted about 13 MDs this year, there's a good balance and mix there between internal talent promotion, lateral hiring, and I suspect as we roll forward here, we're going to try to kind of keep both of those engines humming in terms of further developing our talent and adding to our MD population.
Your next question comes from the line of Mike Brown with UBS. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Okay, great. Thanks for taking my questions. Navid, you talked about the fact that the backlog continues to rise. You've got a record backlog now. Maybe as we talk about or think about the second half here, looks like revenue typically would rise about 37% in the second half versus the first half. We look at the last three years. Understandably, you don't have a crystal ball and the market can shift quickly. Assuming the base case kind of plays out here and you look at your backlog, can that seasonal second half pickup play out this year similar to the prior years?
Look, I don't want to make any specific predictions around the H2 of this year playing out exactly the way they have played out in future or past, I should say, back halves. Look, I will say this. I mentioned our overall pipeline is at a record level as of the end of the second quarter. Even more importantly, within that overall pipeline, because that overall pipeline is a combination of both things we're working on that haven't yet got to deal announcement and deal announcements that are waiting to close. Within that overall pipeline, the thing that's very encouraging about our back half and gives us a lot of visibility is the announced pipeline. That announced pipeline sitting here today is up 80% versus where it was a year ago. At the exact same time of the year.
All of that gives us confidence in addition to the new business review activity, the general feeling we're getting from our bankers who are in the trenches working on deals that the H2 of the year is shaping up to come together quite nicely. We're encouraged by that. We'll obviously have to see and play it out and see what the market will support, but we feel really good about the overall level of activity.
Okay, great. Thanks for those thoughts. Maybe just to double-click a little bit on the kind of software space and maybe a little bit of extra focus on the sponsor side there. Jon Gray talked a little bit about what they're seeing in their ecosystem in terms of kind of three different buckets in the kind of AI disrupted world, and they talked about kind of companies that are beneficiaries of AI, the AI unaffected companies, and then those where there's more uncertainty and a lot of activity focused on the first two buckets. Then how are kind of sponsors approaching a lot of the uncertainty at this juncture?
Obviously, a lot has kind of happened over the last few months. It's curious how some of those conversations have developed. I'm sure there's some pockets of the software space that are active, perhaps things like take privates. Again, some of the AI winners can be more active, but can that offset some of the traditional software LBOs that were so common in the prior few years?
Sure. Great. Thanks for the question, Mike. Well, look, if you go back and listen to our call from a quarter ago, we had a very similar construct that we laid out for how we thought the software disruption would play out, very similar to what you just mentioned, kind of three buckets. We believed at the time that the market was sort of painting a broad brush across all these different software companies. That over time, there'd be clear differentiation. That some of the companies in the software ecosystem would end up being net beneficiaries of AI. They would adopt and adapt to kind of the new world and thrive. A lot of those companies would be able to raise capital and do M&A and participate in growth vectors. We've seen some of that. We've actually engaged in software M&A this quarter.
We had a recent announcement sizable for this period of time software M&A transaction. We're definitely seeing some of that. Folks are starting to differentiate themselves. On the other end of the spectrum, I do think there's going to be some companies who are disrupted and potentially materially disrupted by artificial intelligence. It'll have a real impact on their businesses. Some of those companies sit within sponsors. Some of those companies have a fair amount of leverage. Our tech and CSA teams are all over those sets of opportunities to do work around balance sheets and liability management, et cetera. Again, the beauty of our model is very collaborative. When we identify opportunities and sponsors who need help with those kinds of situations, our sector teams and our product teams work hand in glove to bring those solutions to our sponsor clients.
I think in the middle, as you pointed out, I think there's going to be a bunch of companies where it's just too early to tell how this is going to play out. Some of those companies over time may take advantage of capital markets, trades, continuation vehicles, things of that nature as things develop for those companies. I agree. I think we're seeing that demarcation start to play out, or differentiation start to play out, I should say.
Your next question comes from the line of James Yaro with Goldman Sachs. Your line is open. You may now go ahead.
Good afternoon, all. Vidur Mathur on behalf of James. First question which we had was how would you characterize where we are in the M&A cycle today, and how long can it continue to grow?
I appreciate the question. I think when you look at it, I still think we're in early innings of the M&A cycle. You look at the factors that are promoting M&A, the need for scale, technology disruption, the heavy investment that needs to go into staying out in front of technological trends. The vast number of companies that are still sitting within sponsor portfolios that need to get sold over time. Many companies that have been in sponsor portfolios for a very long time. At least for now, the regulatory environment that's more relaxed than it's been. I still think we're early days of a longest M&A cycle. Within that cycle, there'll be some ups and downs and periods of ups and downs in terms of the volume of activity.
I just think the forces that are promoting M&A are going to be around for a while.
Thank you for that. That makes sense. As a follow-up, could you help us think about your structural margin profile over time? When you weigh up a higher comp ratio but a lower non-comp ratio, how does this shake out and relative to your historic margin profile?
Let me start, and Chris can chime in as well. Look, I think as you've seen, we've done a good job of bringing our comp ratio back more into line with what we've traditionally seen. We've been investing very heavily in the platform in terms of world-class bankers, both on the product and sector side. I think we're still committed for sure to continuing to invest in that talent to serve our clients and create a great long-term business servicing those clients. We also appreciate that there is more room to kind of bring that comp ratio down over time, and we're committed to doing everything we can to do that, to create that balance between bringing that comp ratio down and continuing to invest in our business.
I think as our revenues grow, we'll be able to get more leverage over our non-MD cost base, and I think we'll get more leverage over our non-comp expenses. Chris, if you want to add to that.
Yeah. The only thing that I'd add is we do focus on margins, which obviously includes both comp and non-comp, and we target leverage over time. I'd note that our pre-tax margins have improved sequentially and over the prior year for both the quarter and year-to-date periods. And we've been improving our margins over the last several years.
Your next question comes from the line of Brennan Hawken with BMO. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Thanks for taking my question. Navid, you spoke a bit to software and some of the potential issues there around some of the sponsor positions, but I'm more curious about the sponsor market more broadly. You guys have done a great job in pivoting, and you spoke to that earlier. But sponsor engagement is really important for your franchise. We've been waiting for that to improve for quite some time, and nobody really seems to have good answers as to why it hasn't. Do you have any theories, and what is it you're watching for to see some engagement pick up in that really important cohort?
Thanks for the question, Brennan. Engagement is very high with sponsors. There's no shortage of very intense engagement from our sponsor teams, our sector teams. Sponsors want to talk about deploying capital into new opportunities, and they absolutely want to talk about solutions to monetization and moving assets in their portfolios. There's no issue with engagement. The issue is really more around M&A in mostly the middle market. There are a bunch of companies that sponsors bought in kind of that period right before COVID as the market was heating up, and then certainly right after the reopening of the economy that were bought in a different rate environment with different growth outlook. You've seen disruption from technology in some of those spaces. The difficulty is not engagement.
The difficulty is for a segment of the universe of sponsor portfolio companies, we're not at the point yet where those companies can be exited at values that correspond with appropriate rates of return that the sponsors are expecting. It's going to take more time for some of those companies to kind of grow into valuations that will create that equation, a more positive equation for sponsor exits, or it's going to take more time for sponsor to decide this is the best it's going to get. I need to move these assets. I think things will improve over time. As I said, I think we're starting to see a little bit of improvement in some of the data in the $1 billion-$5 billion range.
I think over time, you'll start to see that drift down more in this heavy portfolio of companies, especially in that mid-market will start to move. The good news is even if that doesn't happen right away, we've built a very sizable capability in capital markets. There's lots of conversations around bespoke capital raising and creative solutions to get partial liquidity for sponsors on portfolio companies. We do a lot of that work, and now we have a world-class CV business, and we have lots of conversations and traction on working with sponsors around putting assets into longer-term vehicles.
For my follow-up, I'd actually love to drill down on what you just commented on with the growing PCA business. You guys have added several Managing Directors here in this business recently. It sounds like you got some good momentum. The comments in your prepared remarks were a constructive growing contribution. When you think about time frames for that business, and you think about the potential for the revenue per MD in that business versus the rest of Moelis, is the expectation it would be in line with the firm-wide numbers? How long do you think it'll take to get there? Is there a particular level of scale that you would need as far as number of MDs or whatnot? Thanks.
Yeah. I think generally that business should be in line with the rest of our business on revenue per MD. Parts of that business, again, we're now, I would say, soon to be in kind of three of the five components of PCA. Some of those PCA businesses like GP-led continuation vehicles, the time to market, the ramp to build some of that activity is pretty quick. One of the things I mentioned in our prepared remarks is this collaborative approach that we have where our sector bankers work closely with our PCA teams is creating a lot of early at-bats and early wins for our PCA team. You combine that with our deep sponsor relationships, that business is ramping up pretty quickly.
Other businesses like primary fundraising, which we're not quite in yet, but I hope to be in soon, will take longer to ramp up because the cycle for raising new funds, getting signed up to raise a fund, and actually raising that fund takes a little longer. Look, I think we've said over the next few years, we expect to have a sizable PCA business across hopefully most of the sectors of PCA, and everything we've seen so far about a year into it is we're well on our way to doing that.
Your next question comes from the line of Alex Bond with KBW. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Hi, everyone. Natalie Null on for Alex Bond. I heard you mention that it was a record Q2 for capital markets. Can you talk a little bit more about how this compares relative to the last couple quarters, and any color on that group's performance and then the outlook for the rest of the year would be helpful.
Look, I appreciate the question. That group is doing an exceptional job. Our business in capital markets really spans both debt and equity, both public and private, and soon to be a business in securitization, which I mentioned earlier. That business is growing and dynamic. Great leadership, great team that we've built. Obviously, part of that business is partially dependent on the strength of the capital markets, and it's been a good environment here over the last few quarters.
I think as I said, long term, we see significant opportunity to continue to grow that business, and we are continuing to look for ways to kind of expand our capabilities there because we continue to see client demand for objective, aligned advice to help navigate these markets, to help navigate the private credit markets, to sit with companies and really help them find the best and cheapest and most aligned source of capital. We see just a big opportunity to continue to build that business.
Great. Then maybe one for Chris. I'm hoping you can add a little bit more color on the non-comp expense commentary. I appreciate the updated guide. Then maybe on AI tech spend in particular. It makes sense to invest there, wondering if maybe you can share when you expect to see some of the recent investments translate into operating leverage.
Sure. As I mentioned on the prepared remarks, much of the growth in non-comp is tied to increased business activity, and one of the primary drivers of the larger than expected growth in non-comp relates to increased underwriter syndication costs associated with our public equity capital markets business that Navid was just touching on. I would say excluding these distinct transaction-related expenses, the growth in our non-comp would be at the same rate as last year, which was our original forecast. Along with the other activity-related increases that we spoke about, we would expect our quarterly comp or non-comp expenses to be in the mid to high $60 million range for the remainder of the year. With respect to AI and the expenses, I know we monitor our AI usage across the firm.
However, currently many of our tools are on a fixed contract without any incremental or variable costs for increased tokens through the year, actually into part of next year. Of course, we'll continue to monitor that usage and see how those costs develop over time. For now, we're comfortable with our projected AI spend.
Natalie, just to add on to that on your question on productivity. Right now we're still in that phase of testing, adopting, deploying, getting these tools out in the hands of our bankers. I think the next phase of that, and that will continue, the next phase of that, which we're well underway is, as our bankers adopt these tools and implement them into our workflows, making sure that our bankers are talking to each other, they're spreading those best practices. I like to say at the end of the day, AI is going to be bottoms up. It's not going to be top down.
It's got to have to come from our bankers in the field in our different disciplines, incorporating that into their workflows, and then kind of spreading that gospel throughout the organization so that we can get the kind of productivity gains that I think will come, both in terms of efficiency. Even more importantly, I think the promise of AI, and we're really bullish on it, is I think it can make all of us better, more effective investment bankers at all different levels. If we can create more ideas, better ideas for our clients, give better advice, use those tools to do that, I think we can create more transactions and be more efficient in terms of our banker headcount. That's the goal, and that's what we're striving for. Still early days, though.
Your next question comes from the line of Ryan Kenny with Morgan Stanley. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Hey, just want to follow up on the AI conversation there. Clearly there's some efficiency opportunities, but how do you think about the risks there, and how do you think about the idea that maybe the industry evolves, it all gets competed away, pitch decks have to come faster, clients expect more, the margins don't really improve? Are there any other risks as you think about AI?
Yeah, look, we spend a lot of time thinking about protecting our information, protecting our data. At the end of the day, our real competitive moat is the quality of our people, the quality of our relationships, and our information and data. Our teams, our legal teams, our IT teams, the committees that work on AI for us spend a lot of time thinking about the risks and how do we make sure that our client information and our own data is protected, and we preserve those competitive moats. Look, as I said, in terms of your second part of your question, I do think there's going to be an element of this that's going to be commoditized. We're all going to have access to a lot of the same tools.
I think how we use those tools and how we adopt those and how we incorporate those into our workflows is going to be part of what improves the performance of our company and our ability to execute with clients. If you look at previous technological innovations, spreadsheets, et cetera, the ability to create decks faster, all of the innovation that sort of happened mobile, all of those things I think made the industry better even though those were commoditized things that everyone had access to. I do think over time, investment bankers became better, more efficient, provided better advice, could do more transactions. There are many more transactions happening today per senior investment banker than you saw 20, 30 years ago. I think it can both be commoditized, also make all of us better and more efficient.
Shifting gears, I have a question on capital, which is cycle seems like it's building, sustainable, a lot of tailwinds ahead for the persistence of M&A. As you create more capital, how do you think about the uses there on dividend buyback, would you ever be open to being an acquirer?
Let me take those questions. I think as you all know, we tend to be pretty conservative when it comes to the balance sheet. We run the business with no debt and lots of excess cash. Our priorities are to continue to make sure we're investing in the long-term growth of the business, and serving our clients. Second, want to make sure we kind of protect the dividend. We obviously have a nice, healthy dividend and want to make sure that nothing happens to change that. I think our next order of priority after that is share repurchase. We look at that really carefully. As you've seen, we've been pretty aggressive, at least versus historical standards here over the last few quarters.
I suspect as we roll forward, we're going to continue to want to make sure we're largely mitigating the dilution that comes from equity that's issued as part of employee comp. I think that'll continue to be kind of the order of priorities as we roll forward in terms of capital. In terms of acquisitions, I think, look, as the hiring market has continued to be competitive, I do think being open-minded about acquisitions is the right approach, and we are open-minded. I do think we do strive to look at every opportunity that's out there. I think for us to actually do a sizable acquisition, I think there's three criteria that have to be part of that. First is it's got to be world-class talent that would add to our firm. Second, it's got to be consistent with our culture.
We're never going to do an acquisition that we think is going to diminish or impair our culture in any way. Cultural alignment's really important. We want those people who are going to be joining those firms to be equally excited about the long-term growth opportunity at our firm. Alignment on deal structure and deal terms is going to be absolutely critical. Really open-minded about acquisition opportunities, and if we find the right situation that checks all three of those boxes, we wouldn't hesitate to do something.
There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Mr. Matt Tsukroff for closing remarks.
Really appreciate everyone joining us today. Enjoy the rest of your summers, and we'll talk to you soon. Thank you.
This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending.
You may now disconnect.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-28Moelis (MC) Reports Q2: Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of Earnings
StockStory
Moelis (MC) Reports Q2: Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of Earnings
Investment banking firm Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) will be announcing earnings results this Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what investors should know. Moelis met analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $319.8 million, up 4.3% year on year. It was a slower quarter for the company, with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates. Is Moelis a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Moelis’s revenue to grow 6.1% year on year, slowing from the 38.1% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Moelis has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates multiple times over the last two years. Looking at Moelis’s peers in the investment banking & brokerage segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Goldman Sachs delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 39.5%, beating analysts’ expectations by 23.7%, and Morgan Stanley reported revenues up 27.1%, topping estimates by 8.7%. Goldman Sachs traded up 10.2% following the results while Morgan Stanley was down 4.1%. Read our full analysis of Goldman Sachs’s results here and Morgan Stanley’s results here. There has been positive sentiment among investors in the investment banking & brokerage segment, with share prices up 7.2% on average over the last month. Moelis is up 7.7% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $71.50 (compared to the current share price of $67.78). ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention. AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-23Tradeweb Markets (TW) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
Zacks
Tradeweb Markets (TW) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
Tradeweb Markets (TW) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price. The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This electronic marketplaces operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.96 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +10.3%. Revenues are expected to be $564.05 million, up 10% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.43% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction). The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive po…Read full documentShow less
Tradeweb Markets (TW) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price. The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This electronic marketplaces operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.96 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +10.3%. Revenues are expected to be $564.05 million, up 10% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.43% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction). The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Tradeweb, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -1.68%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Tradeweb will beat the consensus EPS estimate. While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Tradeweb would post earnings of $1.06 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.08, delivering a surprise of +1.89%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Tradeweb doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Moelis (MC), another stock in the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry, is expected to report earnings per share of $0.62 for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate points to a year-over-year change of +17%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $391.55 million, up 7.2% from the year-ago quarter. Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Moelis has been revised 0.2% up to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of +1.98%, reflecting a higher Most Accurate Estimate. This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggests that Moelis will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Tradeweb Markets Inc. (TW) : Free Stock Analysis Report Moelis & Company (MC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-22Moelis (MC) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
Zacks
Moelis (MC) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Moelis (MC) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This investment bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.62 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +17%. Revenues are expected to be $391.55 million, up 7.2% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.19% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for…Read full documentShow less
Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Moelis (MC) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This investment bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.62 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +17%. Revenues are expected to be $391.55 million, up 7.2% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.19% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Moelis, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +1.98%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3. So, this combination indicates that Moelis will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Moelis would post earnings of $0.59 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.50, delivering a surprise of -15.25%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Moelis appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Moelis & Company (MC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

