Houlihan Lokey Inc (HLI) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Houlihan Lokey's third quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions). Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, 28 January 2025. I will now turn the call over to the company.

女士們、先生們，大家好。感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Houlihan Lokey 2025 財年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指令）。請注意，本次電話會議於今天（2025 年 1 月 28 日）進行錄音。我現在將把電話轉給公司。

Thank you, operator and hello, everyone. By now, everyone should have access to our third quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings release, which can be found on the Houlihan Lokey website at www.hl.com in the investor relations section.

謝謝接線員，大家好。現在，每個人都應該可以看到我們 2025 財年第三季的收益報告，可以在 Houlihan Lokey 網站 www.hl.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

Before we begin our formal remarks, we need to remind everyone that the discussion today will include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements which are usually identified by use of words such as will, expect, anticipate, should or other similar phrases are not guarantees of future performance.

在我們開始正式發言之前，我們需要提醒大家，今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述通常使用「將」、「期望」、「預期」、「應該」或其他類似詞語來表示，但並不保證未來的表現。

These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. And therefore, you should exercise caution when interpreting and relying upon them.

這些聲明受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期有重大差異。因此，在解釋和依賴它們時應謹慎行事。

We refer all of you to our recent SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact our future operating results and financial condition. We encourage investors to review our regulatory filings including the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 December 2024 when it is filed with the SEC.

我們請大家參閱我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，以便更詳細地討論可能影響我們未來經營業績和財務狀況的風險。我們鼓勵投資者查看我們向美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 提交的監管文件，包括截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的季度 10-Q 表。

During today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's financial performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with the GAAP.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估公司的財務表現。這些措施不應被孤立地考慮或取代我們根據 GAAP 編制的財務結果。

A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings release and our investor presentation the hl.com website. Hosting the call today, we have Scott Adelson, Houlihan Lokey's Chief Executive Officer and Lindsey Alley, Chief Financial Officer. They will provide some opening remarks and then we will open the call to questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to Scott.

我們的收益報告和投資者介紹（hl.com 網站）中提供了這些指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對帳表。今天主持電話會議的有 Houlihan Lokey 的執行長 Scott Adelson 和財務長 Lindsey Alley。他們將發表一些開場白，然後我們將開始提問。說完這些，我會把電話轉給史考特。

Thank you, Christopher. Welcome everyone to our third quarter fiscal 2025 earnings call. We ended the quarter with revenues of $634 million and adjusted earnings per share of a $1.64. Revenues were up 24% and adjusted earnings per share were up 34% compared to the same period last year.

謝謝你，克里斯多福。歡迎大家參加我們的 2025 財年第三季財報電話會議。本季結束時，我們的營收為 6.34 億美元，調整後每股收益為 1.64 美元。與去年同期相比，營收成長了 24%，調整後每股收益成長了 34%。

We are all pleased with our results for the quarter as well as with our performance year-to-date and we have entered our last fiscal quarter with continued momentum across all three of our business lines. Corporate finance and financial valuation advisory continue to benefit from improvements in the M&A and financing markets while financial restructuring had another solid quarter as it continues to benefit from record leverage and persistently higher interest rates.

我們對本季的業績以及今年迄今的表現感到非常滿意，並且我們已進入最後一個財政季度，三個業務線繼續保持良好的發展勢頭。企業財務和財務估值諮詢繼續受益於併購和融資市場的改善，而財務重組則因繼續受益於創紀錄的槓桿率和持續走高的利率而再創佳績。

We remain optimistic about the balance of this fiscal year as we believe the markets will continue to improve, given a stronger macro environment. Interest rates and inflation appear stable and the results of the US election have improved confidence.

我們對本財年的平衡仍然持樂觀態度，因為我們相信，在更強勁的宏觀環境下，市場將繼續改善。利率和通膨看似穩定，美國大選結果也增強了信心。

Looking at each of our segments, corporate finance produced $422 million of revenue for the quarter representing a 36% increase over last year's third quarter. Key metrics for our corporate finance business including close rates, time to close transactions, new business generation and transaction volume continued to improve when compared with the same period last year.

從各部門來看，企業融資本季創造了 4.22 億美元的收入，比去年第三季成長了 36%。與去年同期相比，我們的企業融資業務的關鍵指標（包括成交利率、成交時間、新業務產生和交易量）持續改善。

Growth in our corporate finance business is widespread occurring across geographies, industries and driven by both strategic and private equity clients.

我們的企業融資業務的成長廣泛發生在各個地區和行業，並受到策略和私募股權客戶的推動。

Financial restructuring produced $131 million of revenue for the third quarter, a 2% increase versus the same period last year. During the quarter, we continue to generate enough new business to maintain our backlog and provide us with continued confidence that this restructuring market will remain elevated for longer than we anticipated a year ago.

財務重組為第三季帶來了1.31億美元的收入，比去年同期成長2%。在本季度，我們繼續創造足夠的新業務來維持我們的積壓訂單，並讓我們繼續相信，這個重組市場將比我們一年前預期的保持更長時間的強勁增長。

Financial and valuation advisory produced $82 million of revenue for the third quarter, a 14% increase versus the third quarter last year. An important result of the improving M&A climate. FDA saw strength across both its cyclical and non-cyclical businesses and many of the same factors affecting the optimism for our corporate finance business are present in our FDA business as well.

財務和估值諮詢業務第三季創造了 8,200 萬美元的收入，比去年第三季成長 14%。併購環境改善的重要成果。FDA 的週期性業務和非週期性業務均表現強勁，影響我們企業融資業務樂觀情緒的許多相同因素也存在於我們的 FDA 業務中。

Regarding acquisitions, we closed our acquisition of Waller Helms in early December and our new partners are off to a strong start contributing to our results. We added 17 new Managing Directors in the quarter, 14 through acquisitions and three through individual hires.

關於收購，我們在 12 月初完成了對 Waller Helms 的收購，我們的新合作夥伴為我們的業績做出了積極的貢獻。本季我們新增了 17 位董事總經理，其中 14 位是透過收購增加的，3 位是透過個人聘用增加的。

As we look beyond our fiscal fourth quarter, our outlook for fiscal 2026 is positive. Improving M&A market sentiment, an increase in private equity activity and continued strength in our restructuring business are all encouraging indicators for continued growth. With that, I will turn the call over to Lindsay.

展望第四財季之後，我們對 2026 財年的前景持樂觀態度。併購市場情緒的改善、私募股權活動的增加以及重組業務的持續強勁都是持續成長的令人鼓舞的指標。說完這些，我會把電話轉給 Lindsay。

Thank you, Scott. Revenues in corporate finance were $422 million for the quarter, up 36% compared to the same quarter last year. We closed 170 transactions this quarter, up from 117 in the same period last year. But our average transaction fee modestly decreased as a result of transaction mix.

謝謝你，斯科特。本季企業融資收入為 4.22 億美元，較去年同期成長 36%。本季我們完成了 170 筆交易，高於去年同期的 117 筆。但由於交易組合的原因，我們的平均交易費用略有下降。

Consistent with many past years, our third fiscal quarter was our strongest quarter year-to-date in corporate finance. Financial restructuring revenues were $131 million for the quarter, a 2% increase versus the same period last year. We closed 41 transactions this quarter compared to 30 in the same quarter last year. But our average transaction fee on closed deals decreased again as a result of transaction mix.

與過去幾年一樣，我們的第三財季是今年迄今企業財務表現最強勁的一個季度。本季財務重組營收為 1.31 億美元，較去年同期成長 2%。本季我們完成了 41 筆交易，而去年同期為 30 筆。但由於交易組合的原因，我們已完成交易的平均交易費再次下降。

For financial evaluation advisory, revenues were $82 million for the quarter, a 14% increase from the same period last year. We had 1,005 fee events during the quarter compared to 926 in the same period last year.

就財務評估諮詢而言，本季營收為 8,200 萬美元，比去年同期成長 14%。本季我們發生了 1,005 起費用事件，而去年同期發生了 926 起。

Turning to expenses, our adjusted compensation expenses were $390 million for the quarter versus $314 million for the same quarter last year. Our only adjustment was $13 million for deferred retention payments related to certain acquisitions.

談到費用，本季我們的調整後薪資費用為 3.9 億美元，去年同期為 3.14 億美元。我們唯一的調整是與某些收購相關的遞延保留付款 1300 萬美元。

Our adjusted compensation expense ratio for the third quarter in both fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 was 61.5%. We expect to maintain our long-term target of 61.5% for this ratio.

我們 2025 財年及 2024 財年第三季的調整後薪資費用率均為 61.5%。我們預計該比例將維持在 61.5% 的長期目標水準。

Our adjusted non compensation expenses increased slightly to $83 million for the quarter compared to $82 million for the same period last year. This resulted in an adjusted non compensation expense ratio of 13.1% for the quarter compared to 16.1% for the same period last year.

本季度，我們調整後的非薪酬支出略微增加至 8,300 萬美元，而去年同期為 8,200 萬美元。這導致本季調整後非薪資費用率為 13.1%，而去年同期為 16.1%。

On a per employee basis, our adjusted non compensation expense was $31,000 for this quarter consistent with the same quarter last year. For the quarter, we adjusted out of non-compensation expenses $4.1 million and non-cash acquisition related amortization and $4.7 million in integration and acquisition related costs. This included transaction costs associated with our acquisitions of Waller Helms and Prytania solutions as well as a real estate impairment charge associated with Waller Helms.

以每位員工計算，本季我們調整後的非薪資支出為 31,000 美元，與去年同期持平。本季度，我們調整了 410 萬美元的非薪酬費用和非現金收購相關攤銷以及 470 萬美元的整合和收購相關成本。這包括與收購 Waller Helms 和 Prytania 解決方案相關的交易成本以及與 Waller Helms 相關的房地產減損費用。

We also had an adjustment of $3.6 million pertaining to professional fees associated with streamlining our global organizational structure also referred to as Project Solo.

我們也對與精簡全球組織架構（也稱為 Project Solo）相關的專業費用進行了 360 萬美元的調整。

Our adjusted other income and expense produced income of approximately $9 million versus income of approximately $6 million in the same period last year. The improvement in this category was primarily due to an increase in interest income.

我們調整後的其他收入和支出產生的收入約為 900 萬美元，而去年同期的收入約為 600 萬美元。這一類別的改善主要是由於利息收入的增加。

Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 33.3% compared to 30.3% for the same quarter last year. The increase in our adjusted effective tax rate was primarily resolved with timing issues. We expect our adjusted effective tax rate for the full fiscal year to settle between 31% and 32%.

本季調整後有效稅率為 33.3%，去年同期為 30.3%。我們調整後有效稅率的增加主要透過時間問題來解決。我們預計整個財政年度的調整後有效稅率將在 31% 至 32% 之間。

Turning to the balance sheet, as of quarter end, we had approximately $903 million of unrestricted cash and equivalents and investment securities. We did not repurchase any shares during the quarter. As would be expected this time of year, a significant portion of the unrestricted cash will be used to pay our cash bonuses in May for fiscal year 2025. And with that operator, we can open the line for questions.

談到資產負債表，截至季末，我們擁有約 9.03 億美元的非限制現金及等價物和投資證券。本季我們沒有回購任何股票。正如每年這個時候所預期的那樣，很大一部分不受限制的現金將用於支付 2025 財年 5 月的現金獎金。有了這位接線員，我們就可以開通熱線來解答疑問了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Brennan Hawken, UBS.

瑞銀的布倫南·霍肯。

Good afternoon, Scott, Lindsey. How are you?

下午好，史考特、琳賽。你好嗎？

Hey, Brandon.

嘿，布蘭登。

It sounds like from your comments and your tone here in the prepared remarks that we've seen continued strengthening in the corporate finance environment. Is there a period or a historical context that you could point to, to help us think about how we should be refining and thinking about the potential for revenue growth in that business moving forward?

從您的評論和您在準備好的演講中的語氣來看，我們似乎看到企業財務環境持續加強。您能否指出一個時期或歷史背景，以幫助我們思考如何改善和思考該業務未來收入成長的潛力？

Yes, I think it is very much following what we had anticipated, which was just going to occur, which is really just this data, the progress of things improving and at the same time seeing a strong restructuring environment are certainly elevated. And that is the same thing we see today. And that really nothing has changed from last three quarters and at least to date, that has been a correct way to think about it.

是的，我認為這完全符合我們的預期，這正是即將發生的事情，實際上只是這些數據，事情正在改善，同時看到強勁的重組環境肯定會提升。這與我們今天所看到的是一樣的。與過去三個季度相比，情況確實沒有任何變化，至少到目前為止，這是一種正確的思考方式。

Yes. I mean, I'm not sure you need to change your thinking reading that. I'd say if you go back to Q1, on a consolidated basis, we grew roughly 23%, 24%. In Q2, we grew roughly 23%. In Q3, we grew roughly 24%. I mean, there is a -- yet there is not an acceleration. It is just a continuation of improvements versus the same quarters last year.

是的。我的意思是，我不確定你是否需要改變你的想法。我想說，如果回顧第一季度，從綜合來看，我們的成長率約為 23% 至 24%。第二季度，我們的成長約為 23%。第三季度，我們的成長約為 24%。我的意思是，有——但沒有加速。與去年同期相比，這只是持續改善。

Got it. Thanks for that. And then when we think about the typical seasonality that you see in corporate finance, normally the back half of your fiscal year's strongest and we haven't really seen that sort of typical cycle here recently. But is it normally fair to think about the March quarter being in a similar ballpark to the December quarter, is there upside? Is it a little slower because you don't have the year? How would you think about those dynamics? I would think it would be pretty constructive, given how you said that the confidence is improving on the back of the recent election, but just wanted to flesh that out a bit.

知道了。謝謝。然後，當我們考慮公司財務中常見的典型季節性時，通常財務年度的後半段表現最為強勁，而我們最近並沒有真正看到這種典型的周期。但是，通常認為 3 月份季度的業績與 12 月份季度的業績大致相同是否公平，是否存在上漲空間？是不是因為沒有年份所以速度有點慢？您如何看待這些動態？鑑於您所說的在最近的選舉之後信心正在增強，我認為這將非常具有建設性，但我只是想稍微充實一下這一點。

Yes. Look, I think without getting into the March quarter, I will say -- fiscal '24 had pretty reasonable seasonality to the business. We were roughly 46% first half year, 54% second half of the year. That's if you look back over 5-, 6-, 7 years, that's pretty good average, right?

是的。瞧，我認為無需進入 3 月份季度，我就會說 24 財年的業務季節性相當合理。上半年我們的銷售額約為 46%，下半年為 54%。如果你回顧過去 5 年、6 年、7 年的情況，這是一個相當不錯的平均值，對嗎？

There's no reason to believe we're not going to be kind of in that same sort of seasonality that we've seen in this year as well. Now, obviously that I think all things, things can change as macroeconomic pressures, but we do seem to be seeing the same seasonality this year that we saw last year and in previous years. And so that's not a bad -- that historical is not a bad proxy.

沒有理由相信我們不會再經歷今年所經歷的那種季節性現象。現在，顯然我認為所有的事情，事情都會隨著宏觀經濟壓力而改變，但今年我們似乎看到了與去年和前幾年相同的季節性。所以這並不是什麼壞事——歷史並不是一個壞的代表。

Great. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

偉大的。多謝。非常感謝。

Thanks, Brendan.

謝謝，布倫丹。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的詹姆斯·亞羅。

Good afternoon and thanks for taking my questions. Starting with restructuring. So restructuring continues to surprise the upside. Maybe you could just comment on the likelihood that could actually grow in calendar 2025, especially given that rates appear to remain higher for longer and the long end steeping we've seen recently.

下午好，感謝您回答我的問題。從重組開始。因此，重組繼續帶來驚喜。也許您可以評論一下 2025 年實際增長的可能性，特別是考慮到利率似乎將在較長時間內保持較高水平，以及我們最近看到的長期上漲趨勢。

Yeah, I mean, look, we've been saying for a while and actually the prepared remarks that it is performing better than we would have thought of a year ago and it continues to be elevated. Interest rates remain elevated and we expect that to continue. What that nets for actual numbers, depends on an awful lot of factors that are kind of beyond our ability to completely predict.

是的，我的意思是，你看，我們已經說了一段時間了，實際上準備好的評論也表明它的表現比我們一年前想像的要好，而且還在繼續提升。利率仍然處於高位，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。實際數字取決於許多超出我們完全預測能力的因素。

Okay, that's very clear. So we're now entering another year of I think, as you describe it sort of a steadily improving but clearly it's not snapping back M&A environment. And so that probably has some negative ramifications on smaller competitors given the deal environment has been somewhat weak for a number of years now.

好的，很清楚。所以，我認為，我們現在進入了新的一年，正如您所描述的，這是一個穩步改善但顯然沒有反彈的併購環境。鑑於多年來交易環境一直比較疲軟，這可能會對較小的競爭對手產生一些負面影響。

So if activity continues to improve at this slow and steady pace, how does that impact your hiring and acquiring backdrop? Does that mean that you should be able to continue to potentially do more deals and I guess your outlook for you know, acquisitions and hiring for the next 12 months, let's say.

那麼，如果活動繼續以這種緩慢而穩定的速度改善，這將如何影響您的招募和收購背景？這是否意味著您應該能夠繼續潛在地進行更多的交易，我想您對未來 12 個月的收購和招聘前景是這樣的。

Yeah, I mean, I think a couple of weeks closely again, things are improving, right? I don't want that to get lost in that statement. But we have kind of good markets and bad, I would say. Continue to find opportunities to both acquire talent and companies. And I think that we are a believer that virtually regardless of markets that that will continue.

是的，我的意思是，我認為再過幾週，情況就會有所改善，對吧？我不想在那份聲明中迷失這一點。但我想說，我們的市場有好的，也有壞的。繼續尋找獲得人才和公司的機會。我認為我們相信，無論市場如何，這種情況都將持續下去。

Yeah, and I would say James, look, I think from a market share gain standpoint, I'm not sure the market's any different than it's been. Our sense is that middle market investment banking firms are performing okay. You know, not just who I am. And we'll know better after some of our peers go, who focus on the middle market.

是的，我想說詹姆斯，看，我認為從市場份額成長的角度來看，我不確定市場是否與以前有什麼不同。我們的感覺是中型市場投資銀行公司表現良好。你知道，不只是我一個人。等一些專注於中端市場的同業離開後，我們就會更了解狀況。

But our sense is, in the markets where we perform, people are performing pretty well, the markets are coming back. And we do expect to take market share, but not any different than sort of previous M&A recession that we just came through.

但我們的感覺是，在我們所經營的市場中，人們的表現相當不錯，市場正在復甦。我們確實希望佔領市場份額，但這與我們剛剛經歷的之前的併購衰退並沒有什麼不同。

Great. That's very clear. Thank you.

偉大的。這非常清楚。謝謝。

Michael Brown, Wells Fargo.

麥可布朗，富國銀行。

Great. Good afternoon, Scott and Lindsay. Wanted to ask a little bit more about the M&A outlook here. And as we have the administration change here, I tend to think that the deregulation, less deal scrutiny will be a positive for the large cap sponsor or -- not sponsor -- large cap strategic M&A activity. But what are kind of the potential knock-on impacts here for the small mid market portion of the market for M&A activity?

偉大的。下午好，斯科特和林賽。想進一步詢問這裡的併購前景。隨著政府的更迭，我傾向於認為放鬆管制、減少交易審查將對大型股發起人或（非發起人）大型股策略併購活動產生正面影響。但是，對於併購活動市場中的中小型市場部分，可能會產生哪些連鎖影響？

And then I guess, tariffs of course, add some uncertainty here when we start to think about some of the international M&A activity and things like cross border. I'd be interested to hear about how that could impact your business or is again, is it the size of deals you focus on some of the more than the other? Thank.

然後我想，當我們開始考慮一些國際併購活動和跨境等事情時，關稅當然會增加一些不確定性。我很想知道這會對您的業務產生什麼影響，或者您是否更關注交易的規模？感謝。

Yeah, happy to. So a couple of things. On just the overall environment, people being more receptive to M&A I think is just overall helpful. Just people's mindsets thinking about it more is helpful regardless of size. Obviously, we have not been as negatively impacted by regulatory environment as some of our brethren that are focused on large cap transactions. Having said that, it does just create a dampening on the market overall.

是的，很高興。有幾件事。就整體環境而言，我認為人們更容易接受併購，這總體上是有幫助的。無論規模大小，只要人們的心態多思考一下就會有幫助。顯然，我們並沒有像一些專注於大盤交易的同業那樣受到監管環境的負面影響。話雖如此，它確實對整個市場造成了抑制。

The return of far overused term, but the animal instincts of everybody wanting to get back to doing deals is something that -- it is certainly noticeable. When you take a look at whether it be tariffs or threats of tariffs or any other elements of the landscape that I think everybody expect to change from what they have been. I think there will obviously be a number of winners in that and there will be some losers and I think one of the benefits we have is in the diversity across industries, across geographies, we really get the benefit of that portfolio effect when those changes occur.

這個被過度使用的術語的回歸，但每個人都想重新做交易的動物本能是——這當然是顯而易見的。當你觀察關稅、關稅威脅或任何其他情況因素時，我認為每個人都會預期情況會改變。我認為其中顯然會有一些贏家，也會有一些輸家，我認為我們的優勢之一就是跨產業、跨地區的多樣性，當這些變化發生時，我們真正受益於投資組合效應。

Okay, great. And then just switch gears, Lindsay, the adjusted non-comp expense has been in that low $80 million range. Any comment on or maybe guidance for the non-comp expense for next quarter, like what's the right range we should think about?

好的，太好了。然後換個話題，林賽，調整後的非經營性支出一直在 8,000 萬美元左右。下個季度的非薪酬支出有何評論或指導，例如我們應該考慮的正確範圍是多少？

Yeah, look, I have been saying sort of high single digits. I think this quarter, we had some timing benefits and a couple other things went our way. I still expect that sort of same high single digit growth applying to Q4. So really Q4 this year versus Q4 last year, I just think we had some benefits this quarter that brought it down a little bit from what I had suggested maybe in that last quarter. So I'm still back on that same thing.

是的，你看，我一直在說高個位數。我認為本季我們獲得了一些時機上的優勢，還有一些其他的事情也進展順利。我仍然預計第四季仍將保持同樣的高個位數成長。因此，實際上，與去年第四季相比，今年第四季的業績有所改善，與我上一季的預測相比略有下降。所以我仍然重複同樣的事情。

Okay, great. Thank you both.

好的，太好了。謝謝你們兩位。

Ken Worthington, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的肯‧沃辛頓。

Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking the question. I wanted to talk about the deal environment from the perspective of Houlihan as an acquirer. Your stock is near the highs. The funding environment is quite good. Is now a good time for Houlihan to be a buyer. And what sort of feedback are you getting from potential targets and partners and given all the puts and takes, is it reasonable to think that Houlihan will be more or less or similarly active in calendar '25 versus what you were in '24?

嗨，下午好。感謝您回答這個問題。我想從 Houlihan 作為收購方的角度來談談交易環境。你的股票已接近高點。融資環境相當良好。現在正是 Houlihan 收購的好時機。您從潛在目標和合作夥伴那裡得到了什麼樣的回饋？考慮到所有的利弊，您是否有理由認為，與 2024 年相比，Houlihan 在 2025 年的活躍程度會更高、更低或類似？

So, we if anything have just gotten, I would say more organized and how we think about our acquisitions and at any point in time are in dialogue with an array of parties. When those hit, when somebody is interested in doing a transaction, markets are a portion of it, but again, these are people businesses and it has a lot more to do with the individuals than anything else quite honestly.

因此，如果有什麼變化的話，我想說我們已經變得更加有組織了，並且我們思考我們的收購，並且在任何時候都與一系列各方進行對話。當這些發生時，當有人有興趣進行交易時，市場是其中的一部分，但同樣，這些都是人力業務，坦白說，它與個人的關係比其他任何事情都更大。

And so, everything you said is factual, but I don't know that that necessarily drives more or less deals. I think that our view is that there are opportunities out there and we will continue to go after them. The timing of them don't know when they will happen.

所以，您說的一切都是事實，但我不知道這是否必然會帶來更多或更少的交易。我認為我們認為那裡有機會，我們會繼續追求它們。不知道它們什麼時候會發生。

So let's try it in a fishing analogy. Do you have more lines in the water now, acknowledging you don't know if a fish is going to bite or not depends on, as you said, a lot of different factors? But it is there more dialogue happening now or is it just continuous?

因此，讓我們嘗試用釣魚來做類比。您現在在水中放的魚線是否更多了，因為您承認您不知道魚是否會咬鉤，正如您所說，這取決於許多不同的因素？但現在有更多的對話嗎？還是只是持續性的？

Very good question. I would say, we have better sonar today than we did before in identifying where the fish are.

非常好的問題。我想說，我們現在擁有比以前更好的聲納來識別魚的位置。

Perfect. Okay, I love the analogy. And then maybe in terms of client dialogue and corporate finance, I'm thinking about this from a geography perspective. Curious to hear if you're seeing engagement differ by region at all. I'll try it back to Trump and elections and so on. But are you getting different engagement and dialogue, North America versus Europe versus Asia? Like anything that strikes you as interesting or curious that's worth calling out.

完美的。好的，我喜歡這個比喻。然後也許在客戶對話和公司財務方面，我從地理角度來考慮這個問題。我很好奇，您是否發現不同地區的參與度有差異。我會嘗試將其回溯到川普和選舉等等。但是，北美、歐洲和亞洲的參與和對話是否有所不同？就像任何讓你覺得有趣或好奇並值得大聲說出來的事。

It really is, as I said in my prepared comments, it really is across the board. There are pockets if you will that in a point in time do feel a little bit like they're picking up faster but each of those regions broadly defined is really seeing a pick up and both in, as we said, private equity and strategics, both. It is an all around pick up. There are pockets that are a little slower, moving a little faster, but when you look at them in those territories, it is fair to say it's picking up everywhere.

正如我在準備好的評論中所說的那樣，它確實是全面的。如果你願意的話，在某個時間點，有些領域確實感覺它們的復甦速度有點快，但廣義上定義的每個地區都確實看到了復甦，而且正如我們所說的，私募股權和戰略都是如此。這是一次全方位的提升。有些地方發展得稍慢一些，有些地方發展得稍快一些，但當你觀察這些地區時，可以說，到處都在發展。

Okay, great. Thank you much.

好的，太好了。非常感謝。

Thanks, Ken.

謝謝，肯。

Devin Ryan, Citizens JMP.

德文·瑞安（Devin Ryan），公民 JMP。

Great. Hi Scott. Hey, Lisy. How are you?

偉大的。你好，斯科特。嘿，莉西。你好嗎？

Hey, Devin. Good.

嘿，德文。好的。

Question on just deal size and the evolution there. In the presentation, one of the drivers of corporate finance growth you guys have highlighted is just increasing deal size and deal fees. And so let me just flush that out a bit more and really kind of get a sense of how much it is a concerted effort around winning larger deals versus, just how much is that natural progression of your private equity firms buying a company and then selling it a few years later at twice the size. So there's just that natural growth or, you know, is there anything else that the Houlihan Lokey is doing here to drive higher fees per deal.

關於交易規模及其演變的問題。在演示中，你們強調的企業財務成長的驅動力之一就是增加交易規模和交易費用。因此，讓我進一步闡述這一點，真正了解這在多大程度上是一種為了贏得更大交易而進行的齊心協力，而在多大程度上是一種私募股權公司購買一家公司，然後在幾年後以兩倍的規模出售的自然過程。所以這只是自然增長，或者，你知道，Houlihan Lokey 是否採取了其他措施來提高每筆交易的費用。

Combination of all of the above that you mentioned. But I mean the simple answer is, we are squarely focused on the mid cap space. Period, right? Having said that, within that, we do continue to see year over year, just a steady increase in both deal size and for the most part the size as well correspondingly. And that is, I'm not going to say it's perfectly linear, but that has been directionally correct for a very long time and we don't really expect that to change.

您所提到的以上所有內容的組合。但我的意思是，簡單的答案是，我們完全專注於中型股領域。句號，對吧？話雖如此，我們確實看到交易規模逐年穩定成長，而且大部分規模也相應增加。也就是說，我不會說它是完全線性的，但它在很長一段時間內都是正確的方向，我們並不真的希望它改變。

And slightly different answer for restructuring and FDA, but for corporate finance, which I think was the sort of focus of your question and Scott said it.

對於重組和 FDA 的答案略有不同，但對於公司財務，我認為這是你問題的重點，斯科特也說過這一點。

Got it. Thanks guys. And then just a follow up on the private capital financing efforts. Obviously some news of more hires there recently, you guys continue to invest. I love to just get an update on the optimism for that part of the business and expectations there over the next year. Thanks.

知道了。謝謝大家。然後只是對私人資本融資工作的後續。顯然，最近有更多招募的消息，你們繼續投資。我很想了解一下該部分業務的樂觀程度以及對明年的預期。謝謝。

Yeah, I mean, I obviously that is an area that is a newer, hotter area. There's no that I've gotten has been for a while now. But I mean, we believe it's here to stay and really is -- as part of a greater set of capital solutions for sponsors. Just having a broader set of alternatives than they would have had five years ago on what to do with and how they run their businesses, and we think that we're well positioned to continue to take advantage of that.

是的，我的意思是，我顯然這是一個較新、較熱門的地區。我已經有一段時間沒有收到任何消息了。但我的意思是，我們相信它會繼續存在，而且確實如此——作為贊助商更大資本解決方案的一部分。與五年前相比，他們在如何處理和如何經營業務方面擁有了更廣泛的選擇，我們認為我們有能力繼續利用這一點。

All right, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

好的，非常感謝。非常感謝。

Brendan O'Brien, Wolfe Research.

布倫丹·奧布萊恩（Brendan O'Brien），沃爾夫研究公司。

Good afternoon and thanks for taking my questions. I guess to start, just to follow up on the capital markets business. One of the bold bracket banks announced that they're creating their own private capital solutions group that seems to be going after a similar TAM as you guys. I just wanted to get a sense as to whether you see increased competition in the space and whether that could pose a threat to the growth outlook for the business.

下午好，感謝您回答我的問題。我想開始只是為了跟進資本市場業務。一家大膽的投資銀行宣布，他們正在創建自己的私人資本解決方案集團，似乎正在追求與你們類似的 TAM。我只是想了解您是否認為該領域的競爭加劇，以及這是否會對業務的成長前景構成威脅。

And also, if you could give some color on the size or type of companies that you're working with. I would imagine that competition for these types of services will be much further down, much lower, the further down market you move.

另外，您是否可以介紹一下與您合作的公司規模或類型？我可以想像，隨著市場進一步深入，這類服務的競爭將會更加激烈、更加低迷。

To answer your question the capital market side, there is not a business we're in that doesn't have competition. And so we understand that and our capital markets business is absolutely no different. We actually do think that the growth in private capital has been so significant that will obviously continue to be more players in the space. Obviously, there needs to be just given the growth in the ecosystem overall. We feel very good about our ability to continue to grow that business meaningfully in the year to come.

回答你關於資本市場的問題，我們所從事的每一個產業都存在競爭。我們明白這一點，我們的資本市場業務也絕對沒有什麼不同。我們確實認為私人資本的成長如此顯著，顯然將會有更多的參與者進入該領域。顯然，考慮到整個生態系統的成長，這是必要的。我們對未來一年繼續實現業務顯著成長的能力感到非常滿意。

And I'd say if the article you're referring to is Coleman, kind of creating capital solutions business. You know, we kind of look at the capital markets business very similar to our M&A business. We're going to have competition. That competition is likely going to come from other mid cap companies.

我想說，如果您指的是科爾曼的文章，那麼它就是在創建資本解決方案業務。你知道，我們認為資本市場業務與併購業務非常相似。我們將會展開競爭。這種競爭可能來自其他中型公司。

Coleman's Capital Solutions business is more likely going to compete with the ever [cores] of the world, the Molasses of the world, sort of our -- some of our publicly traded peers and yes, I'm sure they'll dip down into our business and we'll increase some sizes to dip into their business. But in general, I think we're staying on different playing fields and not just for M&A but probably our capital solutions business as well.

科爾曼的資本解決方案業務更有可能與世界上的核心、世界上的糖蜜競爭，有點像我們的一些上市公司的同行，是的，我相信他們會涉足我們的業務，我們也會增加一些規模來涉足他們的業務。但總的來說，我認為我們處於不同的競爭環境中，不僅僅是併購，可能還有我們的資本解決方案業務。

That's helpful color. And then for my follow up, I just wanted to touch on the restructuring outlook. There's been a significant divergence in traditional restructuring and liability management activity this cycle. However, historically speaking, anywhere from 15% to as high as I think, 35% of companies that undergo LME transaction end up filing chapter 11 within the next two years. How much does this dynamic inform your optimistic outlook for restructuring? And how do you expect the mix between traditional restructuring versus liability management to evolve over time.

這是很有幫助的顏色。然後，作為我的後續行動，我只想談談重組前景。本週期中，傳統重組和負債管理活動出現了顯著分歧。然而，從歷史上看，進行 LME 交易的公司中，有 15% 到我認為最高的 35% 最終會在未來兩年內申請破產保護。這種動態對您對重組的樂觀態度有多少影響？您認為傳統重組與負債管理之間的組合將如何隨著時間的推移而演變？

Yeah, I mean, you are correct in the information that you stated and that obviously does factor in. But that's just a piece of it. And at the end of the day, it's just is, if you look at where interest rates are, if you -- the number of sick balance sheets out there as a result of rapidly increasing interest rates for a higher period of time than perhaps people would have anticipated or some would have hoped for, is really contributing to just more of those sick balance sheets needing to be taken care of.

是的，我的意思是，您陳述的資訊是正確的，而且這顯然是有影響的。但這只是其中的一部分。歸根結底，如果你看一下利率，你會發現，由於利率在比人們預期或希望的更長時間內快速上升，導致出現更多的病態資產負債表，這實際上會導致需要處理的病態資產負債表增多。

And that manifests itself in various different ways, and as we look at it and we just look at the level of inquiry that we have, we continue to feel confident that we will be higher for longer.

這以各種不同的方式表現出來，當我們審視它並審視我們所擁有的探究水平時，我們仍然充滿信心，我們將在更長時間內保持更高的水平。

Thank you for taking my questions.

感謝您回答我的問題。

Ryan Kenny, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的瑞安·肯尼。

Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Just wanted to dig in a little bit more on your conversations with sponsor clients in the corporate finance business. Is that pick up also more gradual, like what you're seeing broad based across M&A or should we expect some more outsized momentum on the sponsor side?

你好。感謝您回答我的問題。只是想更深入地了解您與企業融資業務贊助商客戶的對話。這種回升是否也更加漸進，就像您在併購領域所看到的普遍情況一樣，還是我們應該期待贊助商方面出現更加強勁的勢頭？

Yeah, and certainly the level of sponsor activity has picked up. No doubt about it and it is -- they're both picked up materially. I do think you're correct. The sponsor activity and just the sponsor dialogue and sentiment does feel like it has picked up even more. And we're feeling good about where that's heading.

是的，贊助商活動的水平確實有所提升。毫無疑問，它們都是物質上的收穫。我確實認為你是對的。贊助商活動以及贊助商對話和情緒確實感覺更加活躍。我們對於事情的發展方向感到很滿意。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jim Mitchell, Seaport Global Securities.

吉姆·米切爾，Seaport Global Securities。

Hey, good afternoon. Scott, I think on the last call you talked about transaction velocity improving but not back to pre pandemic levels. It sounds like it got a little better this quarter. So are we getting much closer or getting back to more traditional velocity levels or are still aways away?

嘿，下午好。斯科特，我想在上次通話中您談到交易速度有所提高，但還沒有恢復到疫情前的水平。聽起來本季的情況有所改善。那麼，我們是否越來越接近或回到更傳統的速度水平，還是仍然很遠？

We're still, we're not there yet. I mean it is continuing to improve just as I said, but we're not there yet.

我們仍然還沒有到達那裡。我的意思是，正如我所說，它正在不斷改善，但我們還沒有達到那一步。

And so what gets it there. It seems like financing is pretty wide open. What causing still this hesitation or slower reaction?

那麼是什麼讓它到達那裡呢？看起來融資管道相當開放。是什麼原因導致這種猶豫或反應遲緩？

I don't want to be cavalier about it, but time, right? It just takes time.

我不想對此漫不經心，但時間就是金錢，對吧？這只是需要時間。

Are bid as spreads still wide relative to where in terms of expectation.

相對於預期而言，出價差仍然較大。

That's not really it. I mean, we've talked about before. It is still -- people are getting back in the water. They're not running into the water. And that to keep with our water-based examples. And because of that, over time, I think that you will just see that in history and say that will continue to speed up, but it just takes time.

事實並非如此。我的意思是，我們之前已經討論過了。現在仍然如此——人們正在回到水中。它們沒有跑進水裡。這與我們的基於水的例子保持一致。正因為如此，隨著時間的推移，我認為你會在歷史上看到這種情況，並說這種情況會繼續加速，但這需要時間。

Right. Okay. And just one follow up on restructuring. Is the story here, higher for longer rates and everything else you've described this sort of keeps these elevated levels going but maybe incrementally tougher to grow or do you still feel like in the next couple of years, you can still see some decent upward trajectory and in revenues and restructuring?

正確的。好的。僅就重組進行一次跟進。這裡的故事是這樣的，長期利率更高，而您所描述的其他一切都會使這些高水平保持下去，但增長可能會逐漸變得更加困難，還是您仍然覺得在未來幾年內，您仍然可以看到一些不錯的上升軌跡以及收入和重組？

I think -- look, I think the former. I think it's -- as long as the M&A markets are robust, it's just hard to grow restructuring business, unless you start to see pressure on interest rates and in higher direct and higher versus pressure lower. I think we feel comfortable saying higher for longer. I don't think we're comfortable saying they're potentially in this market could be incremental growth.

我認為——看，我認為是前者。我認為，只要併購市場強勁，重組業務就很難成長，除非你開始看到利率壓力以及更高的直接壓力和更高的相對較低的壓力。我認為我們可以放心地說更高、更長。我認為我們不太願意說他們在這個市場上有潛力實現增量成長。

Now, if the market changes, obviously, then you'll start to see pressure on M&A and you'll see some upward pressure on financial restructuring, but in this current market condition, assuming that it continues to get better, -- we love the fact that we're not seeing restructuring revenue decline.

現在，如果市場發生變化，顯然，你會開始看到併購方面的壓力，你會看到金融重組方面面臨一些上行壓力，但在目前的市場條件下，假設情況繼續好轉，我們很高興看到重組收入沒有下降。

We love the fact that they're holding where they are, and we think it's a kind of a heroic effort from the team to keep us flat in a increasing M&A environment.

我們很高興看到他們能夠保持現狀，並且我們認為在日益增多的併購環境中保持現狀平穩是團隊做出的一種英勇努力。

Yeah. Okay. Understood. Thanks for your color, Lindsay and Scott.

是的。好的。明白了。感謝 Lindsay 和 Scott 的色彩。

That concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to the company for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給公司，以便發表結束語。

I want to thank you all for participating in our third quarter fiscal 2025 earnings call. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress when we discuss our fourth quarter and full year results for fiscal 2025 this coming spring.

我要感謝大家參加我們的 2025 財年第三季財報電話會議。我們期待在今年春季討論 2025 財年第四季和全年業績時向大家通報我們的進展。

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。