Houlihan Lokey (HLI) Cash Flow: Operating & Free Cash Flow

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) Cash Flow Statement

In fiscal 2026 (fiscal year ended Mar 31, 2026), Houlihan Lokey generated $704.13M of operating cash flow and spent $22.31M on capital expenditures. That left free cash flow of $681.82M, down 15.7% from $808.91M a year earlier, or 26.0% of revenue. It returned $349.46M to shareholders through $174.04M in dividends and $175.43M in share buybacks.

Houlihan Lokey Cash Flow Statement Analysis

Values in billions USD

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Ratios

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Cash flow statement showing operating, investing, and financing activities for Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (HLI) - Annual data in billions USD
Breakdown	FY 2026	FY 2025	FY 2024	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 2021	FY 2020	FY 2019	FY 2018	FY 2017
Period ending	Mar 2026	Mar 2025	Mar 2024	Mar 2023	Mar 2022	Mar 2021	Mar 2020	Mar 2019	Mar 2018	Mar 2017
Operating Activities
Net Income	0.42	0.40	0.28	0.25	0.44	0.31	0.18	0.16	0.17	0.11
Depreciation & Amortization	0.04	0.04	0.03	0.06	0.05	0.02	0.02	0.01	0.01	0.01
Deferred Income Tax	-0.03	0.00	0.02	0.00	0.00	-0.02	-0.01	-0.01	-0.01	-0.01
Stock Based Compensation	0.20	0.17	0.17	0.16	0.09	0.06	0.06	0.06	0.05	0.04
Change in Working Capital	0.00	0.20	-0.20	-0.37	0.18	0.18	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.07
Change in Accounts Receivable	-0.08	-0.06	-0.02	-0.04	0.01	-0.03	-0.01	0.02	-0.02	-0.01
Change in Inventory	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.21	0.04	-0.03	0.04	0.06
Change in Accounts Payable	-0.03	0.00	-0.03	-0.03	-0.01	0.00	-0.01	0.01	0.00	0.01
Change in Other Working Capital	0.11	0.04	-0.10	-0.30	0.03	-0.09	-0.01	0.00	0.00	0.01
Other Operating Activities	0.06	0.04	0.05	0.04	-0.02	0.01	0.03	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Cash from Operating Activities	0.70	0.85	0.33	0.14	0.74	0.58	0.29	0.22	0.25	0.23
Investing Activities
Capital Expenditures	-0.02	-0.04	-0.07	-0.05	-0.01	-0.01	-0.02	-0.01	-0.01	-0.01
Acquisitions	0.00	-0.07	0.00	-0.02	-0.36	-0.01	0.00	-0.07	0.00	0.00
Purchases of Investments	-0.26	-0.25	-0.01	-0.02	-0.10	-0.39	-0.35	-0.15	-0.21	0.00
Sales/Maturities of Investments	0.29	0.09	0.01	0.09	0.20	0.32	0.34	0.23	0.00	0.00
Other Investing Activities	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02
Net Cash from Investing Activities	0.00	-0.27	-0.07	0.00	-0.27	-0.10	-0.03	0.01	-0.22	0.00
Financing Activities
Debt Repayment	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.01	0.00	-0.02	-0.04
Common Stock Issued	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.19	0.00	0.00	0.09	0.19
Common Stock Repurchased	-0.18	-0.15	-0.10	-0.05	-0.34	-0.12	-0.03	-0.07	-0.02	0.00
Dividends Paid	-0.17	-0.17	-0.15	-0.14	-0.11	-0.09	-0.08	-0.07	-0.05	-0.06
Other Financing Activities	-0.14	-0.01	-0.01	-0.05	-0.01	0.00	-0.03	-0.10	-0.23	0.01
Net Cash from Financing Activities	-0.49	-0.33	-0.25	-0.24	-0.46	-0.03	-0.15	-0.24	-0.23	0.10
Summary
Effect of Forex Changes on Cash	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.01	-0.02	0.01	-0.01	-0.01	0.00	0.00
Net Change in Cash	0.22	0.25	0.01	-0.12	-0.01	0.47	0.09	-0.01	-0.19	0.33
Cash at Beginning of Period	0.98	0.72	0.71	0.83	0.85	0.38	0.29	0.30	0.49	0.17
Cash at End of Period	1.19	0.98	0.72	0.71	0.83	0.85	0.38	0.29	0.30	0.49
Free Cash Flow	0.68	0.81	0.26	0.09	0.73	0.57	0.27	0.22	0.24	0.21
Supplemental Disclosures
Interest Paid	-	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.00	-	-	-	-
Income Taxes Paid	-	0.09	0.11	0.16	0.24	0.04	-	-	-	-

Source: Company financial statements from annual and quarterly filings. Data as of Jun 30, 2026. Data sources and methodology

Frequently Asked Questions About Houlihan Lokey Cash Flow

What is Houlihan Lokey's free cash flow?

Houlihan Lokey generated free cash flow of $681.82M in fiscal 2026 (fiscal year ended Mar 31, 2026), operating cash flow of $704.13M minus $22.31M of capital expenditures. That was down 15.7% from $808.91M a year earlier. Free cash flow equaled 26.0% of revenue.

How much does Houlihan Lokey spend on capital expenditures?

Houlihan Lokey spent $22.31M on capital expenditures in fiscal 2026, compared with $39.70M a year earlier. That equals 3.2% of operating cash flow.

Does Houlihan Lokey pay dividends or buy back shares?

Yes. In fiscal 2026 Houlihan Lokey returned $174.04M in dividends and $175.43M in share buybacks to shareholders, according to its cash flow statement.

What is free cash flow?

Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. It is the cash a company has left for dividends, buybacks, debt repayment or acquisitions after funding its operations and investment. Full definition