Lazard
LAZ NYSE Diversified Capital Markets Financials FY2016–FY2025
Lazard's revenue rose 1.5% to $3.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 10.3%, down from 12.3% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $487 million, down 30.1%. It paid out $278 million in dividends and buybacks, 57% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 3.9%.
What Lazard does
Lazard, founded in 1848, is a global financial advisory and asset management firm with operations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. It advises companies and governments on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and capital solutions, restructuring and liability management, geopolitics and other strategic matters. It also manages money for institutions and individuals.
It has two main segments. Financial Advisory earns fees for advice, and these fees are not long-term contracted revenue. The ten largest fee-paying clients made up approximately 17% of the segment's net revenue in 2025, and no client was more than 10%. Asset Management offers equity, fixed income, asset allocation and alternative investment strategies, plus private equity funds and wealth management, to corporations, public funds, endowments, labor unions and others. Its top ten clients held 24% of assets under management (AUM), the money it manages for clients.
About 82% of AUM at the end of 2025 was managed for institutional and intermediary clients. Lazard says that having several lines of business, regions and industries helps even out its revenue. It also has a Corporate segment. Financial Advisory had 216 managing directors and Asset Management had 124.
- Legal name
- LAZARD, INC.
- Fiscal year ends
- December 31, 2025
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Feb 23, 2026
- Accession · CIK
- 0001311370-26-000008
0001311370
Revenue and margins
Lazard had $3.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 1.5% on the year before.
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew −3.2% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.
Returns on capital
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Cash flow
Free cash flow was $487M in fiscal 2025, 15.3% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.
Dividends, buybacks and share count
Lazard returned $278M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 57% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 3.9%.
Value Lazard yourself
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
Discounted cash flow
Value per share
—
Adds net cash of −$219M and divides by 106.3M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Earnings multiple
Value per share
—
Reference multiples: today 14.7x · peers 28.8x · sector 13.7x.
Balance sheet
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Lazard can carry it.
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $1.5B | $1.2B | $971M | $1.3B | $1.5B |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.3x | 0.8x | — | 0.9x | 0.6x |
| Debt / equity | 1.7x | 3.0x | 4.0x | 2.7x | 1.9x |
| Interest coverage | 9.0x | 6.3x | −1.0x | 4.4x | 3.8x |
| Total assets | $7.1B | $5.9B | $4.6B | $4.8B | $4.9B |
| Total liabilities | $5.5B | $4.6B | $4.1B | $4.0B | $4.0B |
| Shareholders' equity | $975M | $557M | $424M | $636M | $874M |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | $220M | $453M | $719M | $379M | $219M |
Insider trades
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$8.7M
2 insiders
Of sales under plans
100%
$8.7M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2026 | Peter Richard OrszagCEO & Chairman, Director | Sold plan | 125,000 | $43.52 | $5.4M | Form 4 |
| Mar 19, 2026 | Christopher HogbinCEO Asset Management | Sold plan | 3,944 | $39.37 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 18, 2026 | Christopher HogbinCEO Asset Management | Sold plan | 7,885 | $40.37 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Peter Richard OrszagCEO & Chairman, Director | Sold plan | 69,170 | $40.76 | $2.8M | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Current ratio rose | — | — | — |
| Share count didn't rise | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| F-score | — / 9 | — / 9 | — / 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −4.6% | −9.8% | −5.8% |
| Altman Z'' | — | — | — |
Similar companies
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lazard LAZ | $4.0B | 1.5% | 10.3% | 15.3% | 22.9% | 14.7x | — | |
| MSCI MSCI | $44.5B | 9.8% | 54.7% | 49.4% | 44.5% | 32.6x | 7 | Compare → |
| Primerica PRI | $8.6B | 6.6% | — | — | 34.5% | 11.0x | — | Compare → |
| Ryan Specialty RYAN | — | 21.3% | 16.2% | 21.0% | 8.7% | — | — | Compare → |
| BGC Group BGC | $5.6B | 30.0% | — | 12.7% | 13.2% | 28.8x | — | Compare → |
10 years of figures
US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $2.4B | $2.7B | $2.9B | $2.7B | $2.6B | $3.3B | $2.9B | $2.6B | $3.1B | $3.2B |
| Operating income | $518M | $825M | $681M | $393M | $502M | $724M | $517M | −$80.0M | $387M | $328M |
| Interest expense | $50.3M | $53.5M | $58.5M | $80.2M | $80.6M | $80.8M | $81.5M | $77.7M | $88.1M | $87.3M |
| Pretax income | $512M | $819M | $675M | $382M | $502M | $709M | $482M | −$80.0M | $387M | $328M |
| Income tax | $124M | $566M | $148M | $95.0M | $99.4M | $181M | $124M | −$22.6M | $99.8M | $76.6M |
| Net income | $388M | $254M | $527M | $287M | $403M | $528M | $358M | −$75.5M | $280M | $237M |
| Diluted EPS | $2.92 | $1.91 | $4.06 | $2.44 | $3.54 | $4.63 | $3.51 | −$0.90 | $2.68 | $2.17 |
| Diluted shares | 0.13B | 0.13B | 0.13B | 0.12B | 0.11B | 0.11B | 0.10B | 0.09B | 0.10B | 0.11B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $633M | $1.0B | $699M | $678M | $576M | $866M | $834M | $165M | $743M | $519M |
| Capital expenditure | $38.7M | $27.7M | $49.6M | $42.8M | $64.3M | $39.7M | $49.5M | $28.3M | $45.5M | $31.9M |
| Free cash flow | $594M | $1.0B | $649M | $635M | $512M | $826M | $784M | $136M | $697M | $487M |
| Depreciation and amortization | $33.3M | $31.5M | $34.1M | $35.6M | $35.1M | $38.3M | $42.3M | $42.9M | $36.3M | $34.2M |
| Stock-based compensation | $262M | $273M | $268M | $253M | $218M | $234M | $241M | $251M | $278M | $360M |
| Acquisitions | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $10.5M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $300M | $307M | $553M | $495M | $95.2M | $406M | $692M | $102M | $59.5M | $91.0M |
| Dividends paid | $336M | $341M | $360M | $255M | $197M | $196M | $182M | $173M | $179M | $187M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $636M | $648M | $913M | $750M | $292M | $602M | $874M | $275M | $239M | $278M |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $1.2B | $1.5B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.2B | $971M | $1.3B | $1.5B |
| Total debt | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.4B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.7B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Inventory | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Property and equipment, net | $209M | $205M | $213M | $220M | $258M | $250M | $250M | $233M | $160M | $168M |
| Total assets | $4.6B | $4.9B | $5.0B | $5.6B | $6.0B | $7.1B | $5.9B | $4.6B | $4.8B | $4.9B |
| Total liabilities | $3.3B | $3.7B | $4.0B | $5.0B | $5.0B | $5.5B | $4.6B | $4.1B | $4.0B | $4.0B |
| Shareholders' equity | $1.2B | $1.2B | $917M | $610M | $912M | $975M | $557M | $424M | $636M | $874M |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Operating margin | 21.7% | 30.6% | 23.6% | 14.7% | 19.0% | 22.1% | 18.1% | −3.1% | 12.3% | 10.3% |
| EBITDA margin | 23.1% | 31.8% | 24.8% | 16.1% | 20.3% | 23.3% | 19.6% | −1.4% | 13.5% | 11.4% |
| Net margin | 16.3% | 9.4% | 18.3% | 10.7% | 15.2% | 16.1% | 12.5% | −2.9% | 8.9% | 7.4% |
| FCF margin | 24.9% | 37.1% | 22.5% | 23.8% | 19.3% | 25.2% | 27.5% | 5.3% | 22.2% | 15.3% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 30.8% | 36.1% | 50.0% | 25.8% | 33.3% | 41.6% | 31.6% | −5.4% | 25.3% | 22.9% |
| Return on equity | 30.4% | 20.8% | 49.8% | 37.5% | 52.9% | 56.0% | 46.7% | −15.4% | 52.8% | 31.4% |
| Return on assets | 8.6% | 5.4% | 10.6% | 5.4% | 6.9% | 8.1% | 5.5% | −1.4% | 5.9% | 4.9% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | −0.9% | 13.2% | 6.9% | −7.6% | −0.8% | 23.7% | −12.8% | −9.2% | 21.1% | 1.5% |
| Net income growth | −60.7% | −34.6% | 107.9% | −45.7% | 40.5% | 31.2% | −32.3% | −121.1% | — | −15.4% |
| EPS growth | −60.5% | −34.6% | 112.6% | −39.9% | 45.1% | 30.8% | −24.2% | −125.6% | — | −19.0% |
| FCF growth | −31.0% | 68.6% | −35.2% | −2.2% | −19.5% | 61.5% | −5.1% | −82.6% | 411.4% | −30.1% |
| Share count change | −0.5% | −0.1% | −2.1% | −10.6% | −2.2% | 0.2% | −11.2% | −11.9% | 15.1% | 3.9% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.1x | −0.3x | 0.3x | 1.1x | 0.6x | 0.3x | 0.8x | — | 0.9x | 0.6x |
| Debt / equity | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.6x | 2.8x | 1.9x | 1.7x | 3.0x | 4.0x | 2.7x | 1.9x |
| Interest coverage | 10.3x | 15.4x | 11.6x | 4.9x | 6.2x | 9.0x | 6.3x | −1.0x | 4.4x | 3.8x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 1.6% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.0% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 11.0% | 10.1% | 9.3% | 9.5% | 8.3% | 7.2% | 8.4% | 9.7% | 8.9% | 11.3% |
| Payouts / FCF | 107.2% | 64.7% | 140.5% | 118.0% | 57.0% | 72.9% | 111.4% | 201.8% | 34.2% | 57.0% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Accruals ratio | −5.4% | −16.4% | −3.5% | −7.4% | −3.0% | −5.2% | −7.3% | −4.6% | −9.8% | −5.8% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001311370). Data updated October 11, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.