Lazard vs MSCI
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The short version
- Lazard is the larger business, with $3.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.1B for MSCI.
- MSCI grew revenue faster (9.8%, against 1.5%).
- MSCI kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (54.7% operating margin, against 10.3%).
- MSCI turned more of its sales into free cash flow (49.4% FCF margin, against 15.3%).
- MSCI earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (44.5%, against 22.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of MSCI’s earnings: a P/E of 32.6x against 14.7x for Lazard.
| Latest fiscal year | LAZ · FY25 | MSCI · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $4.0B | $44.5B |
| Revenue | $3.2B | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $487M | $1.5B |
| Net income | $237M | $1.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 1.5% | 9.8% |
| 5-year growth | 3.8% | 13.1% |
| Share count change | 3.9% | −2.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 10.3% | 54.7% |
| Net margin | 7.4% | 38.4% |
| FCF margin | 15.3% | 49.4% |
| Return on capital | 22.9% | 44.5% |
| Return on equity | 31.4% | — |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $219M | $5.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.6x | 3.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $278M | $3.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 14.7x | 32.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | — | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
LAZ $2.4B
MSCI $1.2B
FY17
LAZ $2.7B
MSCI $1.3B
FY18
LAZ $2.9B
MSCI $1.4B
FY19
LAZ $2.7B
MSCI $1.6B
FY20
LAZ $2.6B
MSCI $1.7B
FY21
LAZ $3.3B
MSCI $2.0B
FY22
LAZ $2.9B
MSCI $2.2B
FY23
LAZ $2.6B
MSCI $2.5B
FY24
LAZ $3.1B
MSCI $2.9B
FY25
LAZ $3.2B
MSCI $3.1B
LAZ
MSCI
Operating margin
FY16
LAZ 21.7%
MSCI 42.4%
FY17
LAZ 30.6%
MSCI 45.5%
FY18
LAZ 23.6%
MSCI 47.9%
FY19
LAZ 14.7%
MSCI 48.5%
FY20
LAZ 19.0%
MSCI 52.2%
FY21
LAZ 22.1%
MSCI 52.5%
FY22
LAZ 18.1%
MSCI 53.7%
FY23
LAZ −3.1%
MSCI 54.8%
FY24
LAZ 12.3%
MSCI 53.5%
FY25
LAZ 10.3%
MSCI 54.7%
LAZ
MSCI
Free cash flow
FY16
LAZ $594M
MSCI $410M
FY17
LAZ $1.0B
MSCI $371M
FY18
LAZ $649M
MSCI $583M
FY19
LAZ $635M
MSCI $680M
FY20
LAZ $512M
MSCI $789M
FY21
LAZ $826M
MSCI $923M
FY22
LAZ $784M
MSCI $1.1B
FY23
LAZ $136M
MSCI $1.2B
FY24
LAZ $697M
MSCI $1.5B
FY25
LAZ $487M
MSCI $1.5B
LAZ
MSCI
Return on capital
FY16
LAZ 30.8%
MSCI 20.0%
FY17
LAZ 36.1%
MSCI 23.7%
FY18
LAZ 50.0%
MSCI 35.8%
FY19
LAZ 25.8%
MSCI 47.2%
FY20
LAZ 33.3%
MSCI 49.9%
FY21
LAZ 41.6%
MSCI 43.2%
FY22
LAZ 31.6%
MSCI 39.6%
FY23
LAZ −5.4%
MSCI 39.9%
FY24
LAZ 25.3%
MSCI 38.7%
FY25
LAZ 22.9%
MSCI 44.5%
LAZ
MSCI
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.