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Side-by-side financial comparison of ESAB Corp (ESAB) and HOULIHAN LOKEY, INC. (HLI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

ESAB Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($745.6M vs $717.1M, roughly 1.0× HOULIHAN LOKEY, INC.). HOULIHAN LOKEY, INC. runs the higher net margin — 16.3% vs 6.6%, a 9.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, HOULIHAN LOKEY, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (13.0% vs 9.9%). Over the past eight quarters, HOULIHAN LOKEY, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (17.4% CAGR vs 4.0%).

ESAB, Elektriska Svetsnings-Aktiebolaget, is an American-Swedish industrial company.

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company. Houlihan Lokey was founded in 1972 and is headquartered at Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California. The firm advises large public and closely held companies as well as institutions and governments. Its main service lines include mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, restructuring and distressed M&A, fairness opinions, and financial and valuation advisory. A...

ESAB vs HLI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ESAB
ESAB
1.0× larger
ESAB
$745.6M
$717.1M
HLI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
HLI
HLI
+3.1% gap
HLI
13.0%
9.9%
ESAB
Higher net margin
HLI
HLI
9.6% more per $
HLI
16.3%
6.6%
ESAB
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
HLI
HLI
Annualised
HLI
17.4%
4.0%
ESAB

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Revenue
$745.6M
$717.1M
Net Profit
$49.2M
$116.5M
Gross Margin
36.9%
32.2%
Operating Margin
12.1%
22.4%
Net Margin
6.6%
16.3%
Revenue YoY
9.9%
13.0%
Net Profit YoY
-29.3%
22.3%
EPS (diluted)
$0.78
$1.70

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$745.6M
Q4 25
$727.8M
$717.1M
Q3 25
$715.6M
$659.5M
Q2 25
$678.1M
$605.3M
Q1 25
$666.4M
Q4 24
$670.8M
$634.4M
Q3 24
$673.3M
$575.0M
Q2 24
$707.1M
$513.6M
Net Profit
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$49.2M
Q4 25
$54.8M
$116.5M
Q3 25
$66.9M
$111.8M
Q2 25
$67.4M
$97.5M
Q1 25
$121.9M
Q4 24
$53.7M
$95.3M
Q3 24
$68.2M
$93.5M
Q2 24
$82.9M
$88.9M
Gross Margin
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
36.9%
Q4 25
37.0%
32.2%
Q3 25
37.2%
33.8%
Q2 25
37.6%
31.0%
Q1 25
33.9%
Q4 24
38.5%
31.4%
Q3 24
37.7%
33.0%
Q2 24
38.2%
30.6%
Operating Margin
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
12.1%
Q4 25
14.6%
22.4%
Q3 25
15.2%
22.9%
Q2 25
16.2%
14.8%
Q1 25
20.9%
Q4 24
16.6%
21.5%
Q3 24
15.7%
22.7%
Q2 24
16.9%
18.6%
Net Margin
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
6.6%
Q4 25
7.5%
16.3%
Q3 25
9.3%
17.0%
Q2 25
9.9%
16.1%
Q1 25
18.3%
Q4 24
8.0%
15.0%
Q3 24
10.1%
16.3%
Q2 24
11.7%
17.3%
EPS (diluted)
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$0.78
Q4 25
$0.90
$1.70
Q3 25
$1.09
$1.63
Q2 25
$1.10
$1.42
Q1 25
$1.76
Q4 24
$0.87
$1.39
Q3 24
$1.11
$1.37
Q2 24
$1.35
$1.30

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$1.0B
$1.1B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.0B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.2B
$2.3B
Total Assets
$5.6B
$3.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.91×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$1.0B
Q4 25
$218.2M
$1.1B
Q3 25
$258.2M
$923.6M
Q2 25
$291.3M
$793.8M
Q1 25
$971.0M
Q4 24
$249.4M
$799.3M
Q3 24
$253.7M
$691.4M
Q2 24
$228.5M
$449.7M
Total Debt
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$2.0B
Q4 25
$1.3B
Q3 25
$1.1B
Q2 25
$1.1B
Q1 25
Q4 24
$1.1B
Q3 24
$1.1B
Q2 24
$1.1B
Stockholders' Equity
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$2.2B
Q4 25
$2.1B
$2.3B
Q3 25
$2.1B
$2.2B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$2.2B
Q1 25
$2.2B
Q4 24
$1.8B
$2.1B
Q3 24
$1.8B
$2.0B
Q2 24
$1.7B
$1.8B
Total Assets
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$5.6B
Q4 25
$4.9B
$3.9B
Q3 25
$4.4B
$3.8B
Q2 25
$4.2B
$3.5B
Q1 25
$3.8B
Q4 24
$4.0B
$3.5B
Q3 24
$4.1B
$3.2B
Q2 24
$4.0B
$2.9B
Debt / Equity
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
0.91×
Q4 25
0.63×
Q3 25
0.51×
Q2 25
0.55×
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.60×
Q3 24
0.59×
Q2 24
0.63×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$46.9M
$217.7M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$217.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
30.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.95×
1.87×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$738.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
$46.9M
Q4 25
$81.5M
$217.7M
Q3 25
$46.6M
$325.0M
Q2 25
$35.4M
$-131.6M
Q1 25
$358.4M
Q4 24
$126.9M
$265.5M
Q3 24
$101.0M
$289.2M
Q2 24
$83.0M
$-64.5M
Free Cash Flow
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$70.3M
$217.0M
Q3 25
$37.4M
$322.8M
Q2 25
$28.1M
$-144.8M
Q1 25
$343.9M
Q4 24
$102.2M
$261.7M
Q3 24
$90.4M
$278.7M
Q2 24
$74.0M
$-75.4M
FCF Margin
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
Q4 25
9.7%
30.3%
Q3 25
5.2%
49.0%
Q2 25
4.1%
-23.9%
Q1 25
51.6%
Q4 24
15.2%
41.2%
Q3 24
13.4%
48.5%
Q2 24
10.5%
-14.7%
Capex Intensity
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.5%
0.1%
Q3 25
1.3%
0.3%
Q2 25
1.1%
2.2%
Q1 25
2.2%
Q4 24
3.7%
0.6%
Q3 24
1.6%
1.8%
Q2 24
1.3%
2.1%
Cash Conversion
ESAB
ESAB
HLI
HLI
Q1 26
0.95×
Q4 25
1.49×
1.87×
Q3 25
0.70×
2.91×
Q2 25
0.53×
-1.35×
Q1 25
2.94×
Q4 24
2.36×
2.79×
Q3 24
1.48×
3.09×
Q2 24
1.00×
-0.73×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ESAB
ESAB

Segment breakdown not available.

HLI
HLI

Corporate Finance$473.7M66%
Financial Restructuring$156.3M22%
Financial Advisory Services$87.1M12%

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