Moelis & Company

What they do

Moelis advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions and other corporate finance matters. Revenues come from individually negotiated engagement letters, with fees typically earned at transaction milestones such as closing. The firm operates from over 20 locations across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, and as of June 30, 2026 employed 1,016 advisory bankers. It serves clients across all major industries, including Technology, Industrials, Healthcare, Energy, Financial Institutions and Real Estate.

Revenue drivers

• M&A and strategic advisory — The firm's core franchise, advising on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures, fairness opinions and shareholder advisory across all sectors and major markets.
• Capital structure advisory — Advises on recapitalizations and restructurings; recent activity has been driven by liability management assignments, with management anticipating more traditional restructurings as prior solutions run their course.
• Capital markets — Provides public and private financing solutions; management describes significant growth in this business, benefiting from increased investor risk appetite across growth-oriented sectors.
• Private capital advisory — Following substantial investment in 2025, this business is gaining traction as the GP-led secondaries market continues to hit record levels, and management calls it a core pillar of the client offering.

Recent performance

For the second quarter of 2026, Moelis reported record revenues of $409.4 million, up 12% from the prior year period, with GAAP net income of $55.1 million, or $0.62 per diluted share. First half 2026 revenues were a record $729.2 million, up 9%, with GAAP net income of $97.4 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, and Adjusted net income of $97.2 million, or $1.13 per diluted share. Second quarter Adjusted pre-tax margin was 18.6% versus 17.6% a year earlier, and first half Adjusted pre-tax margin was 17.0% versus 16.0%. For full year 2025, GAAP revenues were $1,516.8 million, up 27% from $1,194.5 million in 2024, while annual net income was $259.6 million. The firm repurchased 0.3 million shares in the second quarter at an average price of $64.43 and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share.

Strategy

Moelis continues to execute on a growth strategy centered on hiring senior talent and expanding advisory capabilities. Six Managing Directors joined year-to-date in 2026, focused on Private Credit Secondaries, Securitization, Debt Capital Markets and Private Credit, Energy, Chemicals, and Healthcare IT. Six additional Managing Directors are committed to join during the year, including three in Private Capital Advisory, two in Europe focused on Sponsors and Infrastructure, and one in Capital Structure Advisory. The firm also returned capital to shareholders, having returned $246.4 million with respect to the first half of 2026 including the declared dividend.

Risks

• Revenue timing and volatility — Fees are generally earned at transaction milestones such as closing, the timing of which is outside the firm's control, so revenues and net income can vary significantly quarter to quarter and period to period.
• Talent recruiting and retention — Future growth depends on identifying, recruiting and retaining qualified investment bankers; the market is extremely competitive, it takes time for new professionals to become profitable, and in 2025 the firm hired 9 new managing directors.
• Market and geopolitical conditions — Economic and global financial conditions, recent geopolitical events and market volatility can materially affect transaction activity levels and the timing of revenues.
• Growth execution and new office costs — Sustaining rapid growth requires additional management, operational and financial resources, and opening or acquiring new offices may require substantial investment and may not become profitable for some time.

Outlook

Management states that new business origination and deal activity are strong, with strategic acquirers becoming more active and financial sponsor activity increasing. The firm expects continued demand for liability management and more traditional restructuring activity over time, and it sees private capital advisory gaining meaningful traction as the GP-led secondaries market hits record levels. Moelis believes it is well-positioned to navigate dynamic markets given its diversified capabilities, strong balance sheet, substantial liquidity and zero debt.