Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.37 EPS

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The asset manager reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.37, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $487.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $430.17 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 43.19% and a net margin of 15.36%.Moelis & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Moelis & Company’s conference call:

• Recorded strong results with Q4 revenue of $488 million and FY adjusted revenue of $1.54 billion (+28% YoY), adjusted EPS of $2.99 (+64%), a robust balance sheet with $849 million cash and no debt, a $0.65 quarterly dividend, and a new $300 million share repurchase authorization after ~950k shares repurchased in 2025.
• Management says momentum and client activity are at multi-year highs with record new-business generation and a near‑record pipeline, expecting sponsor re-engagement and broader middle‑market pickup in 2026 while rapidly scaling its private capital advisory (PCA) / GP‑led secondaries capability.
• Operational leverage improved materially: adjusted compensation ratio fell to 65.8% (down 320 bps) and full‑year adjusted pre‑tax margin rose to 21.5% (510 bps improvement YoY), demonstrating stronger profitability discipline.
• Non‑compensation expenses rose due to higher deal‑related T&E, technology and data (including AI) investments, and occupancy from headcount growth, and the firm expects non‑comp expenses in 2026 to grow at a similar rate as 2025.
• Capital Structure Advisory revenues declined in 2025, but management expects a long runway of liability‑management and eventual in‑court restructurings as leverage and technology disruption persist, projecting CSA to be flat‑to‑up going forward.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MC opened at $71.61 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.97. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.87. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $47.00 and a 12 month high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is presently 86.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 1,161.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 661,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,231,000 after buying an additional 609,162 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 16.1% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,304,180 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $235,654,000 after acquiring an additional 458,575 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 50.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 681,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,617,000 after acquiring an additional 227,232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Moelis & Company by 22.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 772,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $55,087,000 after acquiring an additional 142,113 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 6.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,396,230 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $149,333,000 after acquiring an additional 135,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MC. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Moelis & Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.33.

Trending Headlines about Moelis & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Moelis & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q4 results — Moelis reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue ($487.9M, +11.2% YoY) and EPS beat; management highlighted growth across M&A and capital markets and expanded capital returns, which supports valuation and near-term shareholder returns. Moelis Reports Record Q4 Results and Expands Capital Returns
• Positive Sentiment: $300M buyback announced — Board authorized a $300 million share repurchase plan alongside the results, bolstering EPS accretion and returning capital to shareholders. MC Gains on Q4 Earnings Beat as Revenues Rise, Announces Buyback Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade / price-target lift — Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $90 and keeps an Overweight rating, implying material upside and lending credibility to the growth story. Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Given New $90.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend reinstated/confirmed — Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65/share (annualized yield ~3.7%), supporting income-focused demand ahead of the ex‑dividend date. (Company announcement 2/4)
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target modestly to $81 but kept a Neutral rating — signals respect for the beat but not a full conviction upgrade. Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Given New $81.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Neutral Sentiment: Street estimates nudged higher — some analysts are boosting near-term EPS estimates, reflecting the Q4 beat but leaving 2026/2027 forecasts to be confirmed by ongoing deal flow. Q3 EPS Estimate for Moelis & Company Boosted by Analyst
• Negative Sentiment: Cash-flow and margin pressures — despite revenue growth and an EPS beat, operating profit and diluted EPS were slightly down YoY and cash from operations fell materially (per filings), which could limit flexibility if deal activity softens. Moelis & Company Stock Rises on Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Negative Sentiment: Minor insider selling noted — recent insider sales were disclosed; while not large enough alone to change the story, they are a watch item for governance/insider conviction. Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.