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Houlihan Lokey vs Tradeweb Markets: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Tradeweb Markets holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and growth. Houlihan Lokey still has the edge on stability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-08-16

The lead is spread across profitability and growth, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. Tradeweb Markets Inc. leads by 19 points on the overall comparison score.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Capital Markets

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. HLI and TW share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Houlihan Lokey and Tradeweb Markets each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
HLI
Houlihan Lokey, Inc.
43
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
TW
Tradeweb Markets Inc.
62
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: HLI vs TW Profitability 27 77 Stability 76 54 Valuation 65 65 Growth 0 45 HLI TW
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +50
#2 Growth +45
#3 Stability +22
#4 Valuation —
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for HLI and TW Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer HLITW Relative valuation Structural strength

The setup stays mixed because structure and the price setup do not align cleanly in one direction.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where HLI and TW each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY HLI Neutral · near norm 0th 50th 100th 3 pct gap TW Neutral · below norm 0th 50th 100th 68th 65th
HLI (68th percentile) and TW (65th percentile) both sit in the upper-middle of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Tradeweb Markets Inc. ranks near the top of the group on profitability; Houlihan Lokey, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Growth
Tradeweb Markets Inc. sits higher in the group on growth, adding to the overall structural advantage.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
HLI
27
TW
77
Gap+50in favour of TW

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 21.3-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Stability still leans toward Houlihan Lokey, Inc., so the lead is real without reading as one-way.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both profitability and growth — though stability still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the HLI vs TW comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how HLI and TW each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.