MC vs LAZ Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Moelis and Lazard are both independent advisory-focused financial firms, but Moelis concentrates purely on M&A and restructuring advisory services, while Lazard combines financial advisory with a substantial asset management business that provides additional revenue diversification.
MC offers more concentrated, pure-play exposure to global M&A and restructuring advisory cycles, while LAZ offers a diversified combination of advisory and asset management revenue. The decision depends on whether you prefer focused advisory leverage to deal cycles or a more diversified financial services revenue mix.
MC holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. MC has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-16.05% vs -27.40%), though LAZ has the better forward P/E setup (11.23x vs 17.32x for MC). MC leads on both revenue growth (12.00%) and operating margin (17.79%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for LAZ (+9.64%) than for MC (+6.01%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want concentrated, pure-play exposure to global M&A and restructuring advisory activity
- Value an independent advisory model without conflicts from lending or trading businesses
- Believe managing director headcount growth will continue supporting advisory origination
- Are comfortable with revenue that fluctuates significantly with global deal cycles
- Want exposure to both financial advisory and asset management revenue streams
- Value diversification that can partially offset M&A advisory cycle volatility
- Believe the firm's global brand supports advisory origination across many geographies
- Prefer a diversified financial services model over a pure-play advisory boutique
| Metric | MC | LAZ |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 46.8 | 32.5 |
| AI ranki | #1813 | #1999 |
| Latest closei | $55.32 | $36.16 |
| 1M returni | -9.21% | -6.39% |
| 3M returni | -19.33% | -16.82% |
| 6M returni | -15.83% | -25.18% |
| 1Y returni | -16.05% | -27.40% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | MC | LAZ |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.75K (-12.5%) started 2025-10-15 | $7.43K (-25.7%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $13.68K (+36.8%) started 2021-10-15 | $7.11K (-28.9%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $130.56K (+1205.6%) started 2016-10-17 | $10.58K (+5.8%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | MC | LAZ |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $5.03B | $4.21B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 23.66 | 21.29 |
| Forward P/Ei | 17.32 | 11.23 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 3.26 | 1.69 |
| Analyst targeti | $72.00 | $47.38 |
| Target upsidei | +6.01% | +9.64% |
| Metric | MC | LAZ |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 12.00% | 0.10% |
| Earnings growthi | 17.10% | -94.20% |
| EPS growthi | +17.10% | -94.20% |
| FCF margini | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margini | 17.79% | 4.83% |
| Profit margini | 14.50% | 7.09% |
| ROIC proxyi | 41.45% | 25.66% |
| Return on equityi | 41.45% | 25.66% |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.89% | 4.73% |
| Payout ratioi | 90.59% | 98.04% |
| Dividend growth streaki | 1 yr | N/A |
| Betai | 1.84 | 1.42 |
| Debt/equityi | 40.95 | 225.80 |
| Current ratioi | 1.17 | 5.30 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.16 | 4.79 |
Over the past year, MC and LAZ have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.74), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | MC | LAZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -16.05% | -25.66% |
| CAGRi | -16.06% | -25.70% | |
| Volatilityi | 37.52% | 42.06% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.40 | -0.60 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.53 | -0.79 | |
| Max drawdowni | 33.26% | 39.19% | |
| Current drawdowni | 26.70% | 36.56% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.14% | 17.47% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 15.44% | 20.63% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.53% | 12.56% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.09% | 15.00% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +1.64% | -28.92% |
| CAGRi | +0.33% | -6.61% | |
| Volatilityi | 37.57% | 38.24% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.08 | -0.11 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.11 | -0.15 | |
| Max drawdowni | 53.06% | 50.16% | |
| Current drawdowni | 26.93% | 40.73% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 23.35% | 26.28% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 27.21% | 28.57% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.96% | 15.08% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 17.82% | 23.76% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +368.40% | +5.79% |
| CAGRi | +16.71% | +0.56% | |
| Volatilityi | 36.20% | 36.29% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.49 | 0.07 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.69 | 0.10 | |
| Max drawdowni | 58.26% | 64.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 26.93% | 40.73% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 21.52% | 27.69% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 27.30% | 31.58% | |
| Max daily dropi | 16.71% | 17.12% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.98% | 29.51% |
| Category | MC | LAZ |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Moelis & Company | Lazard, Inc. |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Capital Markets | Capital Markets |
| Core business | An independent global investment bank providing merger and acquisition advisory, restructuring, and capital markets advisory services to corporations, governments, and financial sponsors. | A global financial advisory and asset management firm providing M&A and restructuring advisory services alongside a substantial asset management business serving institutional and retail clients. |
| Investor focus | M&A advisory fee revenue tied to global deal activity, managing director headcount growth and productivity, and restructuring advisory revenue during periods of credit market stress. | Financial advisory revenue tied to global M&A and restructuring activity, assets under management and fee trends within its asset management segment, and overall revenue diversification benefits. |
- Independent advisory model avoids conflicts of interest that can arise at banks combining advisory with lending and trading businesses
- Restructuring advisory capabilities provide a partial offset to M&A advisory revenue during periods of weaker deal activity
- Global managing director network across industries and geographies supports origination of new advisory engagements
- Diversification between financial advisory and asset management provides a revenue stream less correlated with deal-cycle volatility
- Long-established global brand and presence across geographies support advisory origination in both developed and emerging markets
- Restructuring advisory expertise provides a counter-cyclical revenue source during periods of credit market stress
- Advisory fee revenue is highly sensitive to global M&A deal volume, which fluctuates significantly across economic cycles
- Managing director compensation and retention are critical to sustaining origination capacity and client relationships
- Faces competition from both larger full-service investment banks and other independent advisory boutiques
- Financial advisory fee revenue remains sensitive to global M&A deal volume despite the diversification from asset management
- Asset management segment performance is tied to broader market conditions and net flow trends within the industry
- Faces competition from both larger full-service investment banks and other independent advisory and asset management firms
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