At a glance
Lazard Ltd is worth $4.22B, about 18 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 1.5% to $3.19B in fiscal 2025, with 7.4% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 3.8% a year. It pays a 5.2% dividend yield, and returned $2.27B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −18.2% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −1.3% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 50.4% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 31.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 8 months and 21 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Lazard, Inc. is a financial advisory and asset management firm founded in 1848. It offers two things: advice on major financial and strategic decisions, and managing investments. Clients include corporations, governments, institutions, partnerships, and wealthy families and individuals. Its New York, Paris and London offices date back to the 19th century. It keeps a major presence in the U.S., the U.K. and France, with offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Financial Advisory is the bigger segment. It brought in $1.83 billion, or about 58% of Lazard's $3.19 billion in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025. Lazard earns fees for advice on mergers and acquisitions and on raising capital. It also earns fees for reworking the debts of companies in financial trouble and for advising governments on national debt. There are no long-term contracts, and each job is negotiated separately. In 2025, 346 clients paid Lazard $1 million or more, and the ten largest made up about 17% of the segment's revenue.
Asset Management brought in $1.27 billion, about 40% of revenue. Lazard invests money for institutions and individuals and collects fees tied to the assets it manages. So this income rises and falls with markets and with how well its strategies perform.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
LAZ -18.2% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Investment banking and other advisory fees | $1.82B | 57.1% |
| Asset management fees | $1.20B | 37.5% |
By business segment
| Financial Advisory | $1.83B | 57.6% |
| Asset Management | $1.27B | 40% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $836.4M, up 8.5% from a year earlier, and net income was $29.2M (-59.1%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $3.19B (+1.5% year over year; +3.8% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 7.4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +3.8% watch |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 10.3% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 15.3% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 27.2% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 4.8% watch |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $2.65B | $402.5M | $511.6M |
| FY2021 | $3.27B | $528.1M | $826.4M |
| FY2022 | $2.86B | $357.5M | $784.5M |
| FY2023 | $2.59B | $-75.5M | $136.4M |
| FY2024 | $3.14B | $279.9M | $697.3M |
| FY2025 | $3.19B | $236.8M | $487.4M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $4.22B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 17.7 |
| Dividend yield | 5.2% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Lazard Ltd’s market value went from $5.33B at the end of 2016 to $4.22B on Oct 28, 2026, down 21%; since the end of 2025 it is down 23%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $4.22B | -22.9% |
| 2025 | $5.47B | -5.7% |
| 2024 | $5.81B | +47.9% |
| 2023 | $3.92B | +0.4% |
| 2022 | $3.91B | -20.5% |
| 2021 | $4.92B | +3.1% |
| 2020 | $4.77B | +5.9% |
| 2019 | $4.51B | -5.9% |
| 2018 | $4.79B | -29.7% |
| 2017 | $6.81B | +27.8% |
| 2016 | $5.33B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAZ price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -18.3% | -18.2% | +15.4% | -1.3% | +5.8% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -18.3% |
| 2025 | -1.6% |
| 2024 | +54.9% |
| 2023 | +6.8% |
| 2022 | -16.1% |
| 2021 | +7.4% |
| 2020 | +12.0% |
| 2019 | +15.3% |
| 2018 | -25.5% |
| 2017 | +36.1% |
| 2016 | -1.0% |
| 2015 | -5.8% |
| 2014 | +13.2% |
| 2013 | +56.0% |
| 2012 | +18.2% |
| 2011 | -32.7% |
| 2010 | +5.5% |
| 2009 | +29.4% |
| 2008 | -26.1% |
| 2007 | -13.4% |
| 2006 | +49.6% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 54.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 59.6%, back to its old high 61.8 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 50.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 50.4%, back to its old high 8.4 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 27.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 31.3%, back to its old high 21.3 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 5 sales ($8.7M), 5 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2026 | Peter Richard Orszag CEO & Chairman, Director | sell (plan) | $5.4M |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Peter Richard Orszag CEO & Chairman, Director | sell (plan) | $2.7M |
| Mar 18, 2026 | Christopher Hogbin CEO Asset Management | sell (plan) | $318K |
| Mar 19, 2026 | Christopher Hogbin CEO Asset Management | sell (plan) | $155K |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Peter Richard Orszag CEO & Chairman, Director | sell (plan) | $83K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 11.2% | Aug 31, 2026 |
| FMR LLC | 10.1% | Feb 27, 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | 8.6% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 6.18% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.28% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Ariel Investments, LLC | 5.2% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in LAZ
| JMID Janus Henderson Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF | 1.22% |
| FFSM Fidelity Fundamental Small-Mid Cap ETF | 0.76% |
| HEJD VictoryShares Hedged Equity Income ETF | 0.69% |
| FFND One Global ETF | 0.61% |
| CSB VictoryShares US Small Cap High Dividend Volatility Wtd ETF | 0.58% |
| DVY iShares Select Dividend ETF | 0.47% |
| JHSC John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF | 0.33% |
| DON WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Fund | 0.32% |
What could go wrong
- Fee income depends on winning deals. Financial Advisory made up about 58% of revenue for 2025, and none of it comes from long-term contracts. Each job is won separately, so fewer mergers, financings or restructurings mean less revenue.
- Losing key bankers to rivals. Lazard's product is the judgment of senior people, including 216 Financial Advisory managing directors at the end of 2025. If key bankers leave for rivals, or pay must rise to keep them, results could suffer.
- Asset Management clients can leave quickly. Many clients can withdraw their money on short notice. Weak investment performance, an out-of-favor investing style or poor reviews from consultants who steer clients could shrink assets and fees.
- Results can swing sharply between periods. Lazard lost about $75 million in fiscal 2023 after earning $358 million in 2022. In the quarter ended September 30, 2026, revenue rose 8.5% from a year earlier while net income fell 59%.
- One downturn can hit both businesses. Weak markets can cut deal activity and the value of assets Lazard manages at the same time. The share price fell about 60% in the 2008 crisis and 50% in the 2020 COVID crash.
- Currency moves can shrink reported results. Lazard has major operations in the U.K. and France. It says exchange-rate swings have reduced its equity and net income before and could again. They can also lower the value of client assets it manages.
Recent events
- Major agreement signed; Unregistered sale of shares; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Bylaws or fiscal year changed; Shareholder vote results
- Major agreement signed; Unregistered sale of shares; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
Lazard has held its dividend at $2.00 per share since fiscal 2023 and has no streak of increases. The payment was $1.88 in 2020, so growth has averaged about 1.2% a year. The yield was 5.2% as of October 28, 2026. For 2025, dividends took about 79% of earnings but only 38% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). Lazard kept paying $2.00 in 2023 despite a loss. It spent $1.35 billion on buybacks from 2021 through 2025, yet the share count fell only 2.6% in five years.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. It dropped about 60% in the 2008 financial crisis and did not regain its old high until January 2014. It fell 50% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered about eight months after the low. It fell 31% in the 2022 bear market and took about 21 months to recover. Single stocks like Lazard carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Lazard make money?
Lazard earns fees from two businesses. Its Financial Advisory business advises companies, investors and governments on mergers, restructurings, raising capital and other strategic matters. That business brought in about $1.83 billion, or 57.6% of revenue, in the year ended December 31, 2025. Asset Management invests money for institutions, governments and wealthy individuals, and it brought in about $1.27 billion, or 40%. Each advisory fee comes from a separately negotiated assignment, not a long-term contract. Asset management fees rise and fall with the amount clients keep invested with the firm.
Does Lazard raise its dividend every year?
No. Lazard paid regular dividends of $2.00 per share in each of fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025. That was up from $1.88 in 2020 and 2021 and $1.94 in 2022, which works out to growth of about 1.2% a year over five years. It kept paying through its 2023 loss. In fiscal 2025, dividends paid equaled about 79% of net income and 38% of free cash flow, which is the cash left after running and investing in the business. The dividend yield was 5.2% as of October 28, 2026.
How has Lazard stock performed over the long term?
Modestly, with large swings. As of October 28, 2026, Lazard's price-based return averaged about 5.8% a year over the past ten years, or about 76% in total. Over three years it averaged 15.4% a year. Over five years it lost about 1.3% a year, and over the past year the price fell 18.2%. Calendar years vary widely: the stock gained about 55% in 2024 and lost about 16% in 2022. Results have depended heavily on when an investor bought.
How did Lazard stock do in past market crashes?
Lazard shares have dropped hard in past downturns. During the global financial crisis they fell 59.6% from peak to low and took about 62 months to recover. In the 2020 COVID crash they fell 50.4% and then recovered in about eight months. In the 2022 bear market they fell 31.3% and took about 21 months to regain their old high. Beta compares a stock's swings with the market's. Lazard's beta was 1.77 for the year to October 28, 2026, so the shares moved more than the market.
Why are Lazard's earnings so uneven?
Mostly because its advisory fees depend on deals. Financial Advisory supplies more than half of Lazard's revenue. Those fees come from mergers, restructurings and other assignments, not long-term contracts. The company warns that its results can vary widely from period to period. Net income went from $528 million in 2021 to a loss of $75 million in 2023, then to $237 million in 2025. In the quarter ended September 30, 2026, revenue rose 8.5% from a year earlier to $836 million, but net income fell 59.1% to $29 million.