CFOR vs PIPR vs HLI Stock Comparison

CapForce, Piper Sandler Companies and Houlihan Lokey Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CFOR CapForce Inc.
$8.20 +102.5% 1M +74.5% 1Y
Market cap
$85.47M
P/E
1.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$76.20M
Div. yield
–
Investment Banking Financial Services
2 wins
PIPR Piper Sandler Companies
$67.25 +3.0% 1M -15.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.73B
P/E
15.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.12B
Div. yield
0.03%
Investment Banking Financial Services
2 wins
HLI Houlihan Lokey, Inc.
$146.51 +15.9% 1M -18.2% 1Y
Market cap
$10.35B
P/E
25.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.56B
Div. yield
–
Investment Banking Financial Services
2 wins

Head to Head

6 decided of 12

Houlihan Lokey leads on 2 of the 12 questions below (Houlihan Lokey 2, CapForce 2, Piper Sandler Companies 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCFORPIPRHLILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $85.47M $4.73B $10.35B HLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 1.4x 15.4x 25.7x CFOR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.8x 21.8x PIPR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +32.1% — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 14.5% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 23.1% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.6x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +74.5% -15.7% -18.2% CFOR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -53.2%/yr +8.6%/yr +4.3%/yr PIPR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 611.1% 36.9% 30.4% HLI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 83/100 — –

Percentile Scorecard

CFORPIPRHLI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCFORPIPRHLI
Valuation – 93 #8 of 96 –
Growth – 97 #3 of 68 –
Profitability – 78 #16 of 70 –
Financial Health 60 #40 of 99 91 #10 of 99 –
Shareholder Returns – 55 #19 of 41 48 #22 of 41
Overall – 83 –
  • CFOR ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • PIPR ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • HLI ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCFORPIPRHLISPY
1 month +102.5%+3.0%+15.9% -2.3%
3 months +5.4%-11.4%+16.7% -0.7%
6 months -64.3%-13.4%-2.6% +4.8%
Year to date -48.4%-20.8%-15.9% +10.3%
1 year +74.5%-15.7%-18.2% +10.3%
3 years +12.9%+85.3%+38.5% +73.0%
3 years, per year +4.1%+22.8%+11.5% +20.1%
5 years -97.7%+50.8%+23.6% +61.9%
5 years, per year -53.2%+8.6%+4.3% +10.1%
10 years -100.0%+397.2%+518.4% +258.6%
10 years, per year -61.1%+17.4%+20.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCFORPIPRHLISPY
Volatility, 1Y 611.1%36.9%30.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 928.1%41.6%32.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.351.350.68 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.12-0.43-0.60 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -99.9%-45.6%-41.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -75.9%-28.8%-23.7% -3.5%
52-week high $34.00$94.52$192.07 $779.14
52-week low $0.33$63.48$123.39 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCFORPIPRHLI
P/E now vs peer median —median 29.1x 14.8xmedian 29.1x —median 29.1x
P/S now vs peer median —median 2.5x 2.1xmedian 2.5x —median 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.6x 8.3xmedian 13.6x —median 13.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 16.8x 9.3xmedian 16.8x —median 16.8x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.2x 2.9xmedian 2.2x 4.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.52 0.28median 0.52 —median 0.52

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCFORPIPRHLI
Revenue $76.20M $2.12B $2.56B
Operating income $64.63M – $517.88M
Net income $62.28M $363.85M $404.38M
Free cash flow -$1.52M $487.00M $401.82M
R&D $2.59K – –
EPS (diluted) $4.96 $4.31 $6.00
Cash & equivalents $143.78K $304.23M $837.00M
Total debt – $15.00M –
Shares (diluted) 12.49M 71.24M 67.00M
Enterprise value $84.00M $3.16B $6.52B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCFORPIPRHLI
P/E – 14.8x –
P/FCF – 9.3x –
P/Operating cash flow – 9.0x –
P/S – 2.1x –
P/B 2.6x 2.9x 4.3x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 3.1x 4.8x
EV/EBITDA – 8.3x –
EV/EBIT – 8.8x –
EV/Revenue – 2.0x –
EV/FCF – 8.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow – 8.4x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.28 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCFORPIPRHLI
Revenue growth (1Y) – 32.1% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 17.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) – 93.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 53.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) – 45.0% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 53.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 634.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 115.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 1,390% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 153.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCFORPIPRHLI
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 24.2% –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin – 22.9% –
Net margin – 14.5% –
FCF margin – 23.0% –
Operating cash flow margin – 23.9% –
Return on equity – 23.3% –
Return on assets – 16.3% –
Return on invested capital – 23.1% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover – 0.9x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.4x –
Stock comp / revenue – 6.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCFORPIPRHLI
Debt / assets – 0.6% –
Debt / equity – 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.6x –
Debt / FCF – 0.0x –
Liabilities / assets 16.3% 32.7% 45.6%
Equity / assets 83.7% 67.3% 54.4%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.2x – –
Quick ratio 0.2x – –
Cash ratio 0.1x – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCFORPIPRHLI
Dividend yield – 0.9% 1.8%
Net buyback yield – 2.7% –
Shareholder yield – 3.6% 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 38.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 29.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 27.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 20.0% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCFORPIPRHLI
Forward P/E – 13.8xFY2026 21.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-21.05FY2023 $4.78FY2026 $6.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +7.9%FY2026 -11.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +18.0% +24.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.57MFY2023 $2.01BFY2026 $2.76BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +6.8%FY2026 +5.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +73.4% +11.6% +9.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCFORPIPRHLI
Held by institutions – 91.1% 80.7%
Institutions holding – 425 520
Change in shares held, QoQ – +3.1% +3.1%
Institutions buying – 244 237
Institutions selling – 114 200
Buyers to sellers – 2.14 1.19

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CFORPIPRHLI
CFOR 1.00 0.04 0.10
PIPR 0.04 1.00 0.59
HLI 0.10 0.59 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CFOR, PIPR and HLI?

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: CapForce (CFOR) $85.47M, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) $4.73B, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) $10.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, CFOR, PIPR and HLI?

CapForce (CFOR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (CapForce (CFOR) 1.4x, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) 15.4x, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) 25.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) is cheapest (Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) 13.8x, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) 21.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year CapForce (CFOR) returned the most: CapForce (CFOR) +74.5%, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) -15.7%, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) -18.2%. Over five years, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) compounded fastest (CapForce (CFOR) -53.2%/yr, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) +8.6%/yr, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) +4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: CapForce (CFOR) 0.00%, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) 0.03%, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) 0.00%. CapForce (CFOR) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) has been the steadiest (CapForce (CFOR) 611.1%, Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) 36.9%, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) 30.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CFOR, PIPR and HLI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Houlihan Lokey (HLI) leads on 2. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.