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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
6 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2025
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS Employee Benefit Plans
Defined Contribution Plans
The Company sponsors a 401(k) defined contribution savings plan for its domestic employees and defined contribution retirement plans for its international employees. The Company contributed approximately $3,806 and $3,361 to these plans during the three months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively, $7,193 and $6,406 to these plans during the six months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Share-Based Incentive Plans
Awards of restricted shares and restricted stock units have been and will be made under the Amended and Restated Houlihan Lokey, Inc. 2016 Incentive Award Plan (the "2016 Incentive Plan"), which became effective in August 2015 and was amended in October 2024. Under the 2016 Incentive Plan, it is anticipated that the Company will continue to grant cash and equity-based incentive awards to eligible service providers in order to attract, motivate and retain the talent necessary to operate the Company's business. Equity-based incentive awards issued under the 2016 Incentive Plan generally vest over a four-year period.
Excess tax benefits recognized during the three months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 were immaterial. Excess tax benefits of $30,562 and $21,921 were recognized during the six months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively, as a component of the provision for income taxes. The excess tax benefits recognized during the six months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 were primarily related to shares vested in May 2025 and May 2024, respectively.
We recognize compensation expense for all stock-based awards, including restricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSU”s), based on the estimate of fair value of the award at the grant date. The fair value of each restricted stock and RSU award is measured based on the closing stock price of our common stock on the date of grant. We account for forfeitures as they occur. The compensation expense is recognized using a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which is four years.
The share awards are generally classified as equity awards at the time of grant unless the number of shares granted is unknown. Awards that are settleable in shares based upon a future determinable stock price are classified as liabilities until the price is established and the resulting number of shares is known, at which time they are re-classified from liabilities to equity awards. Activity in equity-classified share awards which relate to the 2016 Incentive Plan during the six months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 was as follows:
Unvested Share AwardsShares
Weighted Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
Balance as of April 1, 20253,686,093 $99.02 
Granted1,090,173 173.36 
Vested(1,562,307)91.73 
Forfeited/Repurchased(153,599)107.64 
Balance as of September 30, 20253,060,360 $128.78 
Balance as of April 1, 20244,519,024 $83.37 
Granted940,701 134.20 
Vested(1,614,779)80.24 
Forfeited/Repurchased(181,369)88.78 
Balance as of September 30, 20243,663,577 $97.54 
Activity in liability-classified share awards during the six months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 was as follows:
Awards Settleable in SharesFair Value
Balance as of April 1, 2025$10,342 
Offer to grant95 
Converted to equity grants (unvested)(3,127)
Share price determined-transferred to equity grants(4,703)
Forfeited(1,070)
Balance as of September 30, 2025$1,537 
Balance as of April 1, 2024$17,184 
Offer to grant1,659 
Share price determined-converted to cash payments(5)
Share price determined-transferred to equity grants(7,265)
Forfeited(317)
Balance as of September 30, 2024$11,256 
Activity in Restricted Stock Unit awards during the six months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024 was as follows:
Restricted Stock UnitsRSUs
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
RSUs as of April 1, 2025677,013 $107.39 
Issued59,178 173.33 
Forfeitures(6,231)93.78 
Vested(295,942)102.20 
RSUs as of September 30, 2025434,018 $120.11 
RSUs as of April 1, 2024843,730 $95.09 
Issued68,601 134.08 
Forfeitures(24,453)94.62 
Vested(269,614)94.71 
RSUs as of September 30, 2024618,264 $99.60 

Compensation expenses for the Company associated with both equity-classified and liability-classified awards totaled $46,632 and $45,325 for the three months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and $88,852 and $78,396 for the six months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

As of September 30, 2025 and 2024, there was $401,499 and $418,918, respectively, of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested share awards granted under the 2016 Incentive Plan. These costs will be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.4 years and 1.4 years, as of September 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

On October 24, 2024, our board of directors approved an amendment (the “Amendment”) to the 2016 Incentive Plan reducing the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2016 Incentive Plan. Under the Amendment, the aggregate number of shares of common stock available for issuance under awards granted pursuant to the 2016 Incentive Plan on or after October 24, 2024 was equal to 8.0 million. Pursuant to the Amendment, the number of shares available for issuance increased on April 1, 2025 by 4,231,218.