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Head-to-Head Comparison

Houlihan Lokey vs Lincoln International (2026)

Houlihan Lokey

Middle Market

Lincoln International

Middle Market

Houlihan Lokey and Lincoln International both carry the middle-market label, but they are not peers. Houlihan Lokey accepts roughly 3-4% of applicants against Lincoln's 7-9%, scores 4 out of 5 for prestige and exit opportunities against Lincoln's 3, and earns a 5 out of 5 for training that few firms at any tier can match. First-year pay reflects the gap: $178K-$208K all-in at HL versus $157K-$185K at Lincoln.

The two firms also sell different products. Houlihan Lokey, founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, runs the world's largest restructuring advisory practice alongside middle-market M&A, valuation, and transaction opinion work. Lincoln, founded in 1996 in Chicago, is a sponsor-coverage M&A house with a cross-border franchise built on its international offices.

If you hold offers from both, the decision is mostly made for you. The comparison is still worth reading closely, though, because Lincoln wins on hours, has a friendlier front door, and suits a specific kind of candidate better than HL's restructuring machine does.

Side-by-Side Comparison

HLMetricLincoln

Middle MarketTierMiddle Market

4/5Prestige3/5

4/5Compensation4/5

5/5Training Program4/5

4/5Exit Opportunities3/5

2/5Work-Life Balance3/5

$105KAN1 Base Salary$100K

$8KSigning Bonus$7K

$65K-$95KAN1 Year-End Bonus$50K-$78K

$178K-$208KAN1 Total Comp$157K-$185K

2-3 weeksRecruiting Timeline2-4 weeks

NoHireVue ScreenYes

challengingInterview Difficultymoderate

2 roundsInterview Rounds3 rounds

~3-4%Acceptance Rate~7-9%

100-120Analyst Class Size50-70

Restructuring, Corporate Finance, Financial Advisory ServicesTop GroupsBusiness Services, Healthcare, Industrials

Culture Comparison

HLLincoln

Prestige

4vs3

Compensation

4vs4

Training Program

5vs4

Exit Opportunities

4vs3

Work-Life Balance

2vs3

How Houlihan Lokey and Lincoln Differ

Houlihan Lokey is built on three legs: restructuring, corporate finance, and financial advisory services. That structure matters for analysts because it diversifies the firm's deal flow across cycles. When M&A slows, restructuring accelerates, and HL's position as the largest restructuring practice in the world means the firm stays busy in both directions. Its brand, especially in restructuring and valuation, punches well above the middle-market label.

Lincoln International is a more focused firm: middle-market M&A for private equity sponsors, with cross-border capability as the differentiator. It does not have a restructuring franchise of HL's scale, and it does not pretend to. What it offers instead is a concentrated sponsor practice inside a collaborative, internationally minded culture.

Within the same tier classification, recruiters see these firms differently. HL sits at the top of the middle market and competes for candidates with elite boutiques. Lincoln competes with its true peers: sponsor-focused advisory shops of similar size.

Deal Mix and Clients

HL's deal mix is unusual for its tier. Restructuring mandates put analysts in front of distressed companies, creditor committees, and complicated capital structures. Corporate finance covers middle-market M&A across sectors including TMT and healthcare. Financial advisory services adds valuation work and transaction opinions, which is steadier, more technical, and an excellent teacher of fundamentals. Your experience depends heavily on which door you enter: an RX analyst and a corporate finance analyst at HL live different lives.

Lincoln's clients are overwhelmingly private equity sponsors and the founder-owned companies they buy and sell. Deal flow spans business services, healthcare, industrials, consumer, and TMT, with cross-border transactions as a signature. The work is classic sell-side and buy-side M&A execution: processes, models, and buyer dialogues.

The practical question for a candidate: do you want exposure to distressed and special situations, which only HL offers at scale, or a clean diet of sponsor M&A, which Lincoln serves every day?

Culture, Hours, and Pay

Lincoln wins the lifestyle comparison. It scores 3 out of 5 for work-life balance against HL's 2, and its culture is described as collaborative and internationally oriented. HL's culture is a training culture: technically demanding, analytically rigorous, and generally heavier on hours, with real variation by group. Restructuring in a busy credit cycle is one of the most intense seats in banking at any firm.

HL pays for the intensity. First-year analysts earn a $105K base, an $8K signing bonus, and a $65K-$95K year-end bonus, for $178K-$208K all-in. Lincoln starts analysts at a $100K base with a $7K signing bonus and a $50K-$78K year-end bonus, totaling $157K-$185K. That is a gap of roughly $20K in year one, and it compounds: the stronger brand keeps paying off in recruiting processes long after the bonus clears.

Recruiting, Interviews, and Exits

HL is the harder ticket. Its 3-4% acceptance rate approaches elite boutique selectivity, and its process, a first round straight into a Superday with no HireVue screen, moves fast at 2-3 weeks. Expect heavy valuation testing and, for restructuring seats, real questions about distressed concepts. Lincoln's process adds a video interview before the first round and Superday, runs 2-4 weeks, and rates moderate: rigorous but standard.

Target lists overlap at Duke, Georgetown, and Michigan. Beyond that, HL recruits nationally with West Coast depth, including Wharton, USC, UCLA, NYU Stern, and Cornell, while Lincoln draws from midwestern schools like Chicago Booth, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Indiana. Applications for both open in January of sophomore year and peak from the summer after sophomore year into the fall of junior year.

Exits diverge the way the tiers suggest. HL scores 4 out of 5, placing analysts into middle-market PE plus distressed and credit funds. Lincoln's 3 out of 5 points mostly toward middle-market private equity.

The Verdict

Take Houlihan Lokey if you get the chance. The brand is stronger, the training is rated 5 out of 5, first-year pay runs about $20K higher, and the exit menu is wider, adding distressed and credit funds to the middle-market PE path both firms feed. For a technically inclined candidate, especially one curious about restructuring, HL is one of the best analyst seats outside the elite boutiques.

Choose Lincoln International deliberately, not as a consolation. It fits the candidate who wants pure sponsor M&A without a restructuring detour, values a 3 out of 5 work-life balance over HL's 2, wants Chicago, or comes from Lincoln's midwestern school pipeline where its network runs deepest. Lincoln's cross-border platform is also a real differentiator if international deal work appeals to you.

The honest tradeoff: HL costs you hours and a tougher admissions gate in exchange for measurably better career outcomes. Lincoln costs you some brand weight in exchange for a saner life and a friendlier 7-9% acceptance rate. Most candidates should pay HL's price.

Frequently Asked Questions

How significant is the prestige gap?

Real and visible in outcomes. Houlihan Lokey scores 4 out of 5 for prestige versus Lincoln's 3, and its 3-4% acceptance rate versus Lincoln's 7-9% shows how differently candidates treat the two firms. In buyside recruiting, HL's name, particularly its restructuring franchise, opens doors that a Lincoln analyst has to work harder to reach.

Which has better training?

Houlihan Lokey, rated 5 out of 5 versus Lincoln's 4. HL's restructuring and valuation training is respected across the industry regardless of tier, because distressed work forces analysts to understand capital structures at a depth that plain-vanilla M&A rarely requires. Lincoln's training is solid and sponsor-focused, just not the industry benchmark that HL's is.

Which has better exit opportunities?

Houlihan Lokey, scoring 4 out of 5 against Lincoln's 3. Both firms place analysts into middle-market private equity, but HL adds distressed debt and credit funds through its restructuring practice, and its stronger brand earns more first-round interviews. Lincoln's exits are respectable and skew toward midwestern and middle-market sponsors.

Which pays more, Houlihan Lokey or Lincoln International?

Houlihan Lokey, by roughly $20K in year one. HL first-year analysts earn a $105K base and $178K-$208K all-in, while Lincoln analysts earn a $100K base and $157K-$185K all-in. The gap comes mostly from bonuses: HL's year-end band is $65K-$95K versus $50K-$78K at Lincoln.

Is Houlihan Lokey harder to get into than Lincoln?

Meaningfully harder. HL accepts roughly 3-4% of applicants and runs a challenging, valuation-heavy process with no HireVue screen. Lincoln accepts about 7-9% and rates moderate. HL also fields a bigger class, 100-120 analysts versus Lincoln's 50-70, but demand for HL seats outstrips that difference many times over.

Can you recruit for both at the same time?

Yes. The timelines are compatible, with applications opening in January of sophomore year and peaking into the fall of junior year, and the technical prep overlaps heavily. Prioritize HL's earlier, faster process if both advance, and prepare restructuring basics for HL even for non-RX seats. Duke, Georgetown, and Michigan candidates sit in both pipelines.