On the four Ms, Lazard Inc earns 69 for management and 19 for moat. The management score rests on a return on invested capital of 8.8% and a gross margin of 31.8% — figures that describe a business earning a respectable return on what it employs. The balance sheet carries debt at 2.95x equity, which magnifies both the returns above and the risk beneath them. A narrow moat alongside strong management is a combination worth understanding before the price matters at all.
The valuation runs on assumptions chosen to understate rather than flatter. Growth is modelled at 3.8% a year, below the 4.0% actually measured over the last decade — the model caps growth rather than extrapolating a good run forwards. The exit multiple assumed is 8.0x. That produces an intrinsic value of $5.97, a 10-CAP price of $61.46 and a payback time price of $58.43, with the value zone set at the highest of the three, $61.46. Today's price of $36.44 sits inside that zone.
The price sits inside the value zone, but the business scores 19 for moat and 69 for management. Cheap and good are different tests, and only one of them is passed here.
| Price | $36.44 |
| Market cap | $3.6B |
| P/E ratio | 17.6x |
| Return on invested capital | 8.8% |
| Gross margin | 31.8% |
| Debt to equity | 2.95x |
| Free cash flow yield | 10.7% |
| Growth rate used | 3.8% |
| Growth rate measured | 4.0% |
| Exit multiple assumed | 8.0x |
| Company | Moat | Buy price |
| Jefferies Financial Group In (JEF) | 34 | $108.82 |
| Xp Inc - Class A (XP) | 80 | $125.37 |
| Tradeweb Markets Inc-Class A (TW) | 94 | $80.10 |
| Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) | 72 | $34.05 |
Every number above is built on assumptions that can be changed. In Moatly you can move the growth rate, the exit multiple and the margin of safety and watch every figure recalculate, so you are testing your own view of Lazard Inc rather than accepting ours.