Lazard, Inc. (LAZ) Stock Price & How to Invest

Lazard Inc. operates two core businesses. Financial Advisory provides mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, capital-markets, and sovereign advice to companies, governments, and institutions worldwide, and Asset Management runs equity, fixed-income, multi-asset, and alternatives strategies for institutional and private clients. At September 30, 2026 the firm managed about $284 billion in assets and had generated about $3.2 billion in trailing revenue, split between the two segments. It carries a market capitalization near $3.6 billion as of October 16, 2026, making it a mid-cap franchise with an outsized brand relative to its size.

The investment picture centers on two engines moving in opposite directions recently. In the first quarter of 2026, Financial Advisory revenue slipped about 4% year over year as some deals were delayed, while Asset Management revenue jumped roughly 17% and posted about $9 billion of net inflows, its strongest quarterly flow in nearly two decades. The second quarter was much weaker on the bottom line: revenue of about $786 million was roughly flat year over year, net income fell to about $4.8 million, and adjusted EPS of $0.12 came in far below the roughly $0.35 consensus. Lazard also agreed to acquire private-capital advisory firm Campbell Lutyens to deepen its alternatives franchise. Because advisory fees are inherently lumpy and tied to the health of the M&A cycle, LAZ tends to appeal to investors comfortable with cyclicality who value the high dividend and the diversification the asset-management arm provides. As of October 16, 2026 the stock closed at $36.43, down about 26.8% year to date and 25.1% over one year, near the bottom of its $34.13 to $58.75 52-week range. Third-quarter results are due October 22, 2026, with consensus around $0.41 of EPS on about $847 million of revenue.

Advisory revenue is highly cyclical and can drop sharply when M&A and capital-markets activity slows, which directly pressures earnings and the ability to sustain the dividend. Asset-management flows have been inconsistent, with net outflows in some recent months (about $900 million in September 2026) offsetting the record first-quarter inflows, and AUM is sensitive to equity-market swings. Lazard competes against faster-growing boutiques such as Evercore, Moelis, and Houlihan Lokey, several of which have outgrown its advisory business over the past five years. Talent is the core asset, so senior-banker departures can move revenue, and integration risk accompanies the Campbell Lutyens acquisition. Compensation costs consume a large share of revenue and compress margins in weaker quarters. The second quarter of 2026 showed how quickly earnings can drop: net income fell to about $4.8 million and adjusted EPS of $0.12 missed consensus by a wide margin, leaving the dividend covered only about once by trailing earnings. The shares have fallen about 27% in 2026, and UBS cut its price target to $40 from $44 on October 7 while keeping a Neutral rating.

8 analysts publish price targets on LAZ, averaging $42.88 against a $36.09 price as of October 2026, or +18.8%. The published targets run from $32.00 to $60.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 4 buy, 4 hold, 2 sell. Over the last six months there has been 1 raise and 9 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full LAZ forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Lazard, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. M&A and restructuring cycle. Financial Advisory is the swing factor in Lazard's earnings, and its revenue rises and falls with global dealmaking and corporate distress. The most optimistic published target, $60.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Advisory revenue is highly cyclical and can drop sharply when M&A and capital-markets activity slows, which directly pressures earnings and the ability to sustain the dividend. The most pessimistic target, $32.00, is roughly what LAZ is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on LAZ, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Lazard, Inc. (LAZ) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Lazard, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$3.2B
• Revenue growth (Q2 2026, YoY): ~0%
• Net income (TTM): ~$219M
• P/E (trailing / forward): ~17.9x / ~10.2x
• Assets under management (Sept 30, 2026): ~$284B
• Dividend yield: ~5.5% ($2.00 a year, ~98% payout)
• Market cap: ~$3.6B

Lazard trades as a mid-cap value-and-income name, with a dividend yield near 5.5% as of October 16, 2026 that reflects both the firm's payout and the market's discount for cyclical advisory earnings after a ~27% fall this year. The second quarter's sharp earnings miss pushed the trailing P/E to about 17.9x, while the forward multiple of about 10x assumes a recovery in 2027. Valuation debates hinge on whether the advisory cycle reaccelerates, whether asset-management flows turn positive again, and what the October 22, 2026 report shows.

Other names that sit close to LAZ: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get LAZ exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so LAZ sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where LAZ fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

LAZ is a blue-chip advisory-plus-asset-management franchise whose earnings swing with the deal cycle while a large dividend gives it a value-and-income character. A weak second quarter in 2026 and a near-100% payout ratio on trailing earnings put that dividend coverage at the center of the debate ahead of the October 22 report.

Whether LAZ is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is LAZ a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the LAZ stock forecast.

For income investors, whether LAZ pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does LAZ pay a dividend? And to weigh LAZ against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: LAZ vs EVR and LAZ vs HLI.