Lincoln International, Inc. IPO Guide

Thinking about investing in Lincoln International’s upcoming stock launch? Based on their official paperwork, we broke down what they do, how they make money, and the launch details to help you decide if it's the right move for your portfolio.

1. What does this company actually do?

Lincoln is a global advisor for mid-sized private companies.

• "Mid-sized": They advise businesses worth $100 million to $1 billion, like family-owned firms and those backed by private equity groups.
• "Advisor": They do not lend money. Instead, companies hire them to negotiate sales, buy businesses, or arrange loans.

They are a major player in this space. In 2025, Lincoln valued 32% of all U.S. private-equity-backed companies and ranked as the #2 global advisor for private equity sales. They employ 1,400 professionals across more than 30 offices worldwide.

2. Why is their business booming right now?

Lincoln is riding a massive market shift. Since 2000, the number of U.S. public companies shrank from 7,000 to about 4,200, while private-equity-backed firms exploded from 2,000 to over 13,600. As a top advisor to these private firms, Lincoln has built up a record deal backlog as of late 2025.

3. How do they make money?

Lincoln sells financial advice through four main channels:

• Success Fees: A cut of the deal when a business sells or borrows money.
• Regular Valuation Fees: Flat fees to value hard-to-sell assets. Over 30% of these happen monthly, weekly, or daily, creating steady, predictable income.
• Retainer Fees: Flat fees for ongoing advisory services.
• Selling Data: Partnering with S&P to sell exclusive private-market data.

This model boosted their revenue from $191.9 million in 2015 to $842.4 million in 2025. Repeat clients are a huge driver of this growth, bringing in 57% of their 2025 deals.

4. What will they do with the money from this IPO?

Lincoln expects to keep about $368 million in cash after paying their launch fees. However, if you are looking for a company investing heavily in immediate growth, take note: almost none of this cash will fund new business initiatives. Instead, they plan to spend:

• $186 million to pay off existing debt.
• $180 million to buy back ownership from early partners (with $125 million of that going directly to directors and top bosses).
• Only $2 million will remain for everyday business needs.

5. What are the main risks?

• Sensitivity to the Economy: High interest rates or a sluggish economy can cause companies to pause deals. This directly cuts into Lincoln's deal numbers and profits.
• Losing Key Talent ("Brain Drain"): In the advisory world, relationships are everything. If star advisors leave, they can take clients with them. To manage this, Lincoln shares the workload; no single advisor generated more than 2% of 2025 revenue. They have also kept 80% of their managing directors since 2020.
• The Voting Trap (No Shareholder Say): Lincoln uses a multi-class share structure. Your Class A shares get one vote each, but company insiders hold Class C shares which carry 10 votes each. This gives insiders 87% of the voting power, leaving public investors with almost no say in company decisions.

6. How do they compare to competitors?

While Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs focus on multi-billion-dollar mega-deals, Lincoln dominates the mid-sized market right below them. They compete directly with public advisory rivals like Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI), Lazard (NYSE: LAZ), and Moelis & Company (NYSE: MC).

7. Who's running the company?

CEO Rob Brown leads an executive team with an impressive 20-year average tenure at the firm. They are focused on expansion, recently adding 66 managing directors through hiring and strategic acquisitions, such as buying the insurance-focused firm MarshBerry. To protect profit margins as they grow, they outsource support work to India and use AI to automate routine tasks.

8. Where will it trade and under what symbol?

• Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
• Ticker Symbol: "LCLN"

9. How many shares and what is the price?

• Estimated Price: $18.00 to $20.00 per share.
• Total Shares Offered: 21,049,988 shares (primarily Class A).
• What this means: At the $19.00 midpoint, the launch will raise $399,949,772 in total capital before fees (about $400 million).

Friend-to-Friend Tip: Newly public stocks can be incredibly volatile in their first few weeks of trading. If you like Lincoln's strong market position but are wary of the initial hype, it is often smart to wait a month or two for the price to settle and see how the market digests the launch before buying in.