Start here if you're new
what it is
Diamond Hill manages other people's money and gets paid fees for advice, fund administration, and distribution.
how it gets paid
Last year Diamond Hill made $147M in revenue. Separate account advisory was the main engine at $76.4M, or 52% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 2.6% last year to ~$147M. Ignore headline “+196% vs. prior year” paired with ~$111M “quarterly” next to that FY—it does not foot as one clean operating quarter vs the annual bridge.
what just happened
Some feeds print ~$111M revenue with huge vs. prior year % and EPS near ~$14—treat as deal/recognition noise unless the filing maps the same period to ~$147M FY.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
8.0x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
3.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
26.6% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
xvary composite: 60/100 — average
What they do
Diamond Hill manages other people's money and gets paid fees for advice, fund administration, and distribution.
This is a 127-person firm that still posted a 33.0% operating margin and a 26.6% return on capital in 2024. Operating margin → profit after running the shop → about one-third of each revenue dollar stayed in-house. Long-term debt is just $6 million, or 1% of capital, so you are buying a fee business, not a leverage trick.
How they make money
$147M
annual revenue · their business grew -2.6% last year
Separate account advisory
$76.4M
2.6%
Mutual fund advisory
$41.2M
2.6%
Private investment fund advisory
$14.7M
2.6%
Fund administration and treasury services
$10.3M
0.0%
Distribution and underwriting services
$4.4M
0.0%
The products that matter
active stock investing
Equity Strategies
core fee engine
this sits inside a ~$147M FY revenue firm where most dollars are advisory-style fees. if performance slips, this is where the pressure shows up first.
fee sensitive
bond fund management
Fixed Income Strategies
diversifier, not the thesis
segment detail is thin in the current dataset, which tells you something by itself. what we do know: the firm still produced a 33% operating margin, so these products help support the overall fee base.
margin support
international equity fund
Diamond Hill International Fund
q4 2025 commentary
management used its Q4 2025 commentary to talk about supply chains and geopolitical risk. for you, that is a reminder that market swings feed straight into an asset manager's revenue.
market exposure
Key numbers
33.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after paying to run the business → Diamond Hill keeps about 33 cents from each revenue dollar.
26.6%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money tied up in the business → this is high for a firm with only $6M of debt.
$6M
long-term debt
Debt equals just 1% of capital, which means the balance sheet is not the thing that can blow you up here.
8.0x
trailing p/e
P/E → stock price divided by yearly profit per share → you are paying a low multiple because the company is already in a cash takeover.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 65 / 100
- long-term debt $6M (1% of capital)
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for DHIL right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
verify period · takeover context
Feeds show a huge quarter (~$111M revenue, EPS near ~$14) that does not reconcile as steady-state vs ~$147M FY.
Anchor mix to ~$147M FY revenue (-2.6%) and filing EPS (~$4.99 cited in one scrape) before trusting +196% / +190% tags—those usually mix M&A, reporting windows, or non-GAAP items.
$111M
revenue
$14.47
eps
33.0%
operating margin
the number that mattered
The ~$175 deal price vs spot mattered for holders; the 196% revenue tag mattered only as a reminder to read the filing, not Yahoo summaries.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk here is the First Eagle acquisition failing to close. if that breaks, you are back to owning a small standalone asset manager the market had only been valuing at 8.0x earnings.
med
the merger breaks
the definitive agreement could still fail on regulatory, shareholder, or other closing conditions. this is the obvious risk because it is the risk the stock is built around.
the current page already frames standalone value near $130. from $169.88, that is a very different stock.
med
clients leave before closing
Diamond Hill generated $138M of revenue from advisory fees. if clients redeem assets during the sale process, the revenue line takes the hit first.
this is the quiet part of asset management: the product can walk out the door. a shrinking fee base weakens the business being acquired.
med
bad markets hit fees before the deal closes
asset managers get paid on assets. if markets sell off, fee revenue falls even if clients stay. Diamond Hill does not have a large non-fee segment to offset that pressure.
$9M of other revenue is not enough to change the story. you are still mostly riding the advisory-fee line.
this is a binary setup wearing a value-stock costume: a successful close likely caps the drama, and a broken deal brings back the standalone debate fast.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
close window
First Eagle expects closing by Q3 2026
that date is the clock on the thesis. if the timeline slips, the spread stops looking like waiting time and starts looking like the market smelling trouble.
revenue mix
watch the $138M advisory-fee line
most of the business sits here. if quarterly commentary hints at outflows or weaker assets, that is the number that tells you the business is changing before close.
earnings
Q1 2026 results need to show stability, not heroics
after Q4 EPS of $3.41, the next report matters less for upside than for proof that clients and margins are not slipping during the sale process.
insider signal
director buying still deserves a glance
director Thomas L'Quentus bought shares in june and september 2024 at roughly $149. that does not close the deal for you, but it does show prior insider confidence below today's price.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
65 / 100
in human-speak: this business is not chaotic, but fee revenue still moves with markets, performance, and client behavior.
risk rank
3
that is safer than a lot of small caps on balance-sheet terms. it does not remove the event risk sitting on top of the stock.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for DHIL is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$170
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive