Investment Banking interview preparation

Questions

100

Traced to a firm

100

Firms

46

Updated

September 2026

Asked at

All firmsTSTruist Securities10Rothschild & Co8Centerview Partners7CSCredit Suisse7HWHarris Williams6Houlihan Lokey6Lazard6Mizuho6Barclays5Citi5Deutsche Bank5Evercore5Moelis & Company5MSMorgan Stanley5Piper Sandler5RCRBC Capital Markets5Goldman Sachs4Nomura4TD Securities4Bank of America3GSGuggenheim Securities3J.P. Morgan3Jefferies3Moody's3Perella Weinberg Partners3WPWarburg Pincus3WBWilliam Blair3HSBC2Lincoln International2Scotiabank2TPTPG2UBS2Wells Fargo Securities2Advent International1Apollo Global Management1Bain Capital1Balyasny Asset Management1BLBlackRock1BPBNP Paribas1General Atlantic1Invesco1Morningstar1PIMCO1STSociété Générale1SSState Street1WMWellington Management1

Topic

All topicsAccounting14Valuation21M&A10Markets and deals10Capital markets3LBO8Leveraged finance3Restructuring2Credit3Debt capital markets2Capital structure2Case and estimation11Brainteasers6Fit5

Level

AnyCoreIntermediateHard

Type

AnyTechnicalCaseBrainteaserFitMarket view

1. 027How does EV/EBITDA vary across industries, and where is it larger or smaller?ValuationIntermediatetechnicalTSTruist SecuritiesInvestment Banking · New York · 2026

   Say this

   High multiples go to businesses with durable growth, high returns on capital and low reinvestment needs, so software and branded consumer sit at the top. Low multiples go to cyclical, capital-hungry, low-growth businesses like steel, airlines and utilities.

   Then walk it

   1. Software trades high because incremental revenue costs almost nothing to serve, revenue is recurring, and CapEx is minimal. Twenty times and above is normal.
   2. Branded consumer and medical devices sit in the mid to high teens on pricing power and stable demand.
   3. Industrials and distribution sit around eight to twelve, reflecting moderate growth and real capital needs.
   4. Cyclicals and capital-intensive businesses sit low, often four to seven, because earnings are volatile and most of the EBITDA gets reinvested just to stand still.
   5. The unifying logic is that EV/EBITDA is a shorthand for growth, risk and reinvestment. High multiple means the market expects EBITDA to grow and to convert into cash. Steel fails both tests.

   Where candidates lose it

   Reciting sector multiples as trivia without the underlying driver. If you cannot explain why software earns twenty times and steel earns five, you have memorised a table. The answer is cash conversion and growth durability.

   Expect next

   • Which company would have a higher multiple, asset-heavy or asset-light?
   • What is an appropriate multiple for software?
   • A company in your sector trades at half the peer multiple. Why?

   Reported by candidates at Truist Securities (Investment Banking, New York, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

2. 051Walk me through an LBO.LBOIntermediatetechnicalTSTruist SecuritiesGeneralist · Charlotte · 2024TPTPGInvestment Banking · New York · 2024Advent InternationalTechnology, Media and Telecom · Palo Alto · 2020LazardInvestment Banking · New York · 2026

   Say this

   Buy a company using mostly debt, use its own cash flow to pay that debt down over five years, then sell it. The equity return comes from deleveraging, from growing EBITDA, and from any multiple expansion.

   Then walk it

   1. Set the entry: purchase price as a multiple of EBITDA, then a sources and uses table. Debt takes you as far as the credit market allows, say five times EBITDA, and the sponsor writes a cheque for the rest plus fees.
   2. Project the operating model for five years, then build the debt schedule: interest, mandatory amortisation, and a cash sweep that applies surplus cash to the debt.
   3. Free cash flow after interest pays down debt each year, so the equity slice grows even if enterprise value does not move at all. That is deleveraging.
   4. Exit at an assumed multiple on final-year EBITDA, subtract the remaining debt, and you have exit equity value.
   5. Compute IRR and money multiple against the initial cheque. Then attribute the return across the three drivers: debt paydown, EBITDA growth and multiple change. A sponsor will always ask which one is carrying the deal.
   6. The sanity test: if the whole return depends on exiting at a higher multiple than you paid, it is not an investment thesis, it is a bet on the market.

   Where candidates lose it

   Describing the mechanics with no attribution of returns. Every good LBO answer ends with which of the three drivers produces the IRR, and an acknowledgement that multiple expansion is the one you cannot control.

   Expect next

   • How do you drive returns in an LBO?
   • What makes a good LBO candidate?
   • Do a paper LBO for me.

   Reported by candidates at Truist Securities (Generalist, Charlotte, 2024); TPG (Investment Banking, New York, 2024); Advent International (Technology, Media and Telecom, Palo Alto, 2020); Lazard (Investment Banking, New York, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

3. 064What credit metrics would you look at when analysing a company like Nike?CreditIntermediatetechnicalTSTruist SecuritiesLeveraged Finance · Atlanta · 2024

   Say this

   Leverage and coverage first: net debt to EBITDA and EBITDA to interest. Then cash conversion, free cash flow to debt, and the maturity profile. For a consumer brand I would add inventory days, because that is where the trouble shows up first.

   Then walk it

   1. Leverage: net debt to EBITDA, and gross leverage too, since cash can be trapped offshore or needed for operations. For an investment grade consumer name you would expect well under two times.
   2. Coverage: EBITDA or EBIT to interest expense, and the tighter test, free cash flow after CapEx and dividends against interest.
   3. Cash conversion: free cash flow to total debt, and EBITDA to free cash flow, which tells you how much of the reported profit is real.
   4. Liquidity and maturities: cash on hand plus undrawn revolver against the next two years of maturities. A profitable company still defaults if it cannot refinance.
   5. For Nike specifically: inventory days and the gap between revenue growth and inventory growth. When inventory grows faster than sales in a branded consumer business, discounting and a gross margin hit are coming. I would also look at wholesale versus direct mix and geographic concentration.

   Where candidates lose it

   Reciting generic credit ratios and ignoring that they named a specific company. The sector-specific metric, inventory in this case, is what shows you can actually underwrite rather than recite. Always bring one metric that fits the named business.

   Expect next

   • What line items would you look at to assess creditworthiness?
   • How would you assess a good borrower?
   • How would you qualitatively assess an entity for a rating?

   Reported by candidates at Truist Securities (Leveraged Finance, Atlanta, 2024). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

4. 069Explain the different ways a firm might finance itself, besides straight equity and debt.Capital structureIntermediatetechnicalHSBCGeneralist · New York · 2024TSTruist SecuritiesCorporate Banking · Atlanta · 2025

   Say this

   Everything in between: convertible bonds, preferred stock, mezzanine and PIK, plus asset-based routes like securitisation, sale-leaseback, factoring and equipment leasing. And structural options like a rights issue or a convertible preferred.

   Then walk it

   1. Hybrid instruments sit between the two: convertible bonds give a low coupon in exchange for equity upside, preferred stock ranks ahead of common with a fixed dividend, and mezzanine or PIK sits below senior debt with equity warrants attached.
   2. Asset-based financing monetises specific assets rather than the whole enterprise: asset-backed lending against receivables and inventory, securitisation of a receivables pool, factoring, and equipment leasing.
   3. Sale-leaseback converts owned real estate into cash while keeping the operational use. It is off-balance-sheet in spirit, though under current standards the lease liability comes back on.
   4. Operational financing is often overlooked: stretching supplier terms, customer prepayments and deferred revenue are all working capital funding, and they cost nothing.
   5. And there are equity variants: rights issues to existing holders, PIPEs, convertible preferred for a strategic investor, and in some markets government or development-bank funding for specific projects.
   6. The structuring logic is to match the funding to the asset. Long-lived assets get long-dated debt, receivables get revolving asset-based facilities, and uncertain growth gets equity or something convertible.

   Where candidates lose it

   Listing instruments with no organising principle. Group them, hybrids, asset-based, operational, equity variants, and finish with the matching principle. A list without a frame reads like flashcards.

   Expect next

   • When would you advise a convertible over straight equity?
   • What are the primary categories of collateral securing an asset-based loan?
   • What is the difference between a loan and a bond?

   Reported by candidates at HSBC (Generalist, New York, 2024); Truist Securities (Corporate Banking, Atlanta, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

Firm tags come from public, anonymous candidate reports on Wall Street Oasis: strong signal, not sworn testimony. Firms are named as the places a question was reported, not as partners of Fin Maverick. Answers are written for this page to show how to think out loud; they are not scripts to recite.