Franklin Resources (BEN)
Financials · $17.0B market cap · SEC CIK 0000038777
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Oct 27, 2026, after the close, with analysts expecting $0.77 in earnings per share.
The case for BEN
- Earnings per share up 152.8%.
- Pays a 5.0% dividend while you wait.
The case against
- Return on equity of only 7%.
- Swings harder than the market (beta 1.60).
- Dividend takes 85% of earnings, leaving little cushion.
- Net margin of 9% is thinner than 89% of Financials companies.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Financials companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 54 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 74 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 29 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 72 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 35 |
- Its debt and cash flow are not scored, as for every company in the Financials sector: for banks, insurers and brokers, borrowing is the business.
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 74 Financials companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 20.9× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | 1.47× |
| Price / sales | 1.8× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +7.9% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | +152.8% |
| Gross margin | 36% |
| Operating margin | 10% |
| Net margin | 9% |
| Return on equity | 7% |
| Debt / equity | 1.34× |
| Current ratio | 1.16 |
| Dividend yield | 5.04% |
| Beta | 1.60 |
| 52-week range | $21.11 – $36.28 |
| Position in that range | 79% of the way up |
| 3-month return | +1.8% |
| 1-year return | +37.8% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Franklin Resources's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.8B | $8.5B | $7.8B | $8.3B | $8.4B |
| Operating income | $604M | $408M | $1.1B | $1.8B | $1.9B |
| Net income | $525M | $465M | $883M | $1.3B | $1.8B |
| Operating cash flow | $1.1B | $971M | $1.1B | $2.0B | $1.2B |
| Capital expenditure | $155M | $177M | $149M | $90.3M | $79.3M |
| Total assets | $32.5B | $32.4B | $29.9B | $29.3B | $25.0B |
| Total liabilities | $18.2B | $17.1B | $16.1B | $14.8B | $11.8B |
| Shareholder equity | $12.1B | $12.5B | $12.0B | $11.7B | $11.6B |
| Cash | $3.5B | $3.6B | $3.9B | $4.5B | $4.5B |
| Long-term debt | $2.4B | $2.8B | $3.0B | $3.4B | $3.4B |
| Free cash flow | $912M | $794M | $940M | $1.9B | $1.2B |
| Operating margin | 6.9% | 4.8% | 14.0% | 21.4% | 22.3% |
| Net margin | 6.0% | 5.5% | 11.2% | 15.6% | 21.7% |
| Diluted shares | 517M | 510M | 491M | 489M | 491M |
Share count is up 5.5% over 4 years. Mild issuance.
What Franklin Resources says it does
OVERVIEW Franklin Resources, Inc. ("Franklin") is a holding company with subsidiaries operating under our Franklin Templeton® and/or subsidiary brand names. Franklin’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") under the ticker symbol "BEN" and is included in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. In this Annual Report, Franklin and its subsidiaries are collectively referred to as the "Company," and words such as "we," "us," "our" and similar terms refer to the Company. We have one operating segment, investment management and related services. We offer our services and products under our various distinct brand names, including, but not limited to, Alcentra ® , Apera ® , Benefit Street Partners ® , Brandywine Global Investment Management ® , Canvas ® , Clarion Partners ® , ClearBridge Investments ® , Fiduciary Trust International™, Franklin ® , Franklin Mutual Series…
Risk factors BEN lists in its 10-K
- Volatility and disruption of our business and financial markets and adverse changes in the global economy may significantly affect our results of operations and put pressure on our financial results
- The amount and mix of our AUM are subject to significant fluctuations, and a shift in our asset mix toward lower-fee products may negatively impact our revenues and income
- Our funds may be subject to liquidity risks or an unanticipated large number of redemptions and fund closures
- Poor investment performance of our products could reduce the level of our AUM or affect our sales, and negatively impact our revenues and income
- Harm to our reputation may negatively impact our revenues and income
- Our business and operations are subject to adverse effects from the outbreak and spread of contagious diseases
- We may review and pursue strategic transactions that could pose risks to our business and global operations
- Our business operations are complex and a failure to perform operational tasks properly or comply with applicable regulatory requirements could have an adverse effect on our revenues and income
- Failure to establish adequate controls and risk management policies, or the circumvention of controls and policies, could have an adverse effect on our global operations, reputation and financial position
- We face risks, and corresponding potential costs and expenses, associated with conducting operations and growing our business in numerous countries
- Failure to properly address the increased transformative pressures affecting the investment management industry could negatively impact our business
- Strong competition from numerous and sometimes larger companies with competing offerings and products could limit or reduce sales of our products, potentially resulting in a decline in our market share, revenues and income
- Increasing competition and other changes in the third-party distribution and sales channels on which we depend could reduce our revenues and income and hinder our growth
- Any failure of our third-party providers to fulfill their obligations, or our failure to maintain good relationships with our providers, could adversely impact our business