FactSet (FDS)
Financials · $11.5B market cap · SEC CIK 0001013237
ahead of 45% of the S&P 500 · #49 of 76 in Financials
Next reports on Dec 16, 2026, with analysts expecting $5.04 in earnings per share.
52-week range $185.00 to $348.00. 6% below its 52-week high and 76% above its low.
The case for FDS
- Earns 26% back on shareholder equity.
- 22% of revenue drops through to net profit.
- Moves less than the market (beta 0.70).
The case against
- Earnings per share fell 6.5%.
- Stability is weak (41/100): beta 0.70, a 47% swing over the year.
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. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings and cash, against the growth you get | 47 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 34 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 70 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 80 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 41 |
- 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 76 Financials companies.
The financials
Revenue growth
Is the business growing? Slowly
| Last 12 months | +6.7% |
|---|---|
| Over 5 years | +9.2% a year |
| FY2026 revenue | $2.5B (+7%) |
Free cash flow
Is it generating real cash? Not meaningful for a financial company
Profit margins
Is profitability improving? No, slipping
| Gross margin | 51% |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 28% |
| Net margin, FY25 → FY26 → now | 25.7% → 21.5% → 21.5% |
Debt vs. cash
Is the balance sheet healthy? Not judged for a financial company
| Cash | $233M |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt | $871M |
| Net debt | $637M |
Valuation
Is the stock price reasonable? Yes, about fair
| P/E | 21.6× |
|---|---|
| Fair P/E for its growth | 21× |
| Forward P/E | 16.5× |
| EV / EBITDA | 14.4× |
At 21.6× earnings it trades close to the 21× that 8% a year of growth plus a 0.9% dividend would justify. It is judged on earnings alone: its book value is not what it earns on, as it would be for a bank or insurer.
The financials, five years deep
Pulled from FactSet's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.
| FY2026 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | |||||
| Revenue | $2.5B | $2.3B | $2.2B | $2.1B | $1.8B |
| Change on the year | +7% | +5% | +6% | +13% | — |
| Free cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow | $707M | $617M | $615M | $585M | $487M |
| Of revenue | 29% | 27% | 28% | 28% | 26% |
| Profit margins | |||||
| Operating margin | 28.3% | 32.2% | 31.8% | 30.2% | 25.8% |
| Net margin | 21.5% | 25.7% | 24.4% | 22.4% | 21.5% |
| Debt vs. cash | |||||
| Cash | $233M | $338M | $423M | $425M | $503M |
| Long-term debt | $871M | $1.4B | $1.2B | $1.6B | $2.0B |
| Net cash (debt) | −$637M | −$1.0B | −$818M | −$1.2B | −$1.5B |
What FactSet says it does
Corporate History FactSet Research Systems Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries ("we," "our," "us," the "Company" or "FactSet") was founded in 1978 and has been publicly traded since June 1996. We are dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and the Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq") under the symbol "FDS". FactSet has been a member of the S&P 500 since December 2021. Business Overview FactSet is a global data and artificial intelligence ("AI") solutions provider to the financial markets with open and flexible technologies that deliver financial intelligence to finance professionals worldwide. Our platform delivers expansive data, sophisticated analytics, and flexible, AI-powered technologies used by global financial professionals to power their critical investment, dealmaking and advisory workflows. As of August 31, 2026, we had more than 9,200 clients and over 260,000 professionals using our solutions, including…
Risk factors FDS lists in its 10-K
- Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation
- Unauthorized access to confidential data including client data, other cyber-attacks, and the failure of our cybersecurity systems and procedures
- A prolonged or recurring outage and other business continuity disruptions could result in a reduced or total loss of service; the loss of clients and adverse impact on our reputation
- We may be unable to secure data center capacity, power and computing resources on acceptable terms to meet our future needs
- Transition to new and emerging technologies, applications and processes could expose us to unanticipated disruptions or impacts
- Our use of AI technologies may not be successful and may present business, compliance, and reputational risks
- Use of open source software could introduce security vulnerabilities, impose unanticipated restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products and services, and subject us to increased costs
- Inadequate or inconsistent governance of our internal use of AI could expose us to security, operational, legal and reputational risks
- We are undergoing significant organizational change and transformation, and our failure to execute these initiatives effectively could disrupt our business and adversely affect our results
- Competition in our industry may cause price reductions or loss of market share, or limit our growth or profitability
- Advances in AI may enable our clients and other third parties to build their own solutions and may reduce demand for our products and services
- The continued shift from active to passive investing could negatively impact user count growth and revenues
- Uncertainty, downturns or volatility in the global economy and consolidation in the financial services industry may cause us to lose clients and users, or could reduce further growth
- Failure to develop and market new products and enhancements that maintain our technological and competitive position and failure to anticipate and respond to changes in the marketplace for our products and client demands
- Clients are seeking additional contractual protections that may create additional liabilities for us
- Failure to identify, integrate, or realize anticipated benefits of acquisitions and strains on resources as a result of growth
- Increased scrutiny with respect to environmental, social and governance matters
- e depend on third-party vendors, partners and service providers, and disruptions to or failures by these third parties could adversely affect our business
- Operations outside the U.S. involve additional requirements and burdens that we may not be able to control or manage successfully
- Failure to enter into, renew or comply with contracts supplying new and existing content sets or products on competitive terms
- Inability to hire and retain key qualified personnel or navigate key management transitions
- Legislative and regulatory changes in the environments in which we and our clients operate
- Adverse resolution of litigation or governmental investigations
- Dinosaur Financial Group LLC et al. v. S&P Global, Inc. et al
- Third parties may claim we infringe upon their intellectual property rights or they may infringe upon our intellectual property rights
- Compliance with global data privacy laws which are constantly evolving
- Changes in tax laws and other tax-related risks could adversely affect our financial results
- Exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates and the failure of hedging arrangements
- Business performance may not be sufficient to meet financial guidance or publicly disclosed long-term targets
- Economic, political and other forces beyond our control could adversely affect our business
- Our indebtedness may impair our financial condition and operations and restrict our activities or our ability to satisfy our obligations