One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$460.15 our estimate vs market $266.87
Wall Street consensus: $277.56 (-39.7% lower than our fair-value estimate)
42% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
FactSet Research Systems Inc.
FDS · NYQ · Financial Services · Financial Data & Stock Exchanges
Current price
$266.87
52-week range
$185.00 - $320.48
Market cap
$9.49B
Balance sheet
Watch
13.29x Strong cushion
Net debt $1.28B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 5.0% last year.
- Reward Returns 25.5% on equity, ahead of 50% of its peers.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 29.3% to 24.7% over 3 years.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 0.4% (peer median: 3.6%).
What this company does
FactSet Research Systems Inc.
FactSet provides financial data and software to professional investors, helping them analyze stocks and manage money. The company makes most of its money through subscriptions, creating a steady stream of recurring revenue (predictable income from customers who pay regularly, like for a streaming service). Because its tools are essential for its clients' daily work, this business model makes its financial results relatively stable and easy to predict.
How the company got here
FactSet was started in 1978 by two Wall Street analysts who saw an opportunity to deliver financial data using the era's new computers. [5, 7] They created a way for investment professionals to pull financial information directly into early spreadsheets, which was a major time-saver. [11] Over the years, the company grew by expanding to Europe and Asia, going public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996, and continuously adding more data and analysis tools to its platform. [5, 11] It has also made key acquisitions (buying other companies) to add new capabilities, such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data and unique company identifiers, which are like serial numbers for financial securities. [5, 11]
What it actually does
FactSet provides a digital platform that is like a super-powered library and toolbox for people who work in finance, such as investment managers and bankers. [2, 15] The company gathers vast amounts of financial data from all over the world, organizes it, and then sells subscriptions for access to this information through its software. [1, 3] Clients use the platform to research companies, analyze market trends, and manage their investment portfolios (a collection of investments). [8, 17] Think of it as a one-stop-shop for financial professionals who need reliable data and tools to make informed investment decisions. [2]
Research & Advisory Solutions
This is FactSet's largest and most well-known business area, providing the core software that financial professionals use on their computers every day. [14] Customers, like research analysts (people who study companies to advise on investments) and investment bankers, pay a subscription fee to access a massive library of data on companies, markets, and economies. [8, 10] This part of the business provides the tools to analyze this data, helping users find investment ideas and understand the health of different industries. [10] This segment generates a significant portion of the company's revenue through these recurring subscription fees. [14]
Analytics & Trading Solutions
This part of the company provides tools that help investors look at their entire portfolio (their collection of stocks, bonds, and other assets) all at once. [9] Clients pay to use software that helps them measure their investment performance, manage risk (the chance that an investment will lose money), and test new investment strategies. [9, 10] It also includes solutions that help with the actual process of buying and selling securities. [10] This segment is crucial for asset managers (professionals who manage investment funds) who need to constantly monitor and adjust their holdings. [8]
Content & Technology Solutions (CTS)
Instead of having users log into FactSet's platform, this segment delivers raw financial data directly into a client's own computer systems. [1, 10] Customers like large financial institutions pay for these data feeds to power their own custom-built applications and analytical models. [3] This is for firms that need a high degree of flexibility and want to integrate FactSet's data deeply into their own technology. [10] It's a way for FactSet to provide its valuable data to clients who prefer using their own software instead of FactSet's.
Wealth Management Solutions
This business focuses specifically on the needs of wealth managers and financial advisors who work with individual investors. [3, 8] These professionals pay for a version of the FactSet platform tailored to help them manage their clients' portfolios, create reports, and communicate investment ideas. [3, 10] The goal is to provide financial advisors with the same powerful data and analytics that big investment firms use, but in a way that is useful for managing the finances of individuals and families. [10]
What management is betting on now
FactSet's leadership is heavily focused on expanding its data offerings, especially in areas like private companies and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data, which helps investors evaluate a company's ethical and sustainability practices. [10] The company continues to grow by making strategic acquisitions (buying other companies) that add new technology and data to its platform. [1] A major priority is investing in artificial intelligence (AI) to create smarter, more efficient tools for its clients, such as a feature that helps bankers create presentations more quickly. [11, 18] This focus on AI and unique data is designed to keep the company essential to its clients in a competitive market. [1]
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q4
$137.20M
FY2025 Q1
$60.50M
FY2025 Q2
$150.22M
FY2025 Q3
$228.60M
FY2025 Q4
$178.13M
FY2026 Q1
$90.44M
FY2026 Q2
$185.69M
FY2026 Q3
$254.04M
Revenue
$622.92M
Net income
$126.72M
Diluted EPS
3.50
Operating cash flow
$284.52M
Free cash flow
$254.04M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$611.02M
Net income
$133.06M
Diluted EPS
3.59
Operating cash flow
$211.69M
Free cash flow
$185.69M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$607.62M
Net income
$152.58M
Diluted EPS
4.06
Operating cash flow
$121.28M
Free cash flow
$90.44M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$596.90M
Net income
$153.62M
Diluted EPS
4.03
Operating cash flow
$212.10M
Free cash flow
$178.13M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$585.52M
Net income
$148.54M
Diluted EPS
3.87
Operating cash flow
$253.83M
Free cash flow
$228.60M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$570.66M
Net income
$144.86M
Diluted EPS
3.76
Operating cash flow
$173.96M
Free cash flow
$150.22M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$568.67M
Net income
$150.02M
Diluted EPS
3.89
Operating cash flow
$86.37M
Free cash flow
$60.50M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$562.19M
Net income
$89.50M
Diluted EPS
2.33
Operating cash flow
$163.16M
Free cash flow
$137.20M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $460.15 vs current price $266.87
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $277.56 (-39.7% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $460.15 a share — about 72.4% above today's price of $266.87, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Watch
Net debt $1.3B. Interest coverage 13.3x.
Net debt
$1.28B
Interest coverage
13.29x
FactSet Research Systems Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 13.3 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here.
Watch
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
FDS
BASELINE
FactSet Research Systems Inc.
Total debt $1.54B Interest coverage 13.29x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $1.90B Interest coverage 12.60x -5% vs FDS Has roughly the same debt cushion as FDS.
Total debt $7.78B Interest coverage 3.31x -75% vs FDS Carries about 4.0x less debt cushion than FDS.
Total debt $5.66B Interest coverage 3.67x -72% vs FDS Carries about 3.6x less debt cushion than FDS.
Total debt $4.62B Interest coverage 7.86x -41% vs FDS Carries about 1.7x less debt cushion than FDS.
What you should know
The case for and against FDS
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 5.0% last year.
-
Returns 25.5% on equity, ahead of 50% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Operating margin compressed from 29.3% to 24.7% over 3 years.
-
Insider ownership is only 0.4% (peer median: 3.6%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
18.32x
Forward P/E
13.53x
P/B
4.70x
P/S
3.83x
EV/EBITDA
12.61x
PEG ratio
1.22x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
50.6%
Operating margin
24.7%
Net margin
21.5%
ROE
25.5%
ROA
10.4%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.77x
Current ratio
0.60x
Quick ratio
0.52x
Total debt
$1.54B
Total cash
$265.33M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$2.44B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
9.9%
EPS TTM
14.57
EPS 5Y CAGR
14.9%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$829.59M
Free CF TTM
$617.45M
FCF margin
25.3%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.7%
Payout ratio
31.0%
Last ex-div date
2026-08-31