One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$490.28 our estimate vs market $276.93
Wall Street consensus: $265.56 (-45.8% lower than our fair-value estimate)
44% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
FactSet Research Systems Inc.
FDS · NYQ · Financial Services · Financial Data & Stock Exchanges
Current price
$276.93
52-week range
$185.00 - $364.83
Market cap
$9.85B
Balance sheet
Watch
13.29x Strong cushion
Net debt $1.27B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
1 Risk
3 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 5.0% last year.
- Reward Returns 27.0% on equity, ahead of 50% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 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 analysis software to investment professionals like money managers and bankers who need it to make informed decisions. The company makes its money through subscriptions, creating a predictable income stream known as recurring revenue (money a business can reliably expect to receive from customers on a regular basis). This is important because clients depend on FactSet's tools for their daily work, making them very likely to continue paying for the service year after year.
How the company got here
FactSet was started in 1978 by two Wall Street analysts, Howard Wille and Chuck Snyder, who saw an opportunity to deliver financial information using the era's new computer technology. Initially, they would compile a four-page financial overview of a company—a "fact set"—and have it delivered by bicycle messenger. As technology evolved, they moved to delivering this data electronically, eventually creating a platform that combines hundreds of databases. The company went public in 1996 and has grown by acquiring other data and software companies to become a comprehensive solution for investment professionals.
What it actually does
FactSet provides a digital platform that combines financial data, analytics, and software for people who work in the investment industry, like portfolio managers and investment bankers. Think of it as a one-stop-shop where finance professionals can research companies, analyze market trends, and manage their investments. They get this information through subscriptions to FactSet's software, which can be accessed on a computer or mobile device, or as data feeds that plug directly into their own systems. The main goal is to help these professionals make more informed decisions by providing them with high-quality data and the tools to analyze it efficiently.
Institutional Buy-Side
This is FactSet's largest business area, serving clients like mutual funds, hedge funds, and other large asset managers who buy investments. These clients pay subscription fees to access FactSet's main software platform, often called the workstation, which provides a vast library of data, research tools, and portfolio analytics (tools to measure and analyze the performance of a group of investments). This segment makes up about half of the company's revenue and helps investment managers research opportunities, construct portfolios, and monitor their performance.
Sell-Side
This segment focuses on investment bankers and research analysts who work at firms that create, promote, and sell stocks, bonds, and other securities. These professionals use FactSet's tools to analyze companies, industries, and markets to advise their clients on things like mergers and acquisitions (when one company buys another) or raising money. They pay subscription fees for access to detailed financial models, real-time market data, and tools that help them create reports and presentations. This part of the business is a significant contributor to FactSet's overall revenue.
Wealth Management
FactSet provides services to financial advisors and wealth managers who help individuals and families with their investments. These clients subscribe to FactSet's platform for tools that help them analyze portfolios, research investment ideas, and create reports for their clients. For example, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management uses FactSet's platform for its thousands of advisors. This is a growing part of FactSet's business, helping advisors provide better service and manage their clients' money more effectively.
What management is betting on now
FactSet's current strategy focuses heavily on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its products to help financial professionals work more efficiently. They are also focused on expanding their data offerings and embedding their tools deeper into their clients' daily workflows, making their platform essential. The company aims to be a trusted partner for the entire financial industry, from the initial research of an investment to the final reporting of its performance. This includes a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to create new AI-powered solutions for the financial industry.
Price history
How the share price has moved
—
Loading price history…
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 $490.28 vs current price $276.93
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $265.56 (-45.8% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $490.28 a share — about 77.0% above today's price of $276.93, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Watch
Net debt $1.3B. Interest coverage 13.3x.
Net debt
$1.27B
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 $1.57B 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
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 5.0% last year.
-
Returns 27.0% on equity, ahead of 50% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
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)
18.26x
Forward P/E
14.05x
P/B
4.88x
P/S
4.04x
EV/EBITDA
11.92x
PEG ratio
1.14x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
51.4%
Operating margin
30.5%
Net margin
23.2%
ROE
27.0%
ROA
11.1%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.77x
Current ratio
0.68x
Quick ratio
0.56x
Total debt
$1.57B
Total cash
$304.24M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$2.44B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
9.9%
EPS TTM
15.17
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
1.8%
Payout ratio
29.4%
Last ex-div date
2026-08-31