FactSet Research Systems Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Buying here is not a bet that the clients stay — they do stay, with retention above 95 percent of subscription value. The bet is that FactSet can hold its price while AI tools make part of the same information free, and that its AI products eventually earn more than they cost in tokens and cloud invoices. Three things are measurable until then and will appear in the next filings: the adjusted operating margin (most recently 34.0 percent versus 36.8 percent), the client retention rate (most recently 90 percent versus 91 percent), and whether the annual report for the year ending August 31, 2026 finally reports the control weakness open since 2024 as remediated. After that comes the $500 million maturity on March 1, 2027. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
FactSet is neither the victim its share price suggests nor the bargain the halved quote implies. The subscription business keeps growing (organic annual subscription value of $2,485.6 million as of May 31, 2026, up 7.1 percent), but the margin is falling even on an adjusted basis (34.0 percent versus 36.8 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026), and the company's own annual report names AI both as a source of revenue and as a reason free information may reduce demand. Add two hard facts from the latest filing: a material weakness in internal control open since fiscal 2024, and $500 million of 2.900 percent notes maturing March 1, 2027. Not investment advice.
Business model and client retention
A subscription business with strong retention: organic annual subscription value of $2,485.6 million as of May 31, 2026 (up 7.1 percent), retention above 95 percent of ASV, 9,130 clients (up 3.6 percent) and 247,766 users (up 12.4 percent). Revenues rose without interruption from $1,843.9 million to $2,321.7 million across fiscal 2022 through 2025.
Margin trajectory
Operating margin fell to 26.7 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 from 33.2 percent. One-time items (restructuring of $19.6 million, CEO compensation of $4.3 million) explain only part of it: even adjusted, the margin slipped from 36.8 to 34.0 percent in the quarter and from 37.2 to 35.1 percent over nine months. The company's own guidance of July 1, 2026 calls for 29.5 to 31.0 percent for the full year, after 32.2 percent in fiscal 2025.
AI as both opportunity and threat
The fiscal 2025 annual report explicitly names the company's AI solutions as a source of usage, demand and commercial transactions; as of May 31, 2026 more than 90 percent of the top 50 clients used four or more AI products. The same report warns in its risk factors that ever more free information is becoming available, "especially with the deployment of AI tools." On the cost side, AI token consumption is driving technology-related expenses higher (up 40 basis points in the third quarter of fiscal 2026).
Internal controls
The principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that disclosure controls were not effective as of May 31, 2026. The underlying material weakness in IT general controls — which support revenues, accounts receivable and deferred revenues — was identified as of August 31, 2024 and is open for the third reporting year in a row. The company names fiscal 2026, ending August 31, 2026, as its remediation target.
Balance sheet and maturities
Goodwill ($1,283.4 million) and intangible assets ($1,868.4 million) make up 75.2 percent of total assets and exceed stockholders' equity of $2,032.3 million by $1,119.5 million. On March 1, 2027, $500 million of 2.900 percent notes come due — against cash of $288.1 million as of May 31, 2026, after $506.0 million had gone into share repurchases over nine months and a further $80.0 million was drawn on the revolver after the balance sheet date.
Valuation
A market capitalization of about $9.0 billion (35,565,543 shares at the $254.36 close of July 24, 2026) equals roughly 16.6 to 17.1 times the company's own fiscal 2026 earnings guidance and about 3.7 times guided revenues. For a subscription business with a 34 percent adjusted margin that is historically cheap; the average analyst price target of $255.06 (as of July 25, 2026) sits practically at the market price, with 12 of 21 opinions on hold.
Worth Noting
FactSet reached our research list through our in-house stock scanner "Turnaround-Kandidaten": rank 7 of 62 U.S. hits, turnaround check 7 of 8, as of July 25, 2026. These lists are recomputed daily, so the ranking is a dated snapshot.
The fiscal year ends August 31. References to the "third quarter of fiscal 2026" mean the quarter ended May 31, 2026 (reported July 1, 2026); references to "fiscal 2025" mean the year ended August 31, 2025. Anyone comparing FactSet with calendar-year reporters has to allow for that shift.
Prices are dated valuation anchors, not buy arguments: close of $254.36 on July 24, 2026, all-time high of $499.87 on November 14, 2024, low of $185.00 on February 17, 2026. The share count of 35,565,543 comes from the cover of the quarterly report (as of June 25, 2026).
Possible confusion: FDS is dual listed — on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The ticker does not refer to any of the several similarly named funds or index products.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at FDS since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 190.10 $ to 336.00 $ · Last price: 278.90 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FactSet Research Systems Inc FDS | 9.9 | 17.8 | 11.6 | 51.4 | 30.5 | 5.4 | -15.5 |
| S&P Global Inc SPGI | 128.2 | 27.1 | 16.1 | 70.9 | 44.3 | 7.9 | -20.8 |
| CME Group Inc CME | 98.0 | 22.8 | 16.4 | 100.0 | 69.8 | 6.4 | 7.4 |
| Intercontinental Exchange Inc ICE | 85.6 | 22.3 | 13.8 | 100.0 | 57.3 | 7.5 | -9.8 |
| Moodys Corporation MCO | 81.3 | 34.3 | 20.3 | 75.0 | 45.7 | 8.9 | -9.0 |
| Nasdaq Inc NDAQ | 51.7 | 27.5 | 16.8 | 100.0 | 48.4 | 11.1 | -2.8 |
| Coinbase Global Inc COIN | 47.8 | 64.0 | 30.7 | 85.8 | -7.1 | 9.4 | -49.8 |
| MSCI Inc MSCI | 40.0 | 31.1 | 22.4 | 83.0 | 53.7 | 9.8 | -3.3 |
| Cboe Global Markets Inc CBOE | 27.9 | 22.4 | 14.0 | 54.1 | 39.7 | 15.1 | 16.9 |
| Median of companies shown | 51.7 | 27.1 | 16.4 | 83.0 | 45.7 | 8.9 | -9.0 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,127 | 350 | 339 | 8.19 | 331 | 517 | 1,019 |
| 2017 | 1,221 | 352 | 258 | 6.51 | 321 | 560 | 1,413 |
| 2018 | 1,350 | 366 | 267 | 6.78 | 386 | 526 | 1,419 |
| 2019 | 1,435 | 438 | 353 | 9.08 | 427 | 672 | 1,549 |
| 2020 | 1,494 | 440 | 373 | 9.65 | 506 | 898 | 2,083 |
| 2021 | 1,591 | 474 | 400 | 10.36 | 555 | 1,016 | 2,223 |
| 2022 | 1,844 | 475 | 397 | 10.25 | 538 | 1,331 | 4,014 |
| 2023 | 2,086 | 630 | 468 | 12.04 | 646 | 1,620 | 3,963 |
| 2024 | 2,203 | 701 | 537 | 13.91 | 700 | 1,912 | 4,055 |
| 2025 | 2,322 | 748 | 597 | 15.55 | 726 | 2,186 | 4,304 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q3 | 3.74 | 27.60 | 562 | 4.90 | 15.90 | 163 | 137 |
| 2024: Q4 | 4.37 | 6.10 | 569 | 4.90 | 26.40 | 86 | 61 |
| 2025: Q1 | 4.28 | 1.40 | 571 | 4.50 | 25.40 | 174 | 150 |
| 2025: Q2 | 4.27 | -2.30 | 586 | 5.90 | 25.40 | 254 | 229 |
| 2025: Q3 | 4.05 | 8.30 | 597 | 6.20 | 25.70 | 212 | 178 |
| 2025: Q4 | 4.51 | 3.20 | 608 | 6.90 | 25.10 | 121 | 90 |
| 2026: Q1 | 4.46 | 4.20 | 611 | 7.10 | 21.80 | 212 | 186 |
| 2026: Q2 | 4.53 | 6.10 | 623 | 6.40 | 20.30 | 285 | 254 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 9 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
- Insider Buying (Net)
- Institutional + Insiders Building Positions
- Pros 80%
- Terry Smith: Quality (Fundsmith Criteria)
Breakout & Setup
Momentum & Trend
Research
Value & GARP
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/31/2027 | 19.71 | 19.15 – 20.30 | 2,616 | 10.5% | 18 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 2.8% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $708.3M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $9.92B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $937.0M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 49.8% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 7.6% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
FactSet verkauft KI-gestützte Funktionen als Teil seiner Abonnements — der Geschäftsbericht 2025 nennt sie ausdrücklich als Quelle von Nutzung, Nachfrage und kommerziellen Transaktionen; derselbe Bericht führt KI zugleich als Risiko für die eigene Preissetzung.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Our AI roadmap, driven by our FactSet AI Blueprint, is resonating with our clients, and FactSet's AI solutions are generating usage, demand and commercial transactions."
Unser KI-Fahrplan, getragen vom FactSet AI Blueprint, findet bei unseren Kunden Anklang, und die KI-Lösungen von FactSet erzeugen Nutzung, Nachfrage und kommerzielle Transaktionen.
10-K · 2025-10-22 · View SEC filing
„FactSet is delivering AI embedded workflow solutions for various personas including research analysts, bankers, portfolio managers, wealth advisors and engineering teams across our clients."
FactSet liefert Arbeitsabläufe mit eingebetteter KI für verschiedene Rollen — darunter Research-Analysten, Investmentbanker, Portfoliomanager, Vermögensberater und Technikteams bei unseren Kunden.
10-K · 2025-10-22 · View SEC filing
„Each year, an increasing amount of free or relatively inexpensive information becomes available, particularly through the internet, and this trend is likely to continue, especially with the deployment of AI tools."
Jedes Jahr wird mehr kostenlose oder vergleichsweise günstige Information verfügbar, vor allem über das Internet, und dieser Trend dürfte anhalten — besonders mit dem Einsatz von KI-Werkzeugen.
10-K · 2025-10-22 · View SEC filing
„Technology-related expenses increased by 40 basis points, primarily driven by higher spend in cloud-based hosting services, licensed software arrangements and AI token consumption."
Die technikbezogenen Aufwendungen stiegen um 40 Basispunkte, überwiegend getrieben von höheren Ausgaben für Cloud-Hosting, lizenzierte Software und den Verbrauch von KI-Token.
10-Q · 2026-07-01 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-07-01 · 10-Q 2026-04-02 · 10-Q 2026-01-05 · 10-Q 2025-07-03 · 10-K 2025-10-22 · 10-K 2024-10-29
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 8.0%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 6.4%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -0.3%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 32.0%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 52.7%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 29.9%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 1.3 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 470 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 19.8%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 0.4%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
9/10 Quality stockThe AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 8.4%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 12.7%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 8.8%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 26.8%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 1.6x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 0.0%
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% 19.8%
- Expected return > 10% 34.6%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
The company
About the Company
FactSet Research Systems Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider for the investment community. It offers data, products, and analytical applications; and workstations, portfolio analytics, and enterprise data solutions, as well as managed services for supporting data, performance, risk, and reporting workflows. The company also provides subscription-based financial data and market intelligence on securities, companies, industries, and people that enable clients to research investment ideas, as well as analyze, monitor, and manage portfolios; and solutions covering investment lifecycle of investment research, portfolio construction and analysis, trade execution, performance measurement, risk management, and reporting. In addition, it offers services through configurable desktop and mobile platform, data feeds, cloud-based digital solutions, and application programming interfaces. It operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company serves investment professionals, including institutional asset managers, bankers, wealth managers, asset owners, partners, hedge funds, corporate users, and private equity and venture capital professionals. It has a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to create a new generation of AI-powered solutions for the financial industry. FactSet Research Systems Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.
- Employees
- 12,694
- Headquarters
- Norwalk, CT
- Address
- 45 Glover Avenue, 06850 Norwalk, United States
- Phone
- 203 810 1000
- Website
- factset.com
- IPO Date
- 07/03/1996
- ISIN
- US3030751057
- Stock Split
- 3:2 on 02/07/2005
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 02/07/2000
- Stock Split
- 3:2 on 02/08/1999
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher McLoughlin | Executive VP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | – |
| Goran Skoko | Executive VP, Chief Revenue Officer and MD of EMEA & Asia Pacific | 1961 |
| Katherine M. Stepp | Chief AI Officer | 1986 |
| Sanoke Viswanathan | CEO & Director | 1975 |
| Joshua B. Warren J.D. | Chief Financial Officer | 1980 |
| Gregory T. Moskoff | MD, Controller & Chief Accounting Officer | 1971 |
| Robert Stolte | Chief Technology Officer | – |
| Kevin J. Toomey Jr. | Head of Investor Relations | – |
| Dinaz Hirji | Chief People & Workforce Transformation Officer | – |
| Christopher R. Ellis | Executive VP and Head of Strategic Initiatives & Partnership | 1973 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/31/2026 FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS INC (FDS): Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement; Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.