FDS vs ICE vs MA Stock Comparison

Factset Research Systems, Intercontinental Exchange and Mastercard Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FDS Factset Research Systems Inc
$320.05 +23.1% 1M +19.9% 1Y
Market cap
$11.28B
P/E
21.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.48B
Div. yield
1.41%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
5 wins
MA Mastercard Inc
$635.70 +12.8% 1M +14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$553.50B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.29B
Div. yield
0.55%
Payment Networks Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Factset Research Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Factset Research Systems 5, Mastercard 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFDSICEMALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.28B $91.46B $553.50B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.9x 22.1x 30.6x FDS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.3x 18.8x 30.3x FDS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% +12.1% +15.3% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.5% — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.9% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.41% 1.25% 0.55% FDS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.9% +8.2% +14.6% FDS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.3%/yr +3.3%/yr +13.6%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.7% 25.8% 22.9% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 50/100 44/100 FDS

Percentile Scorecard

FDSICEMA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisFDSICEMA
Valuation 29 #665 of 941 53 #46 of 96 9 #857 of 941
Growth 29 #438 of 615 45 #36 of 65 66 #213 of 615
Profitability 85 #88 of 586 58 #28 of 65 95 #29 of 586
Financial Health 64 #243 of 667 53 #44 of 93 43 #380 of 667
Shareholder Returns 71 #206 of 704 41 #24 of 40 6 #660 of 704
Overall 56 50 44
  • FDS ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • ICE ranked among 110 companies in Capital Markets
  • MA ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodFDSICEMASPY
1 month +23.1%+7.1%+12.8% +0.7%
3 months +21.7%+4.3%+10.1% +3.7%
6 months +40.6%+3.1%+26.4% +7.1%
Year to date +10.3%+0.7%+11.4% +12.8%
1 year +19.9%+8.2%+14.6% +11.9%
3 years -25.1%+53.8%+70.7% +85.2%
3 years, per year -9.2%+15.4%+19.5% +22.8%
5 years -27.9%+17.7%+89.5% +67.6%
5 years, per year -6.3%+3.3%+13.6% +10.9%
10 years +105.9%+204.3%+494.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year +7.5%+11.8%+19.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureFDSICEMASPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.7%25.8%22.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.5%26.9%22.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.050.150.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.420.320.64 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.7%-35.1%-28.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.6%-6.9%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $335.45$175.10$635.70 $779.14
52-week low $190.06$122.91$471.55 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleFDSICEMA
P/E now vs peer median 21.9xmedian 13.0x 22.1xmedian 29.6x 30.6xmedian 13.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 3.2x 6.5xmedian 3.1x 15.3xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 7.7x —median 13.0x —median 7.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 10.7x 16.8xmedian 16.5x 29.4xmedian 10.7x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 1.2x 3.1xmedian 2.3x 82.1xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 3.33median 0.90 1.12median 0.48 —median 0.90

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsFDSICEMA
Revenue $2.48B $14.05B $36.29B
Gross profit $1.25B – –
Operating income $699.96M $5.70B $21.27B
Net income $533.48M – $16.96B
Free cash flow $707.48M – –
EPS (diluted) $14.57 $7.35 –
Cash & equivalents $233.34M $936.00M $10.15B
Total debt $1.37B – –
Shares (diluted) 36.61M 566.00M 883.00M
Enterprise value $10.14B $91.51B $553.49B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricFDSICEMA
P/E 21.9x 22.1x 30.6x
P/FCF 15.9x 16.8x 29.4x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 15.9x 32.8x
P/S 4.6x 6.5x 15.3x
P/B 5.6x 3.1x 82.1x
P/Tangible book 74.1x 6.0x 534.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x – –
EV/EBIT 17.7x – –
EV/Revenue 5.0x 6.5x 15.3x
EV/FCF 17.5x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 15.1x 15.9x 32.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.33 1.12 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFDSICEMA
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% 12.1% 15.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 13.5% 14.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.4% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.1% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -6.5% 19.6% 18.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 16.2% 15.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -10.6% – 19.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.4% – 15.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -6.3% 33.5% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 19.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.2% 17.7% -3.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 16.3% 15.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.6% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.6% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFDSICEMA
Gross margin 50.6% – –
EBITDA margin 35.6% – –
Operating margin 28.3% – –
Pretax margin 26.2% – –
Net margin 21.5% – –
FCF margin 28.6% – –
Operating cash flow margin 33.2% 41.0% 46.5%
Return on equity 26.4% 14.2% 274.6%
Return on assets 12.8% 2.4% 29.3%
Return on invested capital 16.9% – –
Return on capital employed 22.8% – –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.1x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x – 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 3.4% – 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFDSICEMA
Debt / assets 33.1% – –
Debt / equity 0.7x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x – –
Debt / FCF 1.9x – –
Liabilities / assets 51.6% 83.1% 88.4%
Equity / assets 48.4% 16.9% 11.6%
Interest coverage 12.8x – –
Current ratio 0.6x 1.0x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.5x – –
Cash ratio 0.2x – –
Altman Z-score 5.11 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFDSICEMA
Dividend yield 1.4% 1.3% 0.5%
Net buyback yield 5.4% – –
Shareholder yield 6.8% 1.3% 0.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusFDSICEMA
Forward P/E 17.3xFY2027 18.8xFY2026 30.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.55FY2027 $8.69FY2026 $20.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.0%FY2027 +25.0%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.9% -3.2% +14.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.68BFY2027 $10.54BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.1%FY2027 +6.1%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.7% +16.0% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFDSICEMA
Held by institutions 100.0% 92.5% 87.5%
Institutions holding 770 1,654 3,585
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.1% +1.4% +0.6%
Institutions buying 416 736 1,590
Institutions selling 244 694 1,527
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.06 1.04

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

FDSICEMA
FDS 1.00 0.40 0.35
ICE 0.40 1.00 0.44
MA 0.35 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FDS, ICE and MA?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Factset Research Systems (FDS) $11.28B, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) $91.46B, Mastercard (MA) $553.50B.

Which stock is cheaper, FDS, ICE and MA?

Factset Research Systems (FDS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 21.9x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 22.1x, Mastercard (MA) 30.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Factset Research Systems (FDS) is cheapest (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 17.3x, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 18.8x, Mastercard (MA) 30.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mastercard (MA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Factset Research Systems (FDS) +6.7%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +12.1%, Mastercard (MA) +15.3%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Factset Research Systems (FDS) returned the most: Factset Research Systems (FDS) +19.9%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +8.2%, Mastercard (MA) +14.6%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Factset Research Systems (FDS) -6.3%/yr, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) +3.3%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +13.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Factset Research Systems (FDS) has the highest dividend yield: Factset Research Systems (FDS) 1.41%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 1.25%, Mastercard (MA) 0.55%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 47.7%, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) 25.8%, Mastercard (MA) 22.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FDS, ICE and MA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Factset Research Systems (FDS) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.