FDS vs NDAQ vs MA Stock Comparison

Factset Research Systems, Nasdaq and Mastercard Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FDS Factset Research Systems Inc
$309.58 +13.4% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$11.35B
P/E
21.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.48B
Div. yield
–
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
3 wins
NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.
$104.36 +11.6% 1M +17.5% 1Y
Market cap
$58.90B
P/E
28.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.15B
Div. yield
–
Exchanges Financial Services
1 win
MA Mastercard Inc
$609.78 +7.4% 1M +6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$540.76B
P/E
33.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.08B
Div. yield
–
Payment Networks Financial Services
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mastercard leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mastercard 7, Factset Research Systems 3, Nasdaq 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFDSNDAQMALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.35B $58.90B $540.76B MA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.3x 28.3x 33.3x FDS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.7x 25.9x 29.1x FDS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% +11.5% +16.0% MA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.5% 22.8% 46.3% MA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.9% 10.5% 59.0% MA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.4x 0.6x MA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% +17.5% +6.5% NDAQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.7%/yr +8.6%/yr +12.9%/yr MA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 48.3% 28.5% 22.7% MA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 54/100 53/100 FDS

Percentile Scorecard

FDSNDAQMA

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

AxisFDSNDAQMA
Valuation 30 #658 of 940 42 #56 of 96 14 #809 of 940
Growth 29 #466 of 655 40 #40 of 66 66 #226 of 655
Profitability 85 #97 of 633 79 #14 of 64 99 #8 of 633
Financial Health 63 #266 of 714 47 #50 of 93 49 #363 of 714
Shareholder Returns 72 #201 of 709 62 #15 of 38 36 #457 of 709
Overall 56 54 53
  • FDS ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • NDAQ 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

PeriodFDSNDAQMASPY
1 month +13.4%+11.6%+7.4% -0.2%
3 months +9.0%+8.8%+8.4% +3.9%
6 months +34.9%+14.3%+20.1% +8.2%
Year to date +6.7%+7.4%+6.8% +12.9%
1 year +6.6%+17.5%+6.5% +12.3%
3 years -26.4%+119.3%+67.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year -9.7%+29.9%+18.8% +23.3%
5 years -29.4%+51.2%+83.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year -6.7%+8.6%+12.9% +10.9%
10 years +100.7%+389.6%+488.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +7.2%+17.2%+19.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureFDSNDAQMASPY
Volatility, 1Y 48.3%28.5%22.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 50.4%29.9%22.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.050.570.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.140.620.29 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.7%-33.4%-28.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.7%-0.3%-3.6% -1.2%
52-week high $335.45$104.72$632.81 $779.14
52-week low $190.06$76.85$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.

MultipleFDSNDAQMA
P/E now vs peer median 21.2xmedian 13.0x 28.0xmedian 28.3x 33.1xmedian 13.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 3.2x 6.4xmedian 2.9x 15.1xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 7.4x 19.6xmedian 13.5x 22.6xmedian 7.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 10.8x 25.8xmedian 16.0x 31.8xmedian 10.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 1.2x 4.9xmedian 2.4x 94.6xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 3.22median 0.87 1.53median 0.54 1.69median 0.87

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 monthsFDSNDAQMA
Revenue $2.48B $9.15B $35.08B
Gross profit $1.25B $5.78B –
Operating income $699.96M $2.73B $20.47B
Net income $533.48M $2.08B $16.26B
Free cash flow $707.48M $2.26B $16.70B
EPS (diluted) $14.57 $3.70 $18.41
Cash & equivalents $233.34M $365.00M $11.29B
Total debt $1.37B $8.74B $81.59B
Shares (diluted) 36.61M 563.31M 883.00M
Enterprise value $10.20B $56.34B $500.69B

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
MetricFDSNDAQMA
P/E 21.2x 28.0x 33.1x
P/FCF 15.4x 25.8x 31.8x
P/Operating cash flow 13.3x 22.9x 30.4x
P/S 4.4x 6.4x 15.1x
P/B 5.5x 4.9x 94.6x
P/Tangible book 71.6x 9.9x 3,662x
EV/EBITDA 13.6x 19.6x 22.6x
EV/EBIT 17.2x 24.4x 26.6x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 7.3x 15.5x
EV/FCF 17.0x 29.5x 32.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.6x 26.1x 31.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.22 1.53 1.69

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFDSNDAQMA
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% 11.5% 16.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.1% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.4% 13.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 16.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -6.5% 23.1% 21.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 20.1% 16.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -10.6% 28.2% 19.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 23.6% 16.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -6.3% 31.8% 23.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 18.3% 19.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.2% 9.0% 2.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 12.8% 14.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.6% 7.6% 0.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 11.6% 14.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFDSNDAQMA
Gross margin 50.6% 63.2% –
EBITDA margin 35.6% 37.0% 68.6%
Operating margin 28.3% 29.8% 58.3%
Pretax margin 26.2% 28.5% 57.5%
Net margin 21.5% 22.8% 46.3%
FCF margin 28.6% 24.7% 47.6%
Operating cash flow margin 33.2% 27.8% 49.7%
Return on equity 26.4% 17.4% 263.6%
Return on assets 12.8% 7.6% 29.5%
Return on invested capital 16.9% 10.5% 59.0%
Return on capital employed 22.8% 12.0% 68.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.2x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 3.4% 1.9% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFDSNDAQMA
Debt / assets 33.1% 31.9% 42.7%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x 4.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.4x 0.6x
Debt / FCF 1.9x 3.9x 1.5x
Liabilities / assets 51.6% 56.2% 90.3%
Equity / assets 48.4% 43.8% 9.7%
Interest coverage 12.8x 7.9x 27.4x
Current ratio 0.6x 1.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 5.00 3.48 10.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFDSNDAQMA
Dividend yield 1.5% 1.1% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 5.6% 2.5% 3.0%
Shareholder yield 7.1% 3.6% 3.5%
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.

ConsensusFDSNDAQMA
Forward P/E 16.7xFY2027 25.9xFY2026 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.55FY2027 $4.03FY2026 $20.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.0%FY2027 +15.8%FY2026 +23.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.9% +11.2% +14.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.68BFY2027 $6.10BFY2026 $38.99BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.1%FY2027 +16.1%FY2026 +18.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.7% +13.7% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFDSNDAQMA
Held by institutions 100.0% 83.8% 87.5%
Institutions holding 769 1,082 3,583
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.1% +1.0% +0.6%
Institutions buying 415 538 1,588
Institutions selling 244 397 1,527
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.36 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.

FDSNDAQMA
FDS 1.00 0.50 0.35
NDAQ 0.50 1.00 0.40
MA 0.35 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FDS, NDAQ and MA?

Mastercard (MA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Factset Research Systems (FDS) $11.35B, Nasdaq (NDAQ) $58.90B, Mastercard (MA) $540.76B.

Which stock is cheaper, FDS, NDAQ and MA?

Factset Research Systems (FDS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 21.3x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.3x, Mastercard (MA) 33.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Factset Research Systems (FDS) is cheapest (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 16.7x, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 25.9x, Mastercard (MA) 29.1x). 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%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +11.5%, Mastercard (MA) +16.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mastercard (MA) has the highest net margin (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 21.5%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 22.8%, Mastercard (MA) 46.3%). On return on invested capital, Mastercard (MA) leads (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 16.9%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 10.5%, Mastercard (MA) 59.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nasdaq (NDAQ) returned the most: Factset Research Systems (FDS) +6.6%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +17.5%, Mastercard (MA) +6.5%. Over five years, Mastercard (MA) compounded fastest (Factset Research Systems (FDS) -6.7%/yr, Nasdaq (NDAQ) +8.6%/yr, Mastercard (MA) +12.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mastercard (MA) has been the steadiest (Factset Research Systems (FDS) 48.3%, Nasdaq (NDAQ) 28.5%, Mastercard (MA) 22.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FDS, NDAQ 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, Mastercard (MA) leads on 7. 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.