TLS vs VERX vs DFIN Stock Comparison

Telos, Vertex and Donnelley Financial Solutions Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TLS Telos Corp
$5.22 +29.2% 1M -29.6% 1Y
Market cap
$390.13M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$193.71M
Div. yield
–
Compliance Software Technology
1 win
VERX Vertex, Inc.
$15.17 +33.4% 1M -40.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.45B
P/E
684.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$787.44M
Div. yield
–
Compliance Software Technology
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Donnelley Financial Solutions leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Donnelley Financial Solutions 9, Vertex 1, Telos 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTLSVERXDFINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $390.13M $2.45B $1.34B VERX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -24.8x 684.6x 38.7x DFIN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.7x 19.4x 11.0x DFIN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +65.9% +10.8% +3.0% TLS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -8.1% 0.5% 4.5% DFIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 0.0% 17.4% DFIN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.1x 0.9x DFIN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -29.6% -40.3% +1.2% DFIN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -27.3%/yr -4.7%/yr +7.8%/yr DFIN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 66.0% 62.5% 47.5% DFIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 49/100 73/100 DFIN

Percentile Scorecard

TLSVERXDFIN

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

AxisTLSVERXDFIN
Valuation 66 #35 of 102 41 #61 of 102 95 #6 of 102
Growth 90 #11 of 98 77 #23 of 98 29 #70 of 98
Profitability 39 #58 of 95 55 #43 of 95 87 #13 of 95
Financial Health 70 #33 of 109 34 #72 of 109 61 #43 of 109
Shareholder Returns 60 #26 of 64 40 #39 of 64 94 #5 of 64
Overall 65 49 73
  • TLS ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • VERX ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • DFIN ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTLSVERXDFINSPY
1 month +29.2%+33.4%+11.0% -0.8%
3 months +12.7%+20.0%+7.9% +3.5%
6 months +18.6%+20.8%+6.1% +7.0%
Year to date +2.4%-24.0%+16.2% +12.2%
1 year -29.6%-40.3%+1.2% +13.0%
3 years +122.1%-33.3%+1.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +30.5%-12.7%+0.6% +23.1%
5 years -79.7%-21.5%+45.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year -27.3%-4.7%+7.8% +11.0%
10 years ——+131.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year ——+8.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureTLSVERXDFINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 66.0%62.5%47.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 72.1%63.6%54.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.480.450.67 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.45-0.650.02 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -94.0%-82.1%-50.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.7%-40.9%-3.2% -1.8%
52-week high $7.76$25.66$56.05 $779.14
52-week low $3.88$10.58$36.74 $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.

MultipleTLSVERXDFIN
P/E now vs peer median -24.8xmedian 28.8x 684.6xmedian 28.8x 38.7xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.8x 3.1xmedian 2.8x 1.7xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -58.8xmedian 17.7x 26.0xmedian 17.7x 7.3xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 15.8x 48.5xmedian 15.8x 8.8xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 3.2x 10.2xmedian 3.2x 3.5xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.82median 0.85 24.29median 0.85 -1.90median 0.85

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 monthsTLSVERXDFIN
Revenue $193.71M $787.44M $777.50M
Gross profit $70.97M $503.58M $499.20M
Operating income -$19.21M -$13.34M $147.00M
Net income -$15.74M $3.58M $35.20M
Free cash flow $33.74M $50.48M $152.30M
R&D $6.68M $91.60M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.20 $0.02 $1.39
Cash & equivalents $50.65M $230.49M $25.30M
Total debt – $1.35B $204.00M
Shares (diluted) 77.55M 161.39M 25.30M
Enterprise value $177.02M $1.31B $1.24B

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
MetricTLSVERXDFIN
P/E -24.8x 684.6x 38.7x
P/FCF 11.6x 48.5x 8.8x
P/Operating cash flow 11.3x 14.1x 6.6x
P/S 2.0x 3.1x 1.7x
P/B 4.2x 10.2x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 10.3x 3.5x
EV/EBITDA -58.8x 26.0x 7.3x
EV/EBIT -17.7x -191.6x 10.3x
EV/Revenue 1.8x 3.2x 2.0x
EV/FCF 10.1x 50.6x 10.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.8x 14.7x 7.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.82 24.29 -1.90

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTLSVERXDFIN
Revenue growth (1Y) 65.9% 10.8% 3.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 14.1% -0.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 87.4% 9.0% 5.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 15.8% 3.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 66.7% -75.9% 16.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.2% 8.2% 8.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 71.6% 107.1% -57.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 27.6% 28.3% -25.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 73.2% 107.0% -52.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 30.2% 28.2% -20.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 862.1% 21.1% 17.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 102.6% 47.3% 17.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 602.2% 4,078% 39.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 112.3% 78.9% 28.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTLSVERXDFIN
Gross margin 36.6% 64.0% 64.2%
EBITDA margin -3.0% 12.5% 26.6%
Operating margin -9.9% -1.7% 18.9%
Pretax margin -8.5% -1.2% 6.4%
Net margin -8.1% 0.5% 4.5%
FCF margin 17.4% 6.4% 19.6%
Operating cash flow margin 17.9% 22.0% 26.1%
Return on equity -16.6% 1.5% 9.2%
Return on assets -11.3% 0.3% 4.2%
Return on invested capital – 0.0% 17.4%
Return on capital employed -19.4% -2.1% 22.8%
Asset turnover 1.4x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.2x 48.6x 5.8x
Stock comp / revenue 11.1% 7.2% 4.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTLSVERXDFIN
Debt / assets – 28.0% 24.5%
Debt / equity – 1.4x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.1x 0.9x
Debt / FCF – 6.7x 1.3x
Liabilities / assets 33.2% 80.1% 53.6%
Equity / assets 66.8% 19.9% 46.4%
Interest coverage -39.8x – –
Current ratio 2.4x 0.9x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.8x 0.7x 1.4x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.4x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.85 2.01 4.46

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTLSVERXDFIN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 4.2% 1.9% 12.8%
Shareholder yield 4.2% 1.9% 12.8%
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.

ConsensusTLSVERXDFIN
Forward P/E 30.7xFY2026 19.4xFY2026 11.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.17FY2026 $0.78FY2026 $4.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +88.9%FY2026 +21.9%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.5% +38.5% +6.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $179.38MFY2026 $795.75MFY2026 $815.18MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +6.3%FY2026 +6.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +17.3% -5.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTLSVERXDFIN
Held by institutions 67.4% 93.3% 91.7%
Institutions holding 155 229 245
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.5% -7.0% -5.3%
Institutions buying 99 135 114
Institutions selling 40 69 89
Buyers to sellers 2.48 1.96 1.28

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.

TLSVERXDFIN
TLS 1.00 0.39 0.27
VERX 0.39 1.00 0.40
DFIN 0.27 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TLS, VERX and DFIN?

Vertex (VERX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Telos (TLS) $390.13M, Vertex (VERX) $2.45B, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) $1.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, TLS, VERX and DFIN?

Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Telos (TLS) -24.8x, Vertex (VERX) 684.6x, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) 38.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) is cheapest (Telos (TLS) 30.7x, Vertex (VERX) 19.4x, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) 11.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Telos (TLS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Telos (TLS) +65.9%, Vertex (VERX) +10.8%, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) +3.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) has the highest net margin (Telos (TLS) -8.1%, Vertex (VERX) 0.5%, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) 4.5%). On return on invested capital, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) leads (Vertex (VERX) 0.0%, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) 17.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) returned the most: Telos (TLS) -29.6%, Vertex (VERX) -40.3%, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) +1.2%. Over five years, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) compounded fastest (Telos (TLS) -27.3%/yr, Vertex (VERX) -4.7%/yr, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) +7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) has been the steadiest (Telos (TLS) 66.0%, Vertex (VERX) 62.5%, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) 47.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TLS, VERX and DFIN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) leads on 9. 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.