Factset Research Systems Inc (NYSE: FDS)

Sector: Financial Services Industry: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges CIK: 0001013237
Market Cap 10.94 Bn
P/B 5.01
P/E 18.33
P/S 4.71
ROIC (Qtr) 16.18
Div Yield % 1.48
Rev 1y % (Qtr) 6.17
Total Debt (Qtr) 1.56 Bn
Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.71

About

FactSet Research Systems Inc., commonly known as FactSet, is a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider that operates in the financial industry. The company's main business activities involve providing financial data and market intelligence on securities, companies, industries, and people to enable its clients to research investment ideas, analyze, monitor, and manage their portfolios. FactSet's offerings are diverse and cater to a wide range of clients, including asset managers, bankers, wealth managers, asset owners,...

Read more

Price action

Investment thesis

Bull case

  • Strong operating cash flow of 726.26M provides robust 0.47x coverage of total debt 1.56B, indicating excellent debt servicing capability and financial flexibility.
  • Healthy cash reserves of 337.65M provide 10.19x coverage of short-term debt 33.15M, demonstrating strong liquidity position and minimal refinancing risk.
  • Operating cash flow of 726.26M provides exceptional 12.89x coverage of interest expenses 56.32M, showing strong debt service capability.
  • Operating cash flow of 726.26M provides strong 11.86x coverage of stock compensation 61.23M, indicating sustainable incentive practices.
  • Robust free cash flow of 617.45M exceeds capital expenditure of 108.81M by 5.67x, indicating strong organic growth funding capability.

Bear case

  • Operating cash flow of 726.26M barely covers its investment activities of (392.77M), with a coverage ratio of -1.85, indicating heavy reliance on external financing for growth which may not be sustainable in a tighter credit environment.
  • Operating cash flow of 726.26M provides thin coverage of dividend payments of (159.97M) with a -4.54 ratio, suggesting potential dividend sustainability issues if operational performance deteriorates.
  • Cash reserves of 337.65M provide limited coverage of acquisition spending of (323.25M), which is -1.04x, suggesting aggressive expansion might strain liquidity if market conditions deteriorate.
  • Free cash flow of 617.45M represents just -388.34x of debt issuance (1.59M), suggesting concerning reliance on leverage rather than internal cash generation for growth.
  • Operating cash flow of 726.26M is outpaced by equity issuance of (218.77M) (-3.32 ratio), indicating concerning reliance on equity markets for funding operations.

Peer comparison

Companies in the Financial Data & Stock Exchanges
S.No. Ticker Company Market Cap P/E P/S Total Debt (Qtr)
1 SPGI S&P Global Inc. 157.13 Bn 37.25 10.47 11.87 Bn
2 CME Cme Group Inc. 96.82 Bn 26.05 15.13 152.46 Bn
3 ICE Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 91.82 Bn 29.04 7.33 19.51 Bn
4 MCO Moodys Corp /De/ 90.39 Bn 40.28 12.05 7.36 Bn
5 COIN Coinbase Global, Inc. 62.10 Bn 19.30 8.10 7.59 Bn
6 NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc. 54.56 Bn 33.58 6.68 9.55 Bn
7 MSCI MSCI Inc. 43.97 Bn 35.94 14.39 5.62 Bn
8 CBOE Cboe Global Markets, Inc. 25.92 Bn 26.50 5.61 1.57 Bn

Industry comparisons

Current Valuation Value Ind Avg Percentile
EV to Assets EV to Assets 2.84 2.79
EV to Cash from Ops. EV/CFO 16.81 33.08
EV to Debt EV to Debt 7.83 17.54
EV to EBIT EV/EBIT 15.71 18.27
EV to EBITDA EV/EBITDA 13.03 20.66
EV to Free Cash Flow [EV/FCF] EV/FCF 19.77 -39.00
EV to Market Cap EV to Market Cap 1.12 1.08
EV to Revenue EV/Rev 5.26 29.85
Price to Book Value [P/B] P/B 5.01 -0.11
Price to Earnings [P/E] P/E 18.33 23.23
Dividend Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Dividend Coverage Ratio Div Coverage (Qtr) 3.73 2.12
Dividend Payout Ratio % Div Payout % (Qtr) 27.20 32.37
Dividend per Basic Share Div per Share (Qtr) 4.28 2.63
FCF Dividend Payout Ratio % FCF Div Payout % (Qtr) 26.29 26.82
Interest Coverage Int. cover (Qtr) 13.80 8.16
Growth Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Capex Growth (1y) % Capex 1y % (Qtr) -26.99 -11.26
Cash and Equivalents Growth (1y) % Cash & Equiv 1y % (Qtr) -20.17 21.19
Dividend Growth (1y) % Div 1y % (Qtr) 5.94 1.08
EBIAT Growth (1y) % EBIAT 1y % (Qtr) 8.85 10.39
EBITDA Growth (1y) % EBITDA 1y % (Qtr) 9.35 15.05
EBIT Growth (1y) % EBIT 1y % (Qtr) 8.37 17.06
EBT Growth (1y) % EBT 1y % (Qtr) 10.66 21.11
EPS Growth (1y) % EPS 1y % (Qtr) 11.55 31.00
FCF Growth (1y) % FCF 1y % (Qtr) 0.46 30.56
Gross Profit Growth (1y) % Gross Profit 1y % (Qtr) 2.76 13.67
Liquidity Ratios Value Ind Avg Percentile
Asset Utilization Ratio Asset Util Ratio (Qtr) 0.54 0.61
Cash Payout Ratio Cash Payout (Qtr) 0.19 0.24
Cash Ratio Cash Ratio (Qtr) 0.65 0.51
Current Ratio Curr Ratio (Qtr) 1.40 1.97
Debt to Equity Ratio Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.71 0.56
Interest Cover Ratio Int Coverage (Qtr) 13.80 8.16
Times Interest Earned Times Interest Earned (Qtr) 13.80 8.16
Profitability Value Ind Avg Percentile
EBITDA Margin % EBITDA Margin % (Qtr) 41.60 -985.15
EBIT Margin % EBIT Margin % (Qtr) 33.48 -991.90
EBT Margin % EBT Margin % (Qtr) 31.05 -1,071.07
Gross Margin % Gross Margin % (Qtr) 52.70 72.61
Net Profit Margin % Net Margin % (Qtr) 25.70 -1,440.85