FDS

Business profile & competitive position

FactSet Research Systems Inc. operates in the Financial Services sector under the Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges industry classification. Its core business is supplying financial data, analytics, and workflow platforms to investment professionals, asset managers, investment banks, and research teams. In practical terms, it sits in the information-services layer that supports capital-markets decision-making rather than taking balance-sheet risk itself.

The numbers point to a structurally strong franchise. A 23.2% net margin means FactSet converts roughly $0.23 of every revenue dollar into profit, while a 26.6% return on equity indicates the company generates a high return on the capital shareholders have provided. Those figures are not accidental one-offs; in subscription-based data businesses, margins and ROE tend to reflect a combination of recurring revenue, long client contracts, and high switching costs. The stock’s beta of 0.71 — materially below the market’s 1.0 — is consistent with a business whose revenue base is more tied to ongoing institutional subscriptions than to short-term trading volumes. Taken together, the margin, ROE, and low beta suggest FactSet’s moat is built on embedded client workflows and pricing power rather than cyclical tailwinds.

Financial posture

FactSet currently carries a $10.2 billion market capitalization and trades at a P/E of 18.7. That multiple sits at a level that neither screams deep-value nor hyper-growth; rather, it reads as a valuation applied to a consistently profitable, slow-growth compounder. The 23.2% net margin and 26.6% ROE back up the earnings quality implied by the P/E: this is not a speculative story stock relying on adjusted, far-future profits.

The disconnect between the current share price at $285.57 and the 50-day EMA of $251.36 is roughly 13.6%. That gap tells you the stock has been moving with momentum, but the RSI of 63.6 is not yet in the traditionally overbought zone above 70. With a beta of 0.71, the stock has also historically moved less violently than the broader market, so outsized rallies tend to invite questions about whether they are compressing the margin of safety for new entries.

Macro & geopolitical exposure

As a Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges business, FactSet’s demand is ultimately tied to activity in capital markets. When asset managers, hedge funds, and investment banks are active — raising assets, launching strategies, hiring analysts — they need more data licenses, analytics seats, and research tools. When those institutions freeze hiring or cut budgets, subscription growth can slow even if churn remains low.

The industry also carries regulatory and data-governance exposure. Market-data licensing, securities regulation, and evolving rules around data privacy all affect how FactSet can package and sell information. Currency is another real variable: multinational clients price subscriptions in different currencies, and cross-border data flows can be sensitive to trade policy even though FactSet is not a physical-goods exporter. Finally, the competitive landscape — including large incumbents and specialized fintech entrants — creates pricing pressure that can compress margins if product differentiation erodes. These are not company-specific risks invented for this ticker; they are standard macro and industry-level dynamics for financial data providers.

Recent developments

Recent headlines have carried a positive tone. On August 4, 2026, Defense World reported that the California State Teachers Retirement System bought additional FactSet shares, a signal that at least one large public pension viewed the stock as worth accumulating. Two Zacks headlines on July 31, 2026 — “Why Is FactSet (FDS) Up 5.2% Since Last Earnings Report?” and “Why FactSet Research (FDS) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term” — framed both the short-term post-earnings move and the longer-term valuation argument. A day earlier, on July 28, 2026, ETF Trends noted that the broader Financial Sector ETF hit a record high on fintech gains, placing FactSet’s rally in the context of a wider bid for financial-services technology names.

None of these items constitute new fundamental data, but together they illustrate a sentiment window in which institutional buying and sector momentum were supportive.

Earnings behavior & post-earnings drift

Over the last eight reported quarters, FactSet has beaten earnings estimates 6 out of 8 times, or 75%, with an average earnings surprise of just 1.6%. That beat rate is solid, but the surprise magnitude is modest — this is a company that usually edges ahead of estimates rather than blowing them out. The average 5-day post-earnings move across those quarters is 0.59%, classified as a slight upward drift.

Where it gets interesting is the post-earnings path. The last four quarters show that a beat does not automatically translate into a sustained rally over the following week:

• July 1, 2026: EPS of $4.53 beat the $4.45 estimate by 1.8%. The stock rose 1.85% the next day, yet it gave back ground and was down 1.49% over the following five sessions.
• March 31, 2026: EPS of $4.46 beat the $4.38 estimate by 1.8%. The stock jumped 3.63% the next day and extended the gain to 2.76% over the next five trading days.
• December 18, 2025: EPS of $4.51 beat the $4.36 estimate by 3.4%. The stock surged 5.54% the next day and added to it, closing up 6.85% over the following five sessions.
• September 18, 2025: EPS of $4.05 missed the $4.13 estimate by 1.9%. The stock dropped 4.01% the next day and continued lower, finishing down 5.77% over the following five sessions.

The takeaway is that FactSet’s beats are mostly priced in quickly, and follow-through is inconsistent. The three most recent beats produced sharply different 5-day outcomes — negative, positive, and strongly positive — showing that the market’s real expectation is often about guidance, client commentary, and sector tone rather than just the EPS headline. FactSet reports next on September 17, 2026 before the market open, with a consensus EPS estimate of $4.30.

For a deeper dive into how the Street is positioned ahead of the September 17, 2026 report — including rating distributions, estimate revisions, and the full institutional verdict — readers should consult the platform’s aggregated analyst view rather than relying on headline numbers alone.