FDS

Business profile & competitive position

FactSet Research Systems Inc. sits in the Financial Services sector, inside the Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges industry. The company runs a global financial digital platform that supplies investment professionals with multi-asset-class data, analytics, and increasingly AI-powered tools. Revenue comes mainly from subscriptions—delivered through workstations, portfolio analytics, enterprise data solutions, APIs, data feeds, and managed services that span the full investment lifecycle.

The economics of the model show through in the retention and client mix. FactSet reported ASV retention greater than 95%, client retention of 91%, and as of August 31, 2025, it had 8,996 clients and 237,324 users. Buy-side clients represented approximately 82% of Organic ASV, while sell-side clients represented roughly 18%. Those figures matter for competitiveness: a 23.2% net margin and a 26.6% ROE suggest that the platform carries pricing power and that clients treat its tools as embedded rather than easily replaceable. A beta of 0.71 also implies the stock has historically moved less sharply than the broader market, which fits a recurring-revenue business with high switching costs.

Financial posture

FactSet currently carries a market cap of $10.7B and trades at a P/E of 19.8. Against that valuation, the profitability metrics are strong: a net margin of 23.2% and ROE of 26.6%. Those numbers point to a business that converts revenue into shareholder returns efficiently, even by the standards of the data and exchange space. The beta of 0.71 frames the stock as lower-volatility relative to the broader Financial Services sector.

The latest snapshot shows the stock at $301.96, with an RSI of 56.8 and a 50-day EMA of $277.38. Price is trading above its 50-day moving average, while the RSI sits near neutral territory. That simply describes where price has been, not a directional forecast.

Strategic priorities & outlook

FactSet's most recent 10-K lays out a clear operational agenda. The company plans to expand data offerings and delivery capabilities, including cloud delivery and a broader catalog of proprietary, third-party, industry, real-time, fund, and sustainable-finance data. It also wants to embed itself deeper in client workflows by extending buy-side front-office capabilities, enhancing advisor-desktop prospecting and digital reporting tools, and automating research, financial modeling, and pitch creation. The third leg of the strategy is AI, articulated through the FactSet AI Blueprint, which embeds AI and natural-language processing across workflows to boost productivity and speed up client decision-making.

Geographically, the Americas generated 65% of fiscal 2025 revenues, EMEA 25%, and Asia Pacific 10%. That concentration means U.S. capital-markets health is the dominant revenue driver. Leadership also changed during this period: Sanoke Viswanathan became CEO on September 8, 2025, succeeding F. Philip Snow, who remains in an advisory role through December 31, 2025.

Macro & geopolitical exposure

As a Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges company, FactSet's exposure runs through institutional capital-markets activity. Interest rates, asset-management fees, and overall market volumes shape the budgets of its buy-side-heavy client base, with 82% of Organic ASV tied to buy-side clients. Regulation is another core exposure, because FactSet's data feeds research, portfolio construction, and compliance reporting; changes to SEC, European, or Asian market-data rules can affect both demand and operating costs.

Currency is relevant too. While 65% of revenue comes from the Americas, 35% is generated overseas, so dollar movements create a measurable translation effect. Cybersecurity, data privacy, and emerging AI oversight add operational layers that are especially important for a platform integrating natural-language models into client workflows.

Recent developments

• [2026-09-04] FactSet Research (FDS) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy? (zacks.com)
• [2026-09-03] Here's Why FactSet Research (FDS) is a Strong Value Stock (zacks.com)
• [2026-09-03] Baron Focused Growth Fund Q2 2026 Portfolio Update (seekingalpha.com)
• [2026-09-03] Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stock Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. $FDS (defenseworld.net)

The headline cluster on September 3, 2026, indicates that multiple investor frameworks are flagging the same name for different reasons. The Zacks articles label FactSet as both momentum- and value-oriented, while the Baron Focused Growth Fund update and Benjamin Edwards position increase point to institutional accumulation. These items do not change the fundamentals, but they do show the range of lenses currently trained on the stock.

Earnings behavior & post-earnings drift

Over the last eight reported quarters, FactSet has beaten consensus earnings estimates six times, a 75% beat rate, with an average earnings surprise of 1.6%. The average 5-day post-earnings move across those quarters is 0.59%, classified as an "up" drift.

The headline number, however, masks an important nuance: beats have not reliably produced sustained follow-through. The last four quarters illustrate the disconnect:

• On July 1, 2026, FactSet reported $4.53 EPS versus a $4.45 estimate, a 1.8% beat; the stock rose 1.85% the next day but fell 1.49% over the following five days.
• On March 31, 2026, the company posted $4.46 versus $4.38, also a 1.8% beat; shares gained 3.63% the next day and extended the move to 2.76% over five days.
• On December 18, 2025, FactSet beat by 3.4% with $4.51 against $4.36; the stock jumped 5.54% the next day and added 6.85% over the next five sessions.
• On September 18, 2025, the company missed by 1.9% with $4.05 versus $4.13; the stock dropped 4.01% the next day and slid 5.77% over the following five days.

The pattern suggests that next-day price action and the five-day drift are not always aligned, and the market's real expectation extends beyond the reported EPS number. The next report is scheduled for September 30, 2026, before the open, with the consensus EPS estimate at $4.34. Beyond the headline beat or miss, guidance, ASV trends, and commentary from the new CEO's first full quarter are likely to determine how the stock behaves after the print.

For a deeper dive, consider reviewing the full institutional verdict on FactSet Research Systems to see how sell-side models, ownership trends, and forward estimates line up against the numbers above.