FDS

Business profile & competitive position

FactSet Research Systems Inc. operates under the Financial Services sector, specifically in the Financial - Data & Stock Exchanges industry. In practical terms, the company runs a global financial digital platform that sells financial intelligence—data, analytics, and AI-powered tools—to investment professionals. Revenue is overwhelmingly subscription-based and comes from multi-asset class data delivered through workstations, portfolio analytics, enterprise data solutions, APIs, data feeds, and managed services across the investment lifecycle.

The economics of that subscription model show up in the reported numbers. FactSet’s net margin is 21.5%, while return on equity is 25.6%. A mid-twenties ROE, when paired with a high-teens-plus net margin, points to above-average capital efficiency and pricing power relative to many business models in the broader industrials or consumer space. Those figures are supported by retention data from the company’s most recent 10-K: organic annual subscription value retention was greater than 95% and overall client retention was 91%. With 8,996 clients and 237,324 users as of August 31, 2025, the business is built around recurring relationships rather than one-time transactions, which helps explain why the margin and ROE profile looks durable rather than cyclical.

Financial posture

As of the current snapshot, FactSet carries a market capitalization of $10.7 billion and trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.5. The stock price is $300.19, the 50-day exponential moving average is $280.41, and the relative strength index is 61.4. A P/E of 20.5, combined with a 21.5% net margin and a 25.6% ROE, frames the company as a profitable, cash-generative operator rather than a high-multiple growth story. The beta is 0.77, meaning the stock has historically moved less than the broad market, consistent with a subscription-driven revenue stream that investors treat as relatively defensive within financial services.

The analyst community’s consensus target price was reported at $271.79 on October 16, 2026, which is below the current price of $300.19. That gap simply tells us the Street’s average valuation view at that point was lower than the market price; it is neither a floor nor a ceiling and should not be read as a recommendation.

Strategic priorities & outlook

FactSet’s most recent SEC 10-K filing outlines three interconnected priorities. The first is to expand the data offering and delivery footprint, including cloud delivery and a comprehensive catalog that covers proprietary, third-party, industry, real-time, fund, and sustainable finance data. The second is to embed the platform more deeply in client workflows—extending buy-side front-office capabilities, expanding advisor-desktop prospecting and digital reporting tools, and automating research, financial modeling, and pitch creation. The third is artificial-intelligence integration through the FactSet AI Blueprint, embedding AI and natural language processing across workflows to improve productivity and speed up client decision-making.

These priorities reflect the fact that buy-side clients account for roughly 82% of organic ASV, while sell-side clients account for roughly 18%. The revenue mix is also geographically concentrated: the Americas produced 65% of fiscal 2025 revenue, EMEA 25%, and Asia Pacific 10%. Operationally, the company has a leadership transition in progress: Sanoke Viswanathan became CEO on September 8, 2025, while former CEO F. Philip Snow remains in an advisory role through December 31, 2025.

Macro & geopolitical exposure

As a financial data and stock exchange industry participant, FactSet is exposed to several macro and geopolitical forces common to the sector. Capital-markets activity is the most direct demand driver: when asset managers see inflows, trading volumes rise, M&A picks up, or IPO windows reopen, spending on data terminals, analytics, and workflow tools tends to expand. Conversely, prolonged market downturns can pressure client budgets and delay renewals.

Regulation is another structural factor. Data providers face ongoing compliance costs tied to securities regulation, market-data pricing rules, data privacy laws, and emerging AI governance frameworks. Because FactSet operates across borders, currency fluctuations affect translated revenue (the U.S. dollar share aside, 35% of revenue comes from outside the Americas), and any restrictions on cross-border data flows could raise operational complexity. The company’s APAC footprint, at 10% of revenue, also means developments in Asian capital markets and U.S.-China relations are relevant to growth in that segment. Finally, the rise of AI in financial research represents both a product opportunity and a competitive variable, as clients compare FactSet’s AI Blueprint against offerings from other data and software providers.

Recent developments

Recent news flow has been relatively constructive. On October 8, 2026, FactSet announced an expanded partnership with Scotia Wealth Management, a signal that the company is continuing to land or deepen enterprise relationships in wealth management. On October 11, 2026, Seeking Alpha included FactSet in its “Top 50 High-Quality Dividend Growth Stocks for October 2026,” which highlights the company’s cash-generation profile. On October 12, 2026, Zacks published commentary titled “Here’s Why Investors Should Hold FDS Stock in Their Portfolios Now”—not a buy recommendation, but a framing of the stock as a hold candidate. On October 16, 2026, Defense World noted that the consensus analyst price target stood at $271.79.

Taken together, these items show a company that is still winning distribution partnerships, being screened by income-oriented investors for quality, and receiving mixed-to-neutral valuation views from the sell side. They do not, on their own, establish a directional near-term case, but they do confirm that the stock remains on the radar of both institutional and retail-focused research outlets.

Earnings behavior & post-earnings drift

Over the last eight reported quarters, FactSet has beaten earnings expectations six times, for a beat rate of 75%, with an average earnings surprise of 1.7%. The average five-day price move following those reports is 2.29%, and the drift direction is classified as “up.” That means the stock has tended to drift higher in the days after announcements, though individual quarters vary significantly.

Looking at the most recent four quarters, all four were beats. The September 30, 2026 report delivered actual EPS of $4.52 against an estimate of $4.35, a 3.9% surprise; the stock rose 2.84% the next day and 1.05% over the following five days. The July 1, 2026 report posted actual EPS of $4.53 versus $4.45, a 1.8% surprise; the next-day move was 1.85%, but the five-day drift was -1.49%. The March 31, 2026 report also surprised by 1.8% ($4.46 actual vs. $4.38 estimated), with a 3.63% next-day gain and 2.76% five-day drift. The strongest reaction came on December 18, 2025, when FactSet reported $4.51 versus $4.36, a 3.4% surprise, and the stock jumped 5.54% the next day and 6.85% over the subsequent five sessions.

The next scheduled earnings release is December 17, 2026, before the market open, with a consensus EPS estimate of $5.04. Given the recent pattern, traders may weigh the 75% beat rate and positive average drift against the fact that surprises have generally been modest, and that even beats can be followed by negative five-day drift, as happened after the July 2026 report.