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FactSet Reports Results for Third Quarter 2024

NORWALK, Conn., June 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FactSet (“FactSet” or the “Company”) (NYSE:FDS) (NASDAQ:FDS), a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, today announced results for its third quarter fiscal 2024 ended May 31, 2024.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2024 Highlights

“FactSet has a long history of providing exceptional value to our clients,” said Phil Snow, CEO of FactSet. “We maintain an optimistic outlook as we further invest in our platform and harness the power of generative AI to accelerate our clients’ efficiency and decrease their total cost of ownership.”

(1) References to “organic” figures in this press release exclude the current year impact of acquisitions and dispositions completed within the past twelve months and the current year impact from changes in foreign currency.

Key Financial Measures*

(Condensed and Unaudited) Three Months Ended  
  May 31,   May 31,      
(In thousands, except per share data)   2024       2023     Change
Revenues $ 552,708     $ 529,811     4.3 %
Organic revenues $ 553,432     $ 529,811     4.5 %
Operating income $ 202,459     $ 171,959     17.7 %
Adjusted operating income $ 217,960     $ 190,932     14.2 %
Operating margin   36.6 %     32.5 %    
Adjusted operating margin   39.4 %     36.0 %    
Net income $ 158,135     $ 134,663     17.4 %
Adjusted net income $ 168,796     $ 147,667     14.3 %
Adjusted EBITDA $ 239,930     $ 205,284     16.9 %
Diluted EPS $ 4.09     $ 3.46     18.2 %
Adjusted diluted EPS $ 4.37     $ 3.79     15.3 %

* See reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to adjusted key financial measures in the back of this press release.

“We continue to deliver value for our shareholders through increased EPS and adjusted operating margin, offsetting softness on the top line,” said Linda Huber, FactSet’s CFO. “We are updating our organic ASV plus professional services guidance for fiscal 2024 and now expect growth will be in the range of $85 million to $120 million, which represents annual growth of 4.8% at the midpoint, reduced from our previous guidance of $110 million to $150 million.”

Annual Subscription Value (ASV) + Professional Services

ASV at any given point in time represents the forward-looking revenues for the next 12 months from all subscription services currently supplied to clients. Professional services are revenues derived from project-based consulting and implementation services.

ASV plus professional services was $2,219.2 million at May 31, 2024, compared with $2,120.1 million at May 31, 2023. Organic ASV plus professional services was $2,220.4 million at May 31, 2024, up $105.6 million from the prior year, for a growth rate of 5.0%. Organic ASV plus professional services increased $11.7 million over the last three months.

Buy-side and sell-side organic ASV growth rates for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 were 5.3% and 3.7%, respectively. Buy-side clients, including institutional asset managers, wealth managers, asset owners, hedge funds, partners, and corporate clients, accounted for 82% of organic ASV. The remaining organic ASV came from sell-side firms, including broker-dealers, banking and advisory, and private equity and venture capital firms. Supplementary tables covering organic buy-side and sell-side ASV growth rates may be found on the last page of this press release.

Segment Revenues and ASV

ASV from the Americas region was $1,417.1 million compared with ASV in the prior year period of $1,344.7 million. Organic ASV increased 5.7% to $1,417.1 million. Americas revenues for the quarter increased to $356.5 million compared with $337.7 million in the third quarter of last year. The Americas region’s organic revenues growth rate was 5.5%.

ASV from the EMEA region was $565.7 million compared with ASV in the prior year period of $541.3 million. Organic ASV increased 4.4% to $565.5 million. EMEA revenues were $141.2 million compared with $138.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The EMEA region’s organic revenues growth rate was 2.4%.

ASV from the Asia Pacific region was $219.2 million compared with ASV in the prior year period of $209.8 million. Organic ASV increased 6.1% to $220.6 million. Asia Pacific revenues were $55.0 million compared with $54.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The Asia Pacific region’s organic revenues growth rate was 3.0%.

Segment ASV does not include professional services, which totaled $17.2 million at May 31, 2024.

Operational Highlights – Third Quarter Fiscal 2024

Share Repurchase Program

FactSet repurchased 135,150 shares of its common stock for $59.8 million at an average price of $442.12 during the third quarter of fiscal 2024 under the Company’s share repurchase program. As of May 31, 2024, $128.1 million remained available for share repurchases under this program.

Annual Business Outlook

FactSet is updating its outlook for fiscal 2024. The following forward-looking statements reflect FactSet’s expectations as of today’s date. Given the risk factors, uncertainties, and assumptions discussed below, actual results may differ materially. FactSet does not intend to update its forward-looking statements prior to its next quarterly results announcement.

Fiscal 2024 Expectations (with reference to most recent previous guidance):

Adjusted operating margin and adjusted diluted EPS guidance do not include certain effects of any non-recurring benefits or charges that may arise in fiscal 2024. Please see the back of this press release for a reconciliation of GAAP to adjusted metrics.

Conference Call

Third Quarter 2024 Conference Call Details

Please register for the conference call using the above link before the call start time. The conference call platform will register your name and organization and provide dial-in numbers and a unique access pin. The conference call will have a live Q&A session.

A replay will be available on the Company’s investor relations website after 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 21, 2024 through June 21, 2025. The earnings call transcript will be available via FactSet CallStreet.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about industries in which FactSet operates and the beliefs and assumptions of management. All statements that address expectations, guidance, outlook or projections about the future, including statements about the Company’s strategy for growth, product development, revenues, future financial results, anticipated growth, market position, subscriptions, expected expenditures, trends in FactSet’s business and financial results, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects,” “should,” “indicates,” “continues,” “may” and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in FactSet’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and FactSet assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Financial measures in accordance with U.S. GAAP including revenues, operating income and margin, net income, diluted earnings per share and cash provided by operating activities have been adjusted.

FactSet uses these adjusted financial measures both in presenting its results to stockholders and the investment community and in its internal evaluation and management of the business. The Company believes that these adjusted financial measures and the information they provide are useful to investors because they permit investors to view the Company’s performance using the same tools that management uses to gauge progress in achieving its goals. Investors may benefit from referring to these adjusted financial measures in assessing the Company’s performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods and may also facilitate comparisons to its historical performance. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.

Organic revenues excludes from revenues the current year impact of revenues from acquisitions and dispositions completed within the past twelve months and the current year impact from changes in foreign currency. Adjusted operating income and margin, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude acquisition-related intangible asset amortization and non-recurring items. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA represent earnings before interest expense, provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization expense, while Adjusted EBITDA further excludes non-recurring non-cash expenses. The Company believes that these adjusted financial measures help to fully reflect the underlying economic performance of FactSet.

Cash flows provided by operating activities has been reduced by purchases of property, equipment, leasehold improvements and capitalized internal-use software to report non-GAAP free cash flow. FactSet uses this financial measure both in presenting its results to stockholders and the investment community and in the Company’s internal evaluation and management of the business. Management believes that this financial measure is useful to investors because it permits investors to view the Company’s performance using the same metric that management uses to gauge progress in achieving its goals and is an indication of cash flow that may be available to fund further investments in future growth initiatives.

About FactSet

FactSet (NYSE:FDS | NASDAQ:FDS) helps the financial community to see more, think bigger, and work better. Our digital platform and enterprise solutions deliver financial data, analytics, and open technology to more than 8,000 global clients, including over 208,000 individual users. Clients across the buy-side and sell-side as well as wealth managers, private equity firms, and corporations achieve more every day with our comprehensive and connected content, flexible next-generation workflow solutions, and client-centric specialized support. As a member of the S&P 500, we are committed to sustainable growth and have been recognized amongst the Best Places to Work in 2023 by Glassdoor as a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award winner. Learn more at www.factset.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn. 

FactSet
Investor Relations Contact:                         
Ali van Nes                                         
+1.203.810.2273
investor_relations@factset.com                                 
avannes@factset.com 

Media Contact
Megan Kovach
+1.512.736.2795
megan.kovach@factset.com 

Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)            
  Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
  May 31,   May 31,   May 31,   May 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)   2024       2023       2024       2023  
Revenues $ 552,708     $ 529,811     $ 1,640,869     $ 1,549,711  
Operating expenses              
Cost of services   246,986       241,689       753,749       709,537  
Selling, general and administrative   103,098       115,725       312,616       325,903  
Asset impairments   165       438       1,063       1,167  
Total operating expenses   350,249       357,852       1,067,428       1,036,607  
               
Operating income   202,459       171,959       573,441       513,104  
               
Other income (expense), net              
Interest income   4,568       3,083       10,427       8,191  
Interest expense   (16,894 )     (16,354 )     (50,231 )     (49,628 )
Other income (expense), net   399       3,310       736       4,978  
Total other income (expense), net   (11,927 )     (9,961 )     (39,068 )     (36,459 )
               
Income before income taxes   190,532       161,998       534,373       476,645  
               
Provision for income taxes   32,397       27,335       86,743       73,591  
Net income $ 158,135     $ 134,663     $ 447,630     $ 403,054  
               
Basic earnings per common share $ 4.15     $ 3.52     $ 11.76     $ 10.54  
Diluted earnings per common share $ 4.09     $ 3.46     $ 11.58     $ 10.35  
               
Basic weighted average common shares   38,089       38,278       38,069       38,227  
Diluted weighted average common shares   38,640       38,912       38,644       38,936  
                               
Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)  
     
     
(In thousands) May 31, 2024   August 31, 2023
ASSETS    
Cash and cash equivalents $ 453,144   $ 425,444
Investments   68,890     32,210
Accounts receivable, net of reserves of $10,484 at May 31, 2024 and $7,769 at August 31, 2023   240,096     237,665
Prepaid taxes   44,416     24,206
Prepaid expenses and other current assets   51,729     50,610
Total current assets   858,275     770,135
     
Property, equipment and leasehold improvements, net   80,843     86,107
Goodwill   1,004,749     1,004,736
Intangible assets, net   1,851,395     1,859,202
Deferred taxes   36,739     27,229
Lease right-of-use assets, net   137,229     141,837
Other assets   70,471     73,676
TOTAL ASSETS $ 4,039,701   $ 3,962,922
     
LIABILITIES    
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 138,381   $ 121,816
Current portion of long-term debt   187,144    
Current lease liabilities   30,130     28,839
Accrued compensation   79,383     112,892
Deferred revenues   168,053     152,430
Current taxes payable   28,825     31,009
Dividends payable   39,589     37,265
Total current liabilities   671,505     484,251
     
Long-term debt   1,240,626     1,612,700
Deferred taxes   7,944     6,737
Deferred revenues, non-current   1,928     3,734
Taxes payable   36,748     30,344
Long-term lease liabilities   183,642     198,382
Other liabilities   6,904     6,844
TOTAL LIABILITIES $ 2,149,297   $ 2,342,992
     
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY    
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 1,890,404   $ 1,619,930
     
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 4,039,701   $ 3,962,922
           
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)  
  Nine months ended
  May 31,   May 31,
(In thousands)   2024       2023  
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES    
Net income $ 447,630     $ 403,054  
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities    
Depreciation and amortization   91,154       78,681  
Amortization of lease right-of-use assets   22,846       29,245  
Stock-based compensation expense   46,707       44,365  
Deferred income taxes   (6,979 )     (12,716 )
Asset impairments   1,063       1,167  
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions    
Accounts receivable, net of reserves   (7,176 )     (37,879 )
Accounts payable and accrued expenses   17,296       5,870  
Accrued compensation   (33,329 )     (39,935 )
Deferred revenues   13,817       (3,861 )
Taxes payable, net of prepaid taxes   (15,992 )     19,112  
Lease liabilities, net   (31,687 )     (34,041 )
Other, net   (8,173 )     36,841  
Net cash provided by operating activities   537,177       489,903  
     
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES    
Purchases of property, equipment, leasehold improvements and capitalized internal-use software   (59,722 )     (61,421 )
Purchases of investments   (44,936 )     (10,889 )
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities   (104,658 )     (72,310 )
     
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES    
Repayments of debt   (187,500 )     (312,500 )
Dividend payments   (111,297 )     (101,377 )
Proceeds from employee stock plans   83,497       55,885  
Repurchases of common stock   (171,918 )     (67,092 )
Other financing activities   (15,690 )     (12,273 )
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities   (402,908 )     (437,357 )
     
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents   (1,911 )     3,118  
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents   27,700       (16,646 )
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period   425,444       503,273  
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 453,144     $ 486,627  
               

Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Results to Adjusted Financial Measures

Financial measures in accordance with U.S. GAAP, including revenues, operating income and margin, net income, diluted EPS and cash provided by operating activities, have been adjusted below. FactSet uses these adjusted financial measures both in presenting its results to stockholders and the investment community and in its internal evaluation and management of the business. The Company believes that these adjusted financial measures and the information they provide are useful to investors because they permit investors to view the Company’s performance using the same tools that management uses to gauge progress in achieving its goals. Adjusted measures may also facilitate comparisons to FactSet’s historical performance.

Revenues

Organic revenues exclude the current year impact of revenues from acquisitions and dispositions completed within the past twelve months and the current year impact from changes in foreign currency. The table below provides a reconciliation of revenues to organic revenues:

(Unaudited) Three Months Ended  
  May 31,   May 31,  
(In thousands)   2024      2023 Change
Revenues $ 552,708     $ 529,811   4.3 %
Acquisition revenues   (119 )      
Currency impact   843        
Organic revenues $ 553,432     $ 529,811   4.5 %
                   

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The table below provides a reconciliation of operating income, operating margin, net income and diluted EPS to adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted EPS.

  Three Months Ended  
  May 31,   May 31,  
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)   2024       2023   % Change
Operating income $         202,459     $         171,959     17.7 %
Intangible asset amortization           16,674               17,655    
Business acquisition / integration costs(1)           423               —    
Restructuring / severance           (1,596 )             1,318    
Adjusted operating income $         217,960     $         190,932     14.2 %
Operating margin   36.6 %     32.5 %  
Adjusted operating margin(2)   39.4 %     36.0 %  
Net income $         158,135     $         134,663     17.4 %
Intangible asset amortization           11,466               14,406    
Business acquisition / integration costs(1)           291               —    
Restructuring / severance           (1,096 )             1,075    
Income tax items           —               (2,477 )  
Adjusted net income(3) $         168,796     $         147,667     14.3 %
Net income           158,135               134,663     17.4 %
Interest expense           16,894               16,354    
Income taxes           32,397               27,335    
Depreciation and amortization expense           32,504               26,473    
EBITDA $         239,930     $         204,825     17.1 %
Non-recurring non-cash expenses           —               459    
Adjusted EBITDA $         239,930     $         205,284     16.9 %
Diluted EPS $         4.09     $         3.46     18.2 %
Intangible asset amortization           0.30               0.36    
Business acquisition / integration costs(1)           0.01               —    
Restructuring / severance           (0.03 )             0.03    
Income tax items           —               (0.06 )  
Adjusted Diluted EPS(3) $         4.37     $         3.79     15.3 %
Weighted average common shares (Diluted)           38,640               38,912    
(1) Related to business acquisition costs.
(2) Adjusted operating margin is calculated as Adjusted operating income divided by Revenues.
(3) For purposes of calculating Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share, all adjustments for the three months ended May 31, 2024 and May 31, 2023 were taxed at an adjusted tax rate of 31.2% and 18.4%, respectively.
   

Business Outlook Operating Margin, Net Income and Diluted EPS

(Unaudited)    
Figures may not foot due to rounding Annual Fiscal 2024 Guidance
(In millions, except per share data) Low end of range   High end of range
Revenues $ 2,180     $ 2,190  
Operating income $ 735     $ 745  
Operating margin   33.7 %     34.0 %
Intangible asset amortization   66       70  
Restructuring / severance   6       6  
Adjusted operating income $ 807     $ 821  
Adjusted operating margin(a)   37.0 %     37.5 %
     
Net income $ 563     $ 578  
Intangible asset amortization   55       57  
Restructuring / severance   5       5  
Discrete tax items   (5 )     (7 )
Adjusted net income $ 618     $ 633  
     
Diluted earnings per common share $ 14.55     $ 14.95  
Intangible asset amortization   1.42       1.49  
Restructuring / severance   0.13       0.13  
Discrete tax items   (0.10 )     (0.17 )
Adjusted diluted earnings per common share $ 16.00     $ 16.40  
               

(a) Adjusted operating margin is calculated as Adjusted operating income divided by Revenues.

Free Cash Flow

(Unaudited) Three Months Ended  
  May 31,     May 31,    
(In thousands)   2024       2023   Change
Net Cash Provided for Operating Activities $ 238,235     $ 218,589    
Less: purchases of property, equipment, leasehold improvements and capitalized internal-use software   (21,339 )     (26,005 )  
Free Cash Flow $ 216,896     $ 192,584     12.6 %
                     

Supplementary Schedules of Historical ASV by Client Type

The following table presents the percentages and growth rates of organic ASV by client type, excluding the impact of currency movements, and may be useful to facilitate historical comparisons. Organic ASV excludes acquisitions and dispositions completed within the last twelve months and the effects of foreign currency movements.

The numbers below do not include professional services or issuer fees.

  Q3’24 Q2’24 Q1’24 Q4’23 Q3’23 Q2’23 Q1’23 Q4’22
% of ASV from buy-side clients 82.3% 82.0% 82.0% 81.8% 82.1% 82.8% 82.8% 82.9%
% of ASV from sell-side clients 17.7% 18.0% 18.0% 18.2% 17.9% 17.2% 17.2% 17.1%
                 
ASV Growth rate from buy-side clients 5.3% 5.6% 7.2% 6.9% 7.3% 8.1% 8.0% 8.5%
ASV Growth rate from sell-side clients 3.7% 5.5% 7.6% 9.3% 12.3% 15.8% 14.4% 13.8%
                 

The following table presents the calculation of organic ASV plus professional services.

(Details may not sum to total due to rounding)

(In millions) Q3’24
As reported ASV plus Professional Services (a) $ 2,219.2  
Currency impact (b)   1.2  
Organic ASV plus Professional Services $ 2,220.4  
Organic ASV plus Professional Services growth rate   5.0 %

(a) Includes $17.2 million in professional services as of May 31, 2024.

(b) The impact of foreign currency movements.


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