Infrastructure Platforms

FactSet kicks off 2026 with rapid growth and ambitious AI expansion

Tuesday, 23 December 2025 5:33AM UTC

FactSet Research Systems reports robust start to fiscal 2026, driven by accelerating AI adoption, strong subscription growth, and strategic investments amid positive market reactions.

FactSet Research Systems said it had made a “solid start” to fiscal 2026, reporting accelerating organic annual subscription value (ASV) growth, healthy operating margins and rising demand across data, analytics and workflow solutions, while emphasising expanding AI adoption and a large increase to its share repurchase authorisation. According to MarketBeat, the company reported ASV growth of 5.9% to $2.4 billion, adjusted operating margin of 36.2% and adjusted diluted EPS of $4.51, up 3% year on year. ^[1]^[2]^[3]

Chief Executive Sanoke Viswanathan told analysts the quarter was driven by “strong ASP growth and healthy operating margins”, citing broad solution adoption and notable client wins; Investing.com noted the results beat EPS and revenue forecasts and that the stock rose in pre-market trading on the beat. Management said sequential adoption of AI products launched earlier in the year rose by more than 45%, with AI described repeatedly as an “accelerant rather than a disruptor” to FactSet’s business model. ^[1]^[2]^[3]

Chief Financial Officer Helen Shan said organic ASV growth accelerated sequentially to 5.9%, with expansion among existing clients the key component and demand strongest in trading, workstations and markets data across buy-side, banking and wealth clients. Regionally, Shan reported faster growth in Asia-Pacific, with Americas and EMEA also contributing; MarketBeat summarised growth as Americas +6%, EMEA +4% and Asia-Pacific +8%. Client metrics included more than 9,000 clients, up 9% year on year, retention at 91% for clients and above 95% for ASV, and a user base approaching 240,000 led by wealth and asset manager growth. ^[1]^[3]

By firm type, FactSet said institutional buy-side ASV grew 4% with multiple “seven-figure wins”, wealth grew 10% with numerous “six-figure wins” and dealmakers posted 6% growth driven by banking activities and seasonal hiring tied to M&A. The company also renamed its partnerships category to market infrastructure, which it said grew 7% organically amid robust data demand and issuance activity. These details were highlighted on the company call and summarised by MarketBeat and GuruFocus. ^[1]^[3]

Revenue for the quarter was $608 million, up about 6.9% year on year, or roughly 6% on an organic basis excluding FX and M&A, while adjusted operating expenses rose 9% primarily due to people-related and technology costs. Management said people-related expense increased $15 million and technology expense rose $13 million driven by higher amortisation of internal-use software and cloud costs; third-party content and real estate expenses were also cited as contributors. Additional operating commentary and expense breakdowns align with figures presented on the earnings call and in the company’s investor materials. ^[1]^[6]

FactSet reiterated its investment framework is weighted roughly two-thirds toward growth and one-third toward internal infrastructure, with growth spending on real-time feeds, pricing and reference data and workflow products and structural investments in go-to-market tools, cybersecurity and AI productivity. Shan said strategic investments are “back half-weighted” and Q2 operating margins would reflect a step-up in investment while remaining consistent with the full-year margin target, according to the call transcript and company statements. ^[1]^[6]

On capital allocation, the company said it had increased its share repurchase authorisation from $400 million to $1 billion and repurchased roughly 478,000 shares in the quarter, leaving substantial remaining buyback capacity; it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share and returned $554 million to shareholders over the prior 12 months through buybacks and dividends. Management reaffirmed previously issued fiscal 2026 guidance and described the pipeline as healthy while taking a “prudent and conservative approach” to outlook assumptions. These points were noted in MarketBeat’s coverage and corroborated by GuruFocus and Nasdaq summaries. ^[1]^[3]^[4]

Analyst and market reaction to the quarter was broadly positive; Investing.com reported the beat on EPS and revenue, noting FactSet traded at an approximate P/E of 18 on InvestingPro data and that analysts project FY26 EPS of $17.54. Nasdaq and Zacks commentary also recorded modest upside to expectations on revenue and adjusted EPS versus consensus. The company’s results combine continued subscription-led growth with targeted AI and infrastructure spending that management says will underpin longer-term expansion. ^[2]^[4]^[5]

📌 Reference Map:

^[1] (MarketBeat) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 6, Paragraph 7, Paragraph 8
^[2] (Investing.com) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 8
^[3] (GuruFocus) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 7
^[4] (Nasdaq) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 8
^[5] (Nasdaq/Zacks) - Paragraph 8
^[6] (ROIC.ai transcript) - Paragraph 5, Paragraph 6

Source: Noah Wire Services

More on this

https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/factset-research-systems-q1-earnings-call-highlights-2025-12-22/ - Please view link - unable to able to access data
https://www.investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-factset-q1-2025-beats-forecasts-with-robust-ai-growth-93CH-4415580 - FactSet Research Systems Inc. reported stronger-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, with earnings per share (EPS) of $4.51, surpassing the forecast of $4.35. Revenue reached $608 million, exceeding expectations of $599.98 million. The company’s stock rose 3% in pre-market trading, reflecting positive investor sentiment towards its performance and strategic initiatives in artificial intelligence (AI). According to InvestingPro data, FactSet currently trades at a P/E ratio of 18, with analysts projecting EPS of $17.54 for fiscal year 2026.
https://www.gurufocus.com/news/4076738/factset-research-systems-inc-fds-q1-2026-earnings-call-highlights-strong-revenue-growth-and-strategic-ai-integration - FactSet Research Systems Inc. reported strong ASP growth of 5.9% to $2.4 billion, indicating robust demand for its solutions. The company achieved an adjusted operating margin of 36.2% and an adjusted diluted EPS of $4.51, up 3% year-on-year. FactSet secured significant client wins, including a mandate with a large warehouse breakaway team and a major win with a top investment manager. The company increased its share repurchase authorization from $400 million to $1 billion, reflecting confidence in its financial strength. FactSet’s AI products have seen broad-based user adoption with sequential growth of more than 45%, highlighting the successful integration of AI into its offerings.
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/factset-q1-earnings-rise-reaffirms-fy26-outlook - FactSet Research Systems Inc. reported an increase in earnings for the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The company also reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal 2026. Quarterly earnings increased to $152.58 million, or $4.06 per share from $150.02 million, or $3.89 per share of last year, mainly driven by growth in revenues and a gain on sale of certain equity investments. Excluding items, earnings were $169.57 million or $4.51 per share compared to $168.13 million or $4.37 per share of previous year. On average, analysts expected the company to earn $4.36 per share. Analysts estimates usually exclude special items. Revenue rose 6.9 percent to $607.62 million from $568.66 million of prior year. For the quarter revenue estimates were $603.22 million.
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/factset-research-fds-q1-earnings-and-revenues-top-estimates - FactSet Research (FDS) came out with quarterly earnings of $4.51 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.39 per share. This compares to earnings of $4.37 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +2.73%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this financial data firm would post earnings of $4.15 per share when it actually produced earnings of $4.05, delivering a surprise of -2.41%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. FactSet, which belongs to the Zacks Business - Information Services industry, posted revenues of $607.62 million for the quarter ended November 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.36%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $568.67 million.
https://www.roic.ai/quote/FDS/transcripts/2025/1 - For our geographic segments, organic revenue grew by 5% in the Americas, 3% in EMEA, and 6% in Asia Pacific. Turning now to expense. GAAP operating expenses increased 6.8% year over year to $377 million, driven by the amortization of intangible assets, compensation-related expenses, and professional fees. This captures certain one-time nonrecurring items, including acquisition-related costs. On an adjusted basis, operating expense grew 4.9% at the same rate as revenue. Technology spend was the primary expense driver, which increased 18% year over year, largely due to higher amortization of internal-use software and our continued investment in generative AI. As outlined at Investor Day, we are committed to investing in products and technology to maintain the market leadership needed to drive sustained and future growth. For the quarter, technology costs were just under 10% of revenue compared to 9% last year. Employee expenses increased approximately 2% versus the prior year, as we held our headcount largely flat. People-related costs remain our largest expense category at 39% of revenue, down 130 basis points year over year. We continue to exercise operational discipline to self-fund investments in our strategic priorities through more efficient operations and increased productivity. Third-party content costs increased 4% year over year and remained less than 5% of revenue. Real estate and related facilities expense decreased 4% year over year. These expenses are now less than 3% of revenue, approximately 30 basis points lower compared to the prior year. For a more detailed walk from revenue to adjusted operating income, please refer to the appendix in today's earnings presentation. Compared to the previous Q1, GAAP operating margin decreased by approximately 120 basis points to 33.6%, largely due to one-time items. On an adjusted basis, operating margin was flat year over year at 37.6%. In the quarter, our cost of services as a percentage of revenue was lower year over year by approximately 90 basis points on a GAAP basis and just under 70 basis points on an adjusted basis, primarily due to lower compensation expense, partially offset by increased intangible asset amortization. SG&A as a percentage of revenue was approximately 210 basis points higher year over year on a GAAP basis, primarily due to people expense and an increase in professional fees. On an adjusted basis, SG&A was 70 basis points higher than the prior year. Turning now to taxes. Our effective tax rate in Q1 was 16.5%. This was an increase compared to the 15.2% tax rate in the first quarter of last year, primarily due to the revaluation of a foreign deferred tax asset associated with a tax rate change. Our GAAP diluted EPS increased 1.3% to $3.89 this quarter versus $3.84 in the prior year period, driven by higher revenue, offset by margin compression and a higher tax rate. Given these same factors, adjusted EPS increased by $0.25 or 6.1% to $4.37. EBITDA increased 5% to $230 million compared to the same period last year, driven by higher net income and higher add-back items. And finally, free cash flow, which we define as cash generated from operations less capital spending, decreased 56% year over year to $60 million in Q1. This was largely due to the resolution of a sales tax dispute, timing of vendor payments, and higher capital expenditures during the quarter. As we discussed at our Investor Day, we remain disciplined in our approach to capital allocation and are committed to returning capital to shareholders through a combination of stock buybacks and dividends. In the quarter, we repurchased more than 104,000 shares for approximately $49 million at an average share price of $467.
https://investor.factset.com/static-files/24fde9d7-22c3-41f6-abc6-9a0e66176095 - News Release I For Immediate Release FactSet Reports Results for First Quarter 2025 Q1 GAAP revenues of $568.7 million, up 4.9% from Q1 2024. Organic Q1 ASV of $2,258.8 million, up 4.5% year over year. Q1 GAAP operating margin of 33.6%, down approximately 120 bps year over year, and adjusted operating margin of 37.6%, consistent with the prior year. Q1 GAAP diluted EPS of $3.89, up 1.3% from the prior year, and adjusted diluted EPS of $4.37, up 6.1% year over year. NORWALK, Conn., December 19, 2024 - FactSet (“FactSet” or the “Company”) (NYSE:FDS) (NASDAQ:FDS), a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, today announced results for its first quarter fiscal 2025 ended November 30, 2024. First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Highlights (1) GAAP revenues increased 4.9%, or $26.5 million, to $568.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 compared with $542.2 million in the prior year period. Organic revenues grew 4.7% year over year to $567.7 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score: 10

Notes: The narrative is based on a press release dated December 22, 2025, summarising FactSet's Q1 2026 earnings call held on December 18, 2025. The earliest known publication date of substantially similar content is December 18, 2025, indicating high freshness. The press release format typically warrants a high freshness score. No discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were found. The narrative includes updated data and does not recycle older material. No republishing across low-quality sites or clickbait networks was identified. No earlier versions show different figures, dates, or quotes. No content similar to this appeared more than 7 days earlier. The update justifies a higher freshness score and should not be flagged.

Quotes check

Score: 10

Notes: Direct quotes from CEO Sanoke Viswanathan and CFO Helen Shan were found in the earnings call transcript dated December 18, 2025. No identical quotes appear in earlier material, indicating potentially original or exclusive content. No variations in quote wording were noted.

Source reliability

Score: 8

Notes: The narrative originates from MarketBeat, a reputable financial news outlet. The press release is based on FactSet's official earnings call transcript, which is a primary source. No unverifiable entities are mentioned. No fabricated information was identified.

Plausibility check

Score: 10

Notes: The narrative's claims align with FactSet's reported financial performance for Q1 2026, including a 6.9% year-over-year revenue increase and a 5.9% growth in organic annual subscription value. The reported figures are consistent with those in the earnings call transcript. The tone and language are consistent with corporate financial communications. No excessive or off-topic details unrelated to the claim were noted. No unusual or inconsistent language or tone was identified.

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH

Summary: The narrative is based on a recent press release summarising FactSet's Q1 2026 earnings call, with no evidence of recycled content, unverifiable entities, or disinformation. The claims are consistent with FactSet's reported financial performance, and the tone aligns with corporate communications. No discrepancies or inconsistencies were identified.

FactSet
AI
Financial services