FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS): Mixed F3Q as margin pressure persists despite improving ASV growth

Research evidence excerpt

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS): Mixed F3Q as margin pressure persists despite improving ASV growth

Goldman Sachs FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS)

Operating margins underperform. Adjusted operating margins contracted 280 bps y/y

to 34.0%, and came below our estimate of 36.1% and consensus of 34.9%, reflecting

higher compensation and technology-related expenses. EPS of $4.53 underperformed

our estimate of $4.66 but beat consensus of $4.45.

F3Q 2026 Positives / Negatives

Positives:

n Organic ASV growth acceleration supported by sales execution and client

expansion trends. Organic ASV growth accelerated for the fifth consecutive quarter

to 7.1% y/y, with marketing conversion up 15% y/y and win rates up 27% y/y,

accompanied by expansion within existing clients. The shift toward enterprise-based

agreements with longer duration and expanded data consumption also supported

growth, while pricing remained modest and value-based with slight improvement

from the prior year.

n Strength across key growth verticals supporting ASV momentum. Wealth

remained the fastest-growing client segment at 10% organic ASV growth, while

Dealmakers grew 9%. Institutional buy-side growth improved to 6% and remains the

largest segment at just under 50% of ASV, while Dealmakers represent less than 20%

of ASV despite accounting for nearly 40% of clients.

n AI strategy driving both external monetization and internal productivity gains.

Externally, AI is contributing >10% of ASV growth, with over 20% of top 100 clients

using MCP on a paid basis and AI-enabled clients seeing ~50% higher ASV growth

compared to non AI-enabled clients. Internally, FDS is leveraging AI to streamline

operations, with AI-generated code reaching ~27% of committed code, enabling a