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FactSet Reports Solid Results for Third Quarter 2021

June 29, 2021 7:00 AM

NORWALK, Conn., June 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FactSet ("FactSet" or the “Company”) (NYSE: FDS) (NASDAQ: FDS), a global provider of integrated financial information, analytical applications, and industry-leading service, today announced results for its third quarter ended May 31, 2021.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2021 Highlights

“I’m pleased with the acceleration in our top line and proud of our record of returning value to our shareholders every year since we became a public company 25 years ago,” said Phil Snow, CEO, FactSet. “Demand for our open content and analytics platform continues to fuel our growth as clients pursue their own digital transformations. We believe that the next generation of digital solutions we are building for the financial community will enable us to grow faster.”

Key Financial Measures*

(Condensed and Unaudited)Three Months Ended
May 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)20212020Change
GAAP revenues$399,558 $374,083 6.8 %
Organic revenues$397,443 $375,252 5.9 %
Operating income$117,702 $121,640 (3.2)%
Adjusted operating income$126,465 $133,380 (5.2)%
Operating margin29.5%32.5%
Adjusted operating margin31.6%35.5%
Net income$100,679 $101,216 (0.5)%
Adjusted net income$104,810 $110,085 (4.8)%
Diluted EPS$2.62 $2.63 (0.4)%
Adjusted diluted EPS$2.72 $2.86 (4.9)%

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

“Our increasing value to clients and execution focus have helped drive accelerated revenue growth this quarter. In line with our operating plan, we are investing in both technology and talent, while remaining disciplined on costs and returns,” said Helen Shan, CFO and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), FactSet. “We are confident in our ability to convert our healthy fourth quarter pipeline and are on track to finish this year on a solid note.”

Annual Subscription Value (ASV) + Professional Services

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

ASV plus professional services was $1,617 million at May 31, 2021. Organic ASV plus professional services was $1,612 million at May 31, 2021, up $88.6 million from the prior year at a growth rate of 5.8%. Organic ASV, which excludes the effects of acquisitions and dispositions completed within the last 12 months, and foreign currency movements, plus professional services, increased $19.3 million over the last three months.

Buy-side and sell-side ASV growth rates for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 were 5.6% and 8.0%, respectively. Buy-side clients that primarily includes portfolio managers, analysts, traders and wealth managers, accounted for approximately 84% of organic ASV while the remainder was derived from sell-side firms that perform mergers and acquisitions advisory work, capital markets services, and equity research. Supplementary tables covering organic buy-side and sell-side ASV growth rates may be found on the last page of this press release.

Segment Revenue and ASV

ASV from the Americas region was $993.4 million compared with ASV in the prior year period of $931.5 million. Organic ASV increased 6.0% to $987.8 million. Americas revenues for the quarter increased to $253.8 million compared with $238.5 million in the third quarter last year. Excluding the effects of acquisitions and dispositions completed in the last 12 months, the Americas region organic revenue growth rate was 5.8%.

ASV from the EMEA region was $436.4 million compared with ASV in the prior year period of $411.9 million. Organic ASV increased 4.7% to $435.9 million. EMEA revenues were $106.8 million compared with $100.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. Excluding the effects of acquisitions and dispositions completed in the last 12 months and foreign currency impacts, the EMEA region organic revenue growth rate was 4.5%.

ASV from the Asia Pacific region was $163.4 million compared with ASV in the prior year period of $150.4 million. Organic ASV increased 9.1% to $164.4 million. Asia Pacific revenues were $38.9 million compared with $35.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. Excluding the effects of acquisitions and dispositions completed in the last 12 months and foreign currency impacts, the Asia Pacific region organic revenue growth rate was 11.0%.

Segment ASV does not include professional services, which totaled $23.9 million at May 31, 2021.

Operational Highlights – Third Quarter Fiscal 2021

Share Repurchase Program

FactSet repurchased 178,100 shares of its common stock for $57.6 million at an average price of $323.25 during the third quarter under the Company’s existing share repurchase program. As of June 29, 2021, $292.4 million is available for share repurchases under this program.

Annual Business Outlook

FactSet originally provided its outlook for fiscal 2021 on September 24, 2020 and has updated this outlook today. 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, particularly with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the duration, magnitude, and impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. FactSet does not intend to update its forward-looking statements prior to its next quarterly results announcement.

Fiscal 2021 Expectations

Both GAAP operating margin and GAAP diluted EPS guidance do not include certain effects of any non-recurring benefits or charges that may arise in fiscal 2021. Please see the back of this press release for a reconciliation of GAAP to adjusted metrics.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call today, June 29, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its third quarter results. The call will be webcast live at FactSet Investor Relations. The following information is provided for those who would like to participate:

U.S. Participants:833.726.6487
International Participants:830.213.7677
Passcode:1470217

An archived webcast with the accompanying slides will be available at FactSet Investor Relations for one year after the conclusion of the live event. The earnings call transcript will also be available via the FactSet workstation or web. An audio replay of this conference will also be available until July 6, 2021 via the following telephone numbers: 855.859.2056 in the U.S. and 404.537.3406 internationally using passcode 1470217.

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 revenue, 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 exclude the effects of acquisitions and dispositions completed in the last 12 months and foreign currency movements in all periods presented. Adjusted operating income and margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude intangible asset amortization, deferred revenue and non-recurring items. The Company believes that these adjusted financial measures better reflect the underlying economic performance of FactSet.

The GAAP financial measure, cash flows provided by operating activities, has been adjusted for capital expenditures 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 FactSetFactSet (NYSE:FDS | NASDAQ: FDS) delivers superior content, analytics, and flexible technology to help more than 155,000 users see and seize opportunity sooner. We give investment professionals the edge to outperform with informed insights, workflow solutions across the portfolio lifecycle, and industry-leading support from dedicated specialists. We're proud to have been recognized with multiple awards for our analytical and data-driven solutions and repeatedly scored 100 by the Human Rights Campaign® Corporate Equality Index for our LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices. Subscribe to our thought leadership blog to get fresh insight delivered daily at insight.factset.com. Learn more at www.factset.com and follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/factset.

FactSet Media & Investor Relations Contact: Rima Hyder +1.857.265.7523 [email protected]

Consolidated Statements of Income(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
May 31, May 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)2021 2020 2021 2020
Revenue$399,558 $374,083 $1,179,551 $1,110,521
Operating expenses
Cost of services205,257 170,703 588,868 511,878
Selling, general and administrative76,599 81,740 235,818 257,560
Total operating expenses281,856 252,443 824,686 769,438
Operating income117,702 121,640 354,865 341,083
Other income (expense)
Interest expense, net(1,839) (2,211) (4,682) (8,003)
Other expense, net(1,587) (289) (1,009) (2,090)
Income before income taxes114,276 119,140 349,174 330,990
Provision for income taxes13,597 17,924 50,646 47,131
Net income$100,679 $101,216 $298,528 $283,859
Diluted earnings per common share$2.62 $2.63 $7.73 $7.36
Diluted weighted average common shares38,488 38,481 38,602 38,548

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
(In thousands)May 31, 2021August 31, 2020
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents$658,340 $585,605
Investments18,361 19,572
Accounts receivable, net of reserves of $6,879 at May 31, 2021 and $7,987 at August 31, 2020161,073 155,011
Prepaid taxes29,436 38,067
Prepaid expenses and other current assets52,844 43,675
Total current assets920,054 841,930
Property, equipment and leasehold improvements, net135,850 133,102
Goodwill749,896 709,703
Intangible assets, net130,521 121,095
Lease right-of-use assets, net251,062 248,929
Other assets31,062 28,629
TOTAL ASSETS$2,218,445 $2,083,388
LIABILITIES
Accounts payable and accrued expenses$80,672 $82,094
Current lease liabilities32,421 29,056
Accrued compensation71,746 81,873
Deferred revenue65,124 53,987
Dividends payable30,972 29,283
Total current liabilities280,935 276,293
Long-term debt574,490 574,354
Deferred taxes16,018 19,713
Deferred revenue, non-current8,680 9,319
Taxes payable29,249 27,739
Long-term lease liabilities272,122 272,269
Other non-current liabilities5,652 7,326
TOTAL LIABILITIES$1,187,146 $1,187,013
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY$1,031,299 $896,375
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY$2,218,445 $2,083,388

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
Nine Months Ended
May 31,
(In thousands)20212020
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income$298,528 $283,859
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities
Depreciation and amortization48,185 41,333
Amortization of lease right-of-use assets32,241 32,423
Stock-based compensation expense33,356 28,372
Deferred income taxes(2,271) 7,230
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions
Accounts receivable, net of reserves(6,795) (5,091)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses(1,712) 10,400
Accrued compensation(11,066) (14,154)
Deferred fees8,898 9,856
Taxes payable, net of prepaid taxes8,766 (27,088)
Lease liabilities, net(31,156) (24,121)
Other, net(6,725) 3,394
Net cash provided by operating activities370,249 346,413
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchases of property, equipment, leasehold improvements and internal-use software(47,414) (62,909)
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash and cash equivalents acquired(41,916)
Purchases of investments(1,250) (2,736)
Proceeds from maturity or sale of investments2,176 4,199
Net cash used in investing activities(88,404) (61,446)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Repurchases of common stock(172,210) (171,005)
Dividend payments(87,144) (81,438)
Proceeds from employee stock plans46,962 65,323
Other financing activities(2,366) (1,592)
Net cash used by financing activities(214,758) (188,712)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents5,648 1,653
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents72,735 97,908
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period585,605 359,799
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period$658,340 $457,707

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

The table below provides a reconciliation of revenue to adjusted revenue and organic revenue.

(Unaudited)Three Months Ended
May 31,
(In thousands)20212020Change
GAAP revenues$399,558 $374,083 6.8%
Deferred revenue fair value adjustment (a)181 1,169
Adjusted revenues399,739 375,252 6.5%
Acquired revenues (b)(1,030)
Currency impact (c)(1,266)
Organic revenues$397,443 $375,252 5.9%

(a) The amortization effect of purchase accounting adjustment on the fair value of acquired deferred revenue.

(b) Revenues from acquisitions completed within the last 12 months.

(c) The impact from foreign currency movements over the past 12 months.

Operating Income, Margin, Net Income and Diluted EPS

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 and adjusted diluted EPS.

(Unaudited)Three Months Ended
May 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)20212020Change
Operating income$117,702 $121,640 (3.2)%
Deferred revenue fair value adjustment181 1,169
Intangible asset amortization5,741 5,107
Transformation costs (a)2,841 4,630
Restructuring / severance 161
Real estate charges 673
Adjusted operating income$126,465 $133,380 (5.2)%
Operating margin29.5 %32.5 %
Adjusted operating margin (b)31.6 %35.5 %
Net income$100,679 $101,216 (0.5)%
Deferred revenue fair value adjustment150 963
Intangible asset amortization4,746 4,204
Transformation costs (a)2,349 3,812
Restructuring / severance 132
Real estate charges 554
Other investment income (62)
Income tax items (c)(3,114) (734)
Adjusted net income (d)$104,810 $110,085 (4.8)%
Diluted earnings per common share$2.62 $2.63 (0.4)%
Deferred revenue fair value adjustment0.00 0.03
Intangible asset amortization0.12 0.11
Transformation costs (a)0.06 0.10
Restructuring / severance $0.00
Real estate charges 0.02
Other investment income 0.00
Income tax items (c)(0.08) (0.03)
Adjusted diluted earnings per common share (d)$2.72 $2.86 (4.9)%
Weighted average common shares (Diluted)38,488 38,481

(a) Costs primarily related to professional fees associated with the ongoing multi-year investment plan.

(b) Adjusted operating margin is calculated as adjusted operating income divided by adjusted revenue as shown in the organic revenue table above.

(c) Income tax items for the three months ended May 31, 2021 reflects tax expenses primarily related to a reduction in the estimated annual pre-tax book income as well as finalizing prior year tax returns. Income tax items for the three months ended May 31, 2020 includes an income tax expense primarily due to a one-time tax audit settlement.

(d) For purposes of calculating adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, intangible asset amortization, deferred revenue fair value adjustments and other items were taxed at the annual effective tax rates of 17.3% for fiscal 2021 and 17.7% for fiscal 2020.

Business Outlook Operating Margin, Net Income and Diluted EPS

(Unaudited)
Annual Fiscal 2021 Guidance
(In millions, except per share data)Low end of rangeHigh end of range
GAAP Revenue$1,585 $1,570
GAAP Operating Income$468 $479
GAAP Operating margin29.5 %30.5 %
Intangible asset amortization (a)25 25
Transformation costs (b)14 14
Adjusted Operating Income$507 $518
Adjusted operating margin32.0 %33.0 %
GAAP Net income$386 $402
Intangible asset amortization (a)21 21
Transformation costs (b)12 12
Discrete tax items(5) (5)
Adjusted net income$415 $430
GAAP Diluted earnings per common share$10.05 $10.45
Intangible asset amortization0.55 0.55
Transformation costs0.30 0.30
Discrete tax items(0.15) (0.15)
Adjusted diluted earnings per common share$10.75 $11.15

(a) The income tax effect related to intangible asset amortization is $4.0 million for the period presented above.

(b) Costs primarily related to professional fees and software development associated with the ongoing multi-year investment plan. The income tax effect related to this item is $2.0 million for the period presented above.

Free Cash Flow

(Unaudited)Three Months Ended
May 31,
(In thousands)20212020Change
Net cash provided by operating activities$140,313 $150,953
Capital expenditures(18,656) (11,010)
Free cash flow$121,657 $139,943 (13.1)%

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 12 months and the effects of foreign currency movements. The numbers below do not include professional services.

Q3'21Q2'21Q1'21Q4'20Q3'20Q2'20Q1'20Q4'19
% of ASV from buy-side clients83.8%84.0%84.0%83.8%84.1%84.1%83.9%83.7%
% of ASV from sell-side clients16.2%16.0%16.0%16.2%15.9%15.9%16.1%16.3%
ASV Growth rate from buy-side clients5.6%5.5%5.1%5.4%4.8%4.5%4.0%4.8%
ASV Growth rate from sell-side clients8.0%6.3%4.4%4.6%5.6%2.9%4.0%6.3%

The following table presents the calculation of organic ASV plus professional services. (Details may not sum to total due to rounding)

(In millions)Q3'21
As reported ASV plus Professional Services (a)$1,617.2
Currency impact (b)0.4
Acquisition ASV (c)(5.6)
Organic ASV plus Professional Services$1,612.0
Organic ASV plus Professional Services growth rate 5.8 %

(a) Includes $23.9 million in professional services fees as of May 31, 2021.

(b) The impact of foreign currency movements.

(c) Acquired ASV from acquisitions completed within the last 12 months.

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Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc.

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