FactSet Earns $1.14 Per Share

This morning, FactSet Research Systems ($FDS) reported second-quarter (ending February) adjusted earnings of $1.14 per share which was three cents better than Wall Street had been expecting. This is good news and it was actually better than the forecast FactSet gave three months ago when they said earnings should range between $1.11 and $1.13 per share.

Interestingly, at the time of that guidance, Wall Street was disappointed because they had been expecting $1.13 per share. FactSet said they expected revenues to range between $212 and $215 million. Today they reported that Q2 revenues rose 7% to $213.1 million.

The problem, if you can even call it that, is that banks have been working hard to cut costs. JPMorgan recently announced plans to decrease headcount by as much as 17,000.

“While we were pleased to achieve ASV growth of $17.3 million in the quarter, we continue to operate in a challenging sell-side environment” said Philip A. Hadley, Chairman and CEO. “”Our second quarter results include growing adjusted EPS by 12% and free cash flow by 11%. I am also proud to share that FactSet was recently named one of FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, marking our fifth appearance on that list in the last six years.”

For Q3, FactSet sees revenues ranging between $213 and $216 million, and earnings-per-share coming in between $1.14 and $1.16. Wall Street had been expecting revenues of $217 million and earnings of $1.13 per share.

I’m happy with today’s numbers but the shares are currently down about 3% today. Still, FactSet has had a good run since the start of the year. Business continues to go well for them.

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Posted by on March 19th, 2013 at 10:25 am


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