FactSet’s Outlook for Fiscal Q3

From Seeking Alpha, here are some key bits from FactSet’s ($FDS) earnings call:

Now let’s turn to our guidance for the second quarter — for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Revenues are expected to range between $213 million and $216 million. The midpoint of this range would mean revenue growth of 5% in Q3. We are anticipating continued weakness in sell-side ASV and no immediate uptick in buy-side purchasing behavior.

Operating margins are expected to range between 33% and 34%. GAAP diluted EPS should range between $1.14 and $1.16. The midpoint of the range represents 10% growth over last year’s third quarter.

Our annual effective tax rate should range between 29.5% and 30.5%. We continue to expect that capital expenditures for the full 2013 fiscal year should range between $20 million and $28 million, net of landlord contributions.

To provide a little extra color on our revenue guidance, I’d also like to take a moment to look at general views of the market over the past quarter. Despite optimism expressed by the global equity markets, we’re still facing the effects of significant job cuts at many of the largest global investment banks. Some estimates put the number of headcount reductions at 11,000 jobs at bulge bracket banks since November 2012. Those cuts have been driven by increasing regulation, lower trading volumes and the continuation of the economic crisis in some parts of the world.

Although we’re impacted by user reductions, it’s important to note that many of the areas hardest hit are not those typically serviced by FactSet. Our market on the sell-side, which accounts for only 18% of our revenues, is still in a very difficult and contracting environment. The good news is that our primary user groups are not enduring new structural changes. Though they’re still tightening, equity research has been under tight expense [ph] management for many years, and M&A deal flow has always had some cyclicality, but is essentially the same business model as before the global financial crisis.

The bad news is that when large sell-side firms struggle, even in departments we do not cover, it impacts near-term ASV for all vendors in our industry.

The news is somewhat brighter for the buy-side. Coming off double digit equity returns in almost all global markets in 2012, equity returns in 2013 have been solid thus far. AUM for our clients and prospects have also been augmented by year-to-date inflows, too. These inflows are from idle cash and not from fixed income strategies. So there is potential for more AUM inflows, if managers decide to allocate away from fixed income and back to equity. Despite this change in the macro environment, we still do not see evidence yet that buy-side firms have begun to expand their employee base.

To wrap it up, our business model continues to show its resilience. Again this quarter, we have shown that, even in a tough environment for 18% of our clients, we continue to grow our market share. We have put up another double-digit quarter of EPS growth and our 3-year average return on equity has increased to 33%.

Posted by on March 20th, 2013 at 8:56 am


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