FactSet Research Systems Inc. research snapshot
FDS AI stock analysis reads FactSet Research Systems as a high-retention financial data and workflow platform whose organic ASV growth accelerated for a fifth straight quarter, to 7.1%, in Q3 FY2026. The stock closed at $263.20 on July 31, 2026, and the audited market cap check produced about $9.36 billion using 35.57 million shares outstanding. The positive case is that more than 90% of the Top 50 clients now use four or more AI products, Google Cloud and TIFIN.AI partnerships broaden the AI pipeline, and the FY2026 guidance is reaffirmed with adjusted EPS of $17.25 to $17.75. The caution is that GAAP operating margin fell to 26.7% from 33.2%, net income dropped 14.7%, short interest is elevated near 14% of shares, and the analyst consensus is Hold with an average target below the current price. The FDS AI stock forecast is scenario-based, not a price promise.
Current price
$263.20
Market cap
$9.36 billion verified market cap
AI score
70 / 100
Rating
Sticky data platform with accelerating ASV and AI momentum, but margin pressure and a wide valuation debate
Trend status
Short-term uptrend above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, but still far below the 52-week high
Data cutoff (updated monthly)
August 4, 2026
Informational use only. This page is not investment advice.
| Dimension | Conclusion | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Business quality | FactSet sells financial data, analytics, workflow, trading, portfolio, and enterprise solutions to investment professionals, with recurring subscription economics, ASV retention above 95%, and deepening enterprise contracts. | High |
| Moat | The moat comes from trusted data, embedded workflows, client service, switching costs, proprietary content, and enterprise integrations, but it is pressured by larger data vendors and AI-native research tools. | Medium-high |
| Management | CEO Sanoke Viswanathan is pushing AI adoption and execution discipline, and Joshua B. Warren joined as CFO effective April 13, 2026. The leadership transition is promising but still being proven. | Medium |
| Financial trend | FY2025 revenue rose 5.4% to $2.32 billion and FY2025 net income was $597.0 million. Q3 FY2026 revenue rose 6.4% to $622.9 million with 7.0% organic revenue growth, while GAAP net income fell 14.7% and adjusted EPS rose 6.1% to $4.53. | High |
| Valuation | At $263.20, valuation math shows about 17.3x TTM EPS, 13.8x forward EPS, 4.6x book value, 13.2x free cash flow, and a 1.8% dividend yield, a lower multiple than FactSet traded at in prior years. | Medium-high |
| Technical trend | FDS is above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages at $245 and $248, with 14-day RSI near 55 and price still roughly 36% below its 52-week high of $409.16. | Medium |
| Risk level | Key risks are AI-led research workflow disruption, margin compression, data cost inflation, competition, financial-services budget cuts, elevated short interest, and a still-early leadership transition. | Medium-high |
| AI confidence | Descriptive data confidence is high because filings and market data are fresh. Return confidence is lower because the bear case depends on future AI and pricing pressure. | High data confidence |
| Investment certainty | FDS looks like a quality compounder at a less demanding multiple than its historical premium, but not a low-risk bargain unless adjusted margins stabilize and AI monetization expands. | Medium |
FDS AI stock forecast
The FDS AI stock forecast uses the $263.20 price reference, FY2026 consensus adjusted EPS of about $17.83, and a three-year earnings multiple framework. The audited model produced a bearish value near $196, a base value near $289, and a bullish value near $382 before dividends. These are scenario ranges, not promises.
$360 to $400
More likely if organic ASV growth stays near 7% or higher, AI products deepen client usage and renewal pricing, adjusted margins hold near the 34% to 35.5% guidance, buybacks keep reducing the share count, and the market restores a forward multiple closer to 17x.
$270 to $310
More likely if adjusted EPS grows in the mid-single digits, revenue tracks the reaffirmed $2.45 billion to $2.47 billion guidance, retention stays above 95%, but margin recovery and AI monetization remain gradual and the stock keeps a forward multiple near 14x.
$185 to $210
More likely if AI tools pressure data pricing, client seat growth slows, compensation and technology costs keep compressing margins, the multiple drifts toward 11x, or renewed budget cuts hit the financial services client base.
FDS AI technical analysis
FDS AI technical analysis uses market data available at the August 2, 2026 cutoff. FDS closed at $263.20 on July 31, 2026, above its 20-day, 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages, with 14-day RSI near 55, 14-day ADX near 18, and a 52-week range of $185.00 to $409.16. Momentum is positive but not overbought, and the stock still has a large recovery gap to the 52-week high.
| Level | Value | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Current price | $263.20 | July 31, 2026 close from StockAnalysis.com real-time data, up 0.06% on the day with a $254.99 to $264.37 range. |
| Immediate support | $254 to $257 | The July 31 intraday low and the 20-day moving average near $256.95 form the first support zone. |
| Moving average support | $245 to $248 | The 50-day moving average near $245.14 and the 200-day moving average near $247.70 cluster here, making this a key trend support area. |
| Deeper support | $231 to $232 | The 100-day moving average near $231.59 marks the next significant support level below the moving average cluster. |
| Near resistance | $264 to $272 | The July 31 high near $264.37 and the 5-day moving average near $271.61 sit overhead, so follow-through buying matters. |
| Higher resistance | $285 to $300 | This area overlaps the base-case scenario value and psychological round numbers, so it could act as a supply zone. |
| Momentum | RSI near 55, ADX near 18 | Barchart showed 14-day RSI near 54.96 with positive directional strength, but the ADX near 18 means the trend is not strong yet. |
| Volume | About 674,440 shares on July 31 | StockAnalysis.com reported volume below the 20-day average of about 839,574 shares, so the rebound still needs confirmation. |
| Volatility | 52-week range $185.00 to $409.16 | The wide range shows that valuation sentiment can move FDS sharply even though the business is recurring. |
| Invalidation | Close below $245 | A decisive break below the 50-day and 200-day moving average cluster would weaken the trend-following setup. |
FDS AI trading strategy
The FDS AI trading strategy below is a rules-based research framework, not personal advice. It links organic ASV growth, margin trend, AI product adoption, buybacks, debt, and technical invalidation levels.
Watch for FDS to hold above the $245 to $248 moving average cluster and push through $264 to $272 on improving volume while Q4 commentary confirms organic ASV growth, retention above 95%, and AI adoption.
A close below $245, weaker ASV growth, or renewed margin compression should reduce trend-following confidence.
If FDS retests the $245 to $257 area without deterioration in retention, free cash flow, or adjusted EPS guidance, compare the lower entry price with the audited base scenario and peer data-provider multiples.
Do not treat every pullback as attractive if AI competition or pricing pressure appears in filings, management commentary, or renewal trends.
Track organic ASV growth by region, adjusted operating margin, free cash flow, debt repayment, buyback pace, the number of clients using four or more AI products, analyst EPS revisions, and the Google Cloud and TIFIN.AI partnership ramp.
Position sizing should reflect that FDS is a quality data platform with real competitive threats and elevated short interest, not a guaranteed compounding machine.
Investment research summary
Customers pay FactSet because portfolio managers, analysts, wealth teams, bankers, traders, and corporations need trusted financial data, analytics, workflow tools, order management, and enterprise data feeds inside daily decisions.
The moat is built from workflow embedding, data quality, client service, proprietary content, integrated analytics, and switching costs. It can narrow if AI assistants make data access more interchangeable or if larger vendors bundle comparable tools.
The thesis fails if AI compresses research and analytics pricing, if financial firms reduce seats, if margins keep falling, if acquisitions distract management, or if debt limits flexibility during a slower client budget cycle.
Sanoke Viswanathan became CEO in September 2025 after a long JPMorgan career, and Joshua B. Warren joined as CFO effective April 13, 2026 after CFO roles at Envestnet and senior strategy work at BlackRock. Early messaging emphasizes speed, AI, and disciplined execution.
Financial data remains mission critical, and AI can increase demand for clean, licensed, structured data. The same trend can also lower switching costs if users access more answers through conversational layers rather than legacy terminals.
At $263.20, FDS no longer prices in the old high-growth premium, with about 13.8x forward EPS and a 1.8% dividend yield. The margin of safety still depends on stabilizing adjusted margins and defending the data moat while AI changes research workflows.
Source-backed data
Every metric below includes a source and last verification date.
| Metric | Value | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDS quote reference | $263.20 close on July 31, 2026, up 0.06%, after-hours $263.25, day range $254.99 to $264.37 | StockAnalysis.com FDS overview | August 2, 2026 |
| Market capitalization verification | $9.36 billion calculated from $263.20 x 35.57 million shares, 0.02% deviation | Pineify financial_rigor.py and StockAnalysis.com | August 2, 2026 |
| Shares outstanding | 35.57 million shares, down 3.17% year over year | StockAnalysis.com statistics | August 2, 2026 |
| Q3 FY2026 revenue | $622.9 million revenue, up 6.4%; organic revenue up 7.0% year over year | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| Q3 FY2026 GAAP profitability | Operating income $166.3 million at a 26.7% margin, net income $126.7 million, diluted EPS $3.50 | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| Q3 FY2026 adjusted results | Adjusted operating income $211.8 million at a 34.0% margin, adjusted net income $163.8 million, adjusted diluted EPS $4.53 up 6.1% | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| Organic ASV | Organic ASV $2,485.6 million, up 7.1% or $165.0 million year over year; ASV $2,484.3 million | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| Q3 FY2026 cash flow | Operating cash flow $284.5 million up 12.1%, free cash flow $254.0 million up 11.1% | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| FY2026 guidance | Revenue $2.45 billion to $2.47 billion, GAAP diluted EPS $14.85 to $15.35, adjusted diluted EPS $17.25 to $17.75, adjusted operating margin 34.0% to 35.5% | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| Capital returns | Q3 buybacks of 926,370 shares for $203.1 million at an average price of $219.21, $243.4 million returned in the quarter, $494.0 million remaining under the program | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| Dividend | Quarterly dividend raised $0.06 to $1.16, the 27th consecutive year of increases | FactSet Q3 FY2026 earnings release (July 1, 2026) | July 1, 2026 |
| Cash and short-term investments | $304.24 million as of May 31, 2026 | StockAnalysis.com balance sheet | August 2, 2026 |
| Total debt | $1.57 billion as of May 31, 2026, including lease liabilities | StockAnalysis.com balance sheet | August 2, 2026 |
| Net debt | -$1.27 billion, calculated as cash and investments of $304.24 million minus total debt of $1.57 billion | Pineify financial_rigor.py exact calculator | August 2, 2026 |
| TTM financials | Revenue $2.44 billion up 6.6%, net income $565.97 million, EPS $15.19 | StockAnalysis.com statistics | August 2, 2026 |
| TTM cash flow | Operating cash flow $829.59 million, capital expenditures $121.29 million, free cash flow $708.31 million, free cash flow per share $19.92 | StockAnalysis.com cash flow statement and statistics | August 2, 2026 |
| Valuation check | 17.33x trailing PE, 13.77x forward PE, 3.84x sales, 4.63x book value, 13.22x free cash flow, 1.76% dividend yield | Pineify financial_rigor.py and StockAnalysis.com statistics | August 2, 2026 |
| Analyst consensus | Hold with an average target of $255.06 across 18 analysts, low $210, median $246.50, high $340 | StockAnalysis.com forecast and analyst ratings | July 20, 2026 |
| Analyst rating mix, July 2026 | 2 Strong Buy, 0 Buy, 10 Hold, 2 Sell, 4 Strong Sell out of 18 | StockAnalysis.com forecast recommendation trends | July 20, 2026 |
| Recent analyst target updates | Barclays $216 Sell, RBC $240 Hold, Deutsche Bank $280 Hold, UBS $340 Buy, Goldman Sachs $236 Sell | StockAnalysis.com forecast latest forecasts | July 6, 2026 |
| Short interest | 5.02 million shares short, 14.13% of shares outstanding, 5.01 days to cover | StockAnalysis.com statistics short selling | August 2, 2026 |
| Technical snapshot | 20-day MA near $256.95, 50-day MA near $245.14, 100-day MA near $231.59, 200-day MA near $247.70, 14-day RSI near 55, 14-day ADX near 18 | Barchart and StockAnalysis.com technical snapshots | July 31, 2026 |
This FDS AI stock analysis page is an informational research tool only. It is not investment advice, a recommendation, or a promise of future return. Forecast ranges are scenario estimates based on available public data as of August 2, 2026 and can be wrong if earnings, margins, AI competition, client budgets, market multiples, or macro conditions change.
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