In anticipation of the U.S. Federal Reserve initiating interest rate decreases, more traders signed up for FactSet Research Systems (FDS.N), opening a new tab, financial data, and analytics, leading to a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday. The stock increased 3.2% to $461.01 before the bell. While the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX) has gained 17.79% so far this year, the stock has lost around 6.34% of its value—new tab.
The Federal Reserve’s much-awaited interest rate decrease on Wednesday gave investors more faith in the strength of the economy and increased demand for market-related analytical tools. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based firm earned $3.74 per share in the three months ended August 31, above LSEG projections of $3.62 when one-time expenses are taken out of the picture.
Professional services added to organic annual subscription value (ASV) increased 4.8% to $2.27 billion in the quarter. ASV is a projection of sales from the current subscription services over the upcoming 12 months. For the fiscal year 2025, the business projects adjusted earnings per share of $16.80 to $17.40, whereas analysts had projected $17.36.
Compared to the projection of $2.3 billion, it predicted a yearly income of between $2.29 billion and $2.31 billion. For the quarter, FactSet’s sales increased by 4.9% to $562.2 million.