Which Is a Better Investment, Equifax Inc or FactSet Research Systems Inc. Stock?

By AAII Staff
September 02, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Professional Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Equifax Inc. or FactSet Research Systems Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc.

Equifax Inc. operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that that assist them in complying with and automating certain payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship. The U.S. Information Solutions segment provides consumer and commercial information services, such as credit information and credit scoring, credit modeling and portfolio analytics, locate, fraud detection and prevention, identity verification, and other consulting services; mortgage services; financial marketing services; identity management services; and credit monitoring products. The International segment offers information service products, which include consumer and commercial services comprising credit and financial information, and credit scoring and modeling; and credit and other marketing products and services, as well as information, technology, and services to support debt collections and recovery management. The company also provides information solutions for businesses, governments and consumers; and human resources business process automation and outsourcing services for employers. It operates in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, India, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the United States. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

FactSet Research Systems Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider for the investment community. It offers data, products, and analytical applications; and workstations, portfolio analytics, and enterprise data solutions, as well as managed services for supporting data, performance, risk, and reporting workflows. The company also provides subscription-based financial data and market intelligence on securities, companies, industries, and people that enable clients to research investment ideas, as well as analyze, monitor, and manage portfolios; and solutions covering investment lifecycle of investment research, portfolio construction and analysis, trade execution, performance measurement, risk management, and reporting. In addition, it offers services through configurable desktop and mobile platform, data feeds, cloud-based digital solutions, and application programming interfaces. It operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company serves investment professionals, including institutional asset managers, bankers, wealth managers, asset owners, partners, hedge funds, corporate users, and private equity and venture capital professionals. It has a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to create a new generation of AI-powered solutions for the financial industry. FactSet Research Systems Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Latest Professional Services and Equifax Inc., FactSet Research Systems Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Equifax Inc. had a $21.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Professional Services median of $1.1 million. Equifax Inc.’s stock is down 14.5% in 2026, down 2.7% in the previous five trading days and down 20.75% in the past year.

Currently, Equifax Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 32.6. Equifax Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $6.4 billion with a 10.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.562 per share for the current fiscal year. Equifax Inc. currently has a 1.2% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, FactSet Research Systems Inc. had a $10.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 79th percentile of all stocks. FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s stock is up 5.5% in 2026, up 3.6% in the previous five trading days and down 17.03% in the past year.

Currently, FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 20.2. FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.4 billion with a 23.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $17.829 per share for the current fiscal year. FactSet Research Systems Inc. currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Equifax Inc. EFX D
FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Equifax Inc. has a Value Score of 30, which is Expensive. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a Value Score of 36, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Equifax Inc. or FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Equifax Inc. or FactSet Research Systems Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Equifax Inc. EFX A
FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Equifax Inc. has a Quality Score of 89, which is Very Strong. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a Quality Score of 85, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Equifax Inc. EFX C
FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Equifax Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 54, which is Neutral. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 43, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Equifax Inc. or FactSet Research Systems Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Equifax Inc. or FactSet Research Systems Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

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Other Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

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Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Equifax Inc. or FactSet Research Systems Inc. Stock?

Overall, Equifax Inc. stock has a Value Score of 30, Estimate Revisions Score of 54 and Quality Score of 89.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. stock has a Value Score of 36, Estimate Revisions Score of 43 and Quality Score of 85.

Comparing Equifax Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

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AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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