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Equifax Q3 Earnings Beat, Revenues Miss Despite Strong Segments

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Equifax Inc. (EFX - Free Report) reported mixed third-quarter 2024 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.

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EFX’s adjusted earnings (excluding 72 cents from non-recurring items) were $1.8 per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a slight margin and increasing by 5.1% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. Total revenues of $1.4 billion missed the consensus estimate by a slight margin but grew 9.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Equifax shares have gained 14.4% over the past three months, outperforming the 7.5% increase of the industry and the 4.7% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

Equifax, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

Equifax, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Equifax, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Equifax, Inc. Quote

Segment Level Information For EFX

Revenues in the Workforce Solutions segment totaled $620 million, growing 7% from the year-ago quarter and beating our anticipation of $618.1 million. Within the segment, Verification Services’ revenues of $524.9 million were up 14% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. Employer Services’ revenues of $95.1 million were down 19% on a year-over-year basis.

USIS segment’s revenues were $476.9 million, grew 12% from the year-ago quarter and outpacing our expectation of $459.4 million. Within the segment, Online Information Solutions’ revenues of $381.1 million grew 9% year over year. Mortgage Solutions’ revenues of $38 million increased 39% from the year-ago quarter. Financial Marketing Services’ revenues were $57.8 million, which gained 14% on a year-over-year basis.

Revenues in the International division amounted to $344.9 million, up 9% and 18% year over year on a reported basis and a local currency basis, respectively. The metric missed our expectation of $366.4 million.

Latin America’s revenues of $96.7 million increased 21% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and 58% on a local currency basis. Revenues from Europe amounted to $94.9 million, up 11% year over year on a reported and 9% on a local currency basis. Revenues from Asia Pacific were $88.5 million, increasing 11% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and 2% on a local currency basis. Canada’s revenues of $64.8 million were flat with the year-ago reported quarter on a reported basis and 1% on a local currency basis.

Equifax’s Operating Results

Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2024 amounted to $471.9 million, indicating an 8% increase on a year-over-year basis. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 32.7%, which declined 40 basis points from the year-ago quarter.

Workforce Solutions’ adjusted EBITDA margin was 51.6% compared with 50.9% a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the USIS division was 33.9% compared with 34.2% in the second quarter of 2023. The adjusted EBITDA margin for the international segment was 27.7% in comparison with 26.2% in the year-ago quarter.

EFX’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

EFX exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $468.2 million compared with $181.9 million at the end of the second quarter of 2024. The company has a long-term debt of $4.7 billion, flat with the preceding quarter.

Cash generated from operating activities amounted to $479.5 million, whereas capital expenditure totaled $124 million. The company distributed $48.4 million as dividends in the quarter.

Equifax’s Q4 and 2024 Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2024, EFX raised its revenue guidance to $ 1.44-$1.46 billion compared with the previous quarter’s view of $1.43-$1.45 billion. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $1.44 billion, which meets the lower end of the guided range. It raised the guidance for adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to $2.08-$2.18 compared with the previous quarter’s view of $1.75-$1.85. The current consensus estimate of earnings is pegged at $1.84 per share which is lower than the guided range.

For 2024, Equifax updated its revenue guidance to $5.70-$5.72 billion compared with the previous quarter’s view of $5.69-$5.75 billion. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.73 billion is higher than the guided range. The company updated the adjusted EPS guidance to $7.25-$7.35 from the previous quarter’s view of $7.22-$7.47. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.36 billion is higher than the guided range.

Equifax carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Ranked (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Snapshot of EFX’s Peer

Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC - Free Report) reported impressive third-quarter 2024 results.

OMC’s earnings of $2 per share beat the consensus estimate by 3.1% and rose 9.1% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $3.9 billion outpaced the consensus mark by 2.3% and grew 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

FactSet Research Systems, Inc. (FDS - Free Report) posted impressive fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 results.

FDS’s earnings per share (excluding $1.4 from non-recurring items) of $3.7 beat the consensus mark by 3.9% and increased 27.7% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $562.2 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.7% and gained 4.9% from the year-ago quarter.


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