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Equifax Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Jump 14% Y/Y

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Key Takeaways

  • Equifax Q1 EPS of $1.86 moved up 21.6% y/y, with revenues rising 14.4% to $1.6B, both beating estimates.
  • EFX saw 21% USIS growth and 10% workforce gains, with verification services up 14% y/y.
  • Equifax posted 12.8% EBITDA growth but margins slipped; it raised 2026 revenue outlook to $6.69-$6.81B.

Equifax Inc. (EFX - Free Report) has reported impressive first-quarter 2026 results, wherein earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

EFX has posted $1.86 in earnings per share (EPS), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.1%. This marked a 21.6% jump from the first quarter of 2025. The company recorded $1.6 billion in its top line, surpassing the consensus estimate by 2.3%. Revenues increased 14.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Equifax shares have lost 6.9% in a year compared with the 27.8% decline of the industry and against the 44.2% rally of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

Equifax, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Equifax, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

EFX’s Solid Segmental Growth Beats Expectations

The workforce solutions segment saw 10% year-over-year revenue growth. The figure stands at $683.1 million, outpacing our estimate of $680 million. Within this segment, verification services registered $571.4 million in revenues, up 14% from the year-ago quarter, and employer services revenues dipped 4% to $111.7 million.

The USIS segment witnessed $605.6 million in revenues. The metric increased 21% year over year and surpassed our projection of $574.9 million. Within this segment, Online Information Solutions generated $553.7 million, up 24% year over year. Financial Marketing Services' revenues were flat at $51.9 million.

International revenues witnessed an 11% year-over-year rise on a reported basis and 4% in local currency basis to $360.2 million. We estimated EFX to record $346.3 million in international revenues, which the company successfully surpassed in the first quarter of 2026.

Revenues from Europe gained 9% year over year on a reported basis and 1% on a local-currency basis to $94 million. The company logged $102.7 million in revenues in Latin America, which grew 9% year over year on a reported basis and 4% on a local-currency basis.

The Asia Pacific and Canada reported $92.6 million and $70.9 million in revenues, respectively. Asia Pacific revenues moved up 16% year over year on a reported basis and 6% on a local-currency basis. Canada delivered 12% year-over-year growth in revenues on a reported basis and 8% on a local-currency basis.

Uptick in EFX’s Adjusted EBITDA, Margins Dip

The company recorded $477.4 million in adjusted EBITDA, delivering 12.8% year over year growth. Its margin tanked 30 basis points (bps).

Workforce Solution’s adjusted EBITDA margin was 52.3%, up 220 bps from the year-ago quarter. On the USIS front, the adjusted EBITDA margin was 30.3%, which declined 420 bps year over year. The international segment delivered 25% in adjusted EBITDA, gaining 90 bps from the first quarter of 2025.

EFX’s Resilient Cash Position, Debt Stable

Equifax exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $183.4 million compared with $180.8 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. The company has a long-term debt of $4.1 billion, which was flat with the preceding quarter.

Cash generated from operating activities amounted to $241.9 million, whereas capital expenditure totaled $120.4 million. The company distributed $67.1 million as dividends in the quarter.

Equifax’s Q2 & 2026 Outlook

Management expects $1.68-$1.71 billion in revenues for the second quarter of 2025. The company’s guided range stands above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 billion. EPS is expected to be $2.15-$2.25. This outlook is higher than the consensus estimate of $1.69.

For 2026, revenues are anticipated to be at $6.69-$6.81 million, higher than the preceding quarter’s view of $6.66-$6.78 billion. The mid-point ($6.75 billion) of the guidance is positioned higher than the consensus mark of $6.74 billion. Management raised the EPS outlook by a slight margin to $8.34-$8.74 per share from the preceding quarter’s view of $8.3-$8.7 per share. The mid-point ($8.54) of the outlook is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.62.

Equifax carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Snapshot

FactSet (FDS - Free Report) reported impressive results for second-quarter fiscal 2026.

FDS’s earnings per share of $4.46 beat the consensus mark by 2.1% and increased 4.2% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $611 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a slight margin and rose 7.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Accenture plc (ACN - Free Report) posted impressive second-quarter fiscal 2026 results.

ACN reported earnings of $2.93 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.4%. The metric increased 3.9% from the year-ago quarter. Accenture’s total revenues of $18 billion beat the consensus estimate by 1.2% and rose 8.2% on a year-over-year basis.

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