ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows and, as a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline. These risk factors do not identify all risks that we face; our operations could also be affected by factors that are not presently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial to our operations. Due to risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, our past financial results may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. Investors should also refer to the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and our Consolidated Financial Statements including the related Notes. Investors should carefully consider all risks, including those disclosed here, before making an investment decision.
Technology and Data Security Risks
Loss, corruption and misappropriation of data and information relating to clients and others
Many of our products, as well as our internal systems and processes, involve the collection, retrieval, processing, storage and transmission through a variety of media channels of our own, as well as supplier and customer, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. We rely on, and continuously invest in, a complex system of internal processes and controls, along with policies, procedures and training, designed to protect data that we receive in the ordinary course of business, including information from client portfolios and strategies. However, these measures do not guarantee security, and improper access to or release of confidential information may still occur through, for example, employee error or malfeasance, system error, other inadvertent release, failure to properly purge and protect data, or cybersecurity threats or attacks. Additionally, the maintenance and enhancement of our systems may not be completely effective in preventing loss, unauthorized access or misappropriation. Data misappropriation, unauthorized access or data loss could instill a lack of confidence in our products and systems and damage our brand, reputation and business. Breaches of security measures could expose us, our clients or the individuals affected to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, potentially resulting in litigation and liability for us, as well as the loss of existing or potential clients and suppliers. Many jurisdictions in which we operate have laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection of personal information, including, for example, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, an increasing number of U.S. state laws, such as California's Consumer Privacy Act and Connecticut's Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring Act, China's Personal Information Protection Law, and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act. These laws contain requirements regarding the handling of personal and sensitive data, including our use, protection and the ability of persons whose data is stored to correct or delete such data about themselves. The law in this area continues to develop and the changing nature of these laws could impact our processing and cross-border transfer of personal and sensitive information related to our content, operations, employees, clients, suppliers and others, and may expose us to claims of violations.
Successful access to prohibited data and other cyber-attacks and the failure of cyber-security systems and procedures
In providing our digital-enabled products and services to clients, we rely on information technology infrastructure that is managed internally along with placing reliance on third-party service providers for critical functions. We and these third-party service providers are subject to the risks of system failures and security breaches, including cyber-attacks (such as those sponsored by nation-states, terrorist organizations, or global corporations seeking to illicitly obtain technology or other intellectual property and those accomplished by phishing scams, hacking, viruses, denials of service attacks, tampering, intrusions, physical break-ins, ransomware and malware), as well as employee errors or malfeasance. In some cases, these risks might be heightened when employees are working remotely. Our and our vendors' use of mobile and cloud technologies may increase our risk for such threats. Our protective systems and procedures and those of third parties to which we are connected, such as cloud computing providers, may not be effective against these threats. Our information technology systems must be constantly updated and patched to protect against known vulnerabilities and to optimize performance.
While we have dedicated resources responsible for maintaining appropriate levels of cybersecurity and implemented systems and processes intended to help identify cyberattacks and protect and remediate our network infrastructure, we are aware that these attacks have become increasingly frequent, sophisticated, and difficult to detect and, as a result, we may not be able to anticipate, prevent or detect all such attacks. We also may be impacted by a cyberattack targeting one of our vendors or within our technology supply chain or infrastructure. Our contracts with service providers typically require them to implement and maintain adequate security controls, but we may not have the ability to effectively monitor these security measures. As a result, inadequacies of the third-party security technologies and practices may not be detected until after a security breach has occurred. These risks may be heightened in connection with employees working from remote work environments, as our dependency on certain service providers, such as video conferencing and web conferencing services, has significantly increased. In addition, to access our network, products and services, customers and other third parties may use personal mobile devices or computing devices that are outside of our network environment and are subject to their own security risk.
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We could suffer significant damage to our brand and reputation: if a cyber-attack or other security incident were to allow unauthorized access to, or modification of, clients’ or suppliers’ data, other external data, internal data or information technology systems; if the products and services provided to clients were disrupted; or if products and services were perceived as having security vulnerabilities. The costs we would incur to address and resolve these security incidents would increase our expenses. These types of security incidents could also lead to lawsuits, regulatory investigations and claims, loss of business and increased legal liability. Cyberattacks, security breaches or third-party reports of perceived security vulnerability to our systems, even if no breach has occurred, also could damage our brand and reputation, result in litigation, regulatory actions, loss of client confidence and increased legal liability. We also make acquisitions periodically. While significant effort is placed on addressing information technology security issues with respect to the acquired companies, we may inherit such risks when these acquisitions are integrated into our infrastructure. While we maintain insurance coverage that is intended to address certain aspects of cybersecurity and data protection risks, such coverage may not include, or may not be sufficient to cover, all or the majority of the costs, losses or types of claims.
A prolonged or recurring outage at our data centers and other business continuity disruptions at facilities could result in reduced service and the loss of clients
Our clients rely on us for the delivery of time-sensitive, up-to-date data and applications. Our business is dependent on our ability to process substantial volumes of data and transactions rapidly and efficiently on our computer-based networks, database storage facilities, and other network infrastructure, which are located across multiple facilities globally. If we experience significant growth of our customer base, increases in the number of products or services, or increase in the speed at which we are required to provide products and services, it may strain our systems. Additionally, our systems and networks may become strained due to aging or end-of-life technology that we have not yet updated or replaced.
Our computer operations, as well as our other business centers, and those of our suppliers and clients, may be vulnerable to interruption by fire, natural disaster, extreme weather or climate conditions, power loss, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, acts of war or civil unrest, internet failures, computer viruses or security breaches, employee or systems errors, and other events beyond our reasonable control. In addition, in the remote work environments, the daily activities and productivity of our workforce is now more closely tied to key vendors, such as video conferencing services, consistently delivering their services without material disruption. Our ability to deliver information using the internet and to operate in a remote working environment may be impaired because of infrastructure failures, service outages at third-party internet providers, malicious attacks, or other factors.
We also currently use multiple providers of cloud services; however, one supplier provided the majority of our cloud computing support for fiscal 2024. While we believe this provider to be reliable, we have limited control over its performance, and a disruption or loss of service from this provider could impair our system's operation and our ability to operate for a period of time.
We maintain back-up facilities and certain other redundancies for each of our data centers to minimize the risk that any such event will disrupt those operations. We are currently in the midst of a multi-year project to enhance our information technology disaster recovery processes with modernized tooling and automation to maximize resiliency and minimize recovery time in the event of a service disruption. However, a loss of our services involving our significant facilities may materially disrupt our business and may induce our clients to seek alternative data suppliers. Any such losses or damages we incur could have a material adverse effect on our business. Although we seek to minimize these risks through security measures, controls, back-up data centers, emergency planning and disaster recovery processes, there can be no assurance that such efforts will be successful or effective. Additionally, we may also face significant increases in our use of power and data storage and may experience a shortage of capacity and increased costs associated with such usage.
Transition to new technologies, applications and processes could expose us to unanticipated disruptions
The technology landscape is constantly evolving. To remain competitive, we must adapt and migrate to new technologies, applications and processes, including the evolving use of AI technology. Use of more advanced technologies and infrastructure is critical to the development of our products and services, the scaling of our business for future growth, and the accurate maintenance of our data and operations. The implementation of new technologies and infrastructure, such as migration to new cloud-based systems and increased utilization of AI internally and in our products and services, is complex and can involve substantial expenditures as well as risks inherent in the conversion to any new system, including potential loss of information and disruption to operations. We may experience unanticipated interruption and delay in the performance and delivery of certain of our products and services. Certain of our technologies are also dependent upon third-party providers to maintain adequate systems to protect the security of our confidential information and data. Failure by our providers to maintain appropriate security could result in unauthorized access to our systems or a network disruption that could further lead to improper disclosure of confidential information or data, regulatory penalties and remedial costs. Any disruption to either the
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provider’s systems or the communication links between us and the provider could negatively affect our ability to operate our data systems and could impair our ability to provide products and services to our clients. If the products and services to our clients are disrupted, or if there is unauthorized access to the confidential information of our clients or our vendors, we could suffer significant damage to our brand and reputation and lose clients. We also may incur increased operating expenses to recover data, repair or remediate systems, equipment or facilities, and to protect ourselves from such disruptions. As we increase our reliance on third-party systems, our exposure to damages from services disruptions may increase, and we may incur additional costs to remedy damages caused by these disruptions.
Use of open source software could introduce security vulnerabilities, impose unanticipated restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products and services, and subject us to increased costs
We use open source code in our software development and incorporate it into our products and internal systems. The use of open source code may entail greater risks than the use of third-party commercial software. Open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality or security of the code. Some open source licenses provide that if we combine our proprietary applications with the open source software in a certain manner, we could be required to release the source code of our proprietary applications to the public. This would allow our competitors to create similar products with less development effort and time and ultimately put us at a competitive disadvantage. We have implemented procedures to control the use of open source code so as to mitigate this risk; however, the terms of many open source licenses are also ambiguous and have not been interpreted by U.S. or other courts. Therefore, there is a risk that our internal procedures controlling the use of open source code could fail, or that the licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on us. If any of this were to occur, we could be required to seek alternative third-party licenses at increased costs or reduced scope, to re-engineer products or systems, or potentially to discontinue the licensing of certain products. Any remedial actions could divert resources away from our development efforts, be time intensive and have a significant cost.
Our use of artificial intelligence technologies may not be successful and may present business, compliance, and reputational risks
We use, and are expanding our use of, machine learning and artificial intelligence ("AI") technologies in our products and processes. If we fail to keep pace with rapidly evolving AI technological developments, our competitive position and business results may be negatively impacted. Our use of AI technologies requires resources to develop, test and maintain such products, which is costly. Despite our investments in, and commitment of resources to, the development of AI products and technologies, we may not be successful in generating revenues from these efforts. In addition, third parties may be able to use AI to create technology that could reduce demand for our products and services.
The introduction of AI technologies, particularly generative AI, into new or existing offerings may result in new or expanded risks and liabilities, due to enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, compliance issues, ethical concerns, confidentiality, data privacy or security risks, as well as other factors that could adversely affect our business, reputation, and financial results. If the content, analyses, or recommendations that AI applications assist in producing are, or are alleged to be, deficient, inaccurate, unreliable, misleading, biased, discriminatory or otherwise flawed, any of which may not be easily detectable, our business and reputation may be adversely affected. Use of AI technologies, and the evolving legal, regulatory and compliance framework for AI, could impact our ability to protect our data and intellectual property, as well as vendor and client information, and could expose us to intellectual property or other claims by third parties. Use of AI technologies may also increase risks related to cyberattacks or other security incidents or result in a failure to protect confidential information. Because AI technology is highly complex and rapidly developing, it is not possible to predict all of the legal, operational or technological risks that may arise relating to our use of AI.
Strategy and Market Demand Risks
Competition in our industry may cause price reductions or loss of market share
We continue to experience intense competition across all markets for our products and services, with competitors ranging in size from smaller, highly specialized, single-product businesses to multi-billion-dollar companies. While we believe the breadth and depth of our suite of products and applications offer benefits to our clients that are a competitive advantage, our competitors may offer price incentives to attract new business. Future competitive pricing pressures may result in decreased sales volumes and price reductions, resulting in lower revenues and ASV. Weak economic conditions may also result in clients seeking to utilize lower-cost information that is available from alternative sources. The impact of cost-cutting pressures across the industries we serve could lower demand for our products and services. Clients within the financial services industry that strive to reduce their operating costs may seek to reduce their spending on financial market data and related services, such as
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ours. If our clients consolidate their spending with fewer suppliers, by selecting suppliers with lower-cost offerings or by self-sourcing their needs for financial market data, our business could be negatively affected.
The continued shift from active to passive investing could negatively impact user count growth and revenues
The predominant investment strategy today is no longer active investing, which attempts to outperform the market. The main advantage of active management is the expectation that the investment managers will be able to outperform market indices. They make informed investment decisions based on their experiences, insights, knowledge and ability to identify opportunities that can translate into superior performance. The main advantage of passive investing is that it closely matches the performance of market indices. Passive investing requires little decision-making by investment managers and low operating costs which result in lower fees for the investor. A continued shift to passive investing, resulting in an increased outflow to passively managed index funds, could reduce demand for the services of active investment managers and consequently, the demand of our clients for our products and services.
A decline in equity and/or fixed income returns may impact the buying power of investment management clients
The majority of our ASV is derived from our investment management clients, and the profitability and management fees of many of these clients are tied to assets under management. An equity market decline not only depresses the value of assets under management but also could cause a significant increase in redemption requests from our clients’ customers, further reducing their assets under management. Reduced client profits and management fees may cause our clients to cut costs. Moreover, extended declines in the equity and fixed income markets may reduce new fund or client creation. Each of these developments may result in lower demand from investment managers for our products and services, which could negatively affect our business.
Uncertainty or downturns in the global economy and consolidation in the financial services industry may cause us to lose clients and users
Many of our clients are asset and wealth managers, investment and commercial bankers, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital professionals, and other financial services entities. Uncertainty or downturns in the global economy or a lack of confidence in the global financial system could negatively impact our clients, which could cause a corresponding negative impact on our business results. Mergers, consolidation or contraction of our clients in the financial services industry also could directly impact the number of clients, prospective clients and users of our products and services. If our clients merge with or are acquired by other entities that are not our clients, or that use fewer of our products and services, they may discontinue or reduce their use of our products and services. Thus, economic uncertainty, economic downturns, lack of confidence in the global financial system, and consolidation in this sector could adversely affect our business, financial results and future growth.
Volatility or downturns in the financial markets may delay the spending pattern of clients and reduce future ASV growth
The decision on the part of large institutional clients to purchase our products and services often requires management-level sponsorship and typically depends upon the size of the client, with larger clients having more complex and time-consuming purchasing processes. The process is also influenced by market volatility and market downturns. These characteristics often lead us to engage in relatively lengthy sales efforts. Purchases (and incremental ASV) may therefore be delayed as uncertainties or downturns in the financial markets may cause clients to remain cautious about capital and data content expenditures, particularly in uncertain economic environments. Market volatility or market downturns may curtail our client's spending and lead them to delay or defer purchasing decisions or product service implementations, or cause them to cancel or reduce their spending with us, which could negatively impact our revenues and future growth.
Failure to develop and market new products and enhancements that maintain our technological and competitive position and failure to anticipate and respond to changes in the marketplace for our products and customer demands
The market for our products is characterized by rapid technological change, including developing technologies such as AI, methods and speed of delivery, changes in client demands, development of new investment instruments and evolving industry standards. The direction of these trends can render our existing products less competitive, obsolete or unmarketable. As a result, our future success will continue to depend upon our ability to identify and develop new products and enhancements that address the future needs of our target markets and to respond to their changing standards and practices. We may not be successful in developing, introducing, marketing, licensing and implementing new products and enhancements on a timely and cost-effective basis or without impacting the stability and efficiency of existing products and customer systems. Further, any new products and enhancements may not adequately meet the requirements of the marketplace or achieve market acceptance. We must make long-term investments and commit significant resources, for example, to developing and utilizing AI technology, before knowing whether these investments will eventually result in products and services that satisfy our clients' needs and generate
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revenues required to provide the desired results. Our failure or inability to anticipate and respond to changes in the marketplace, including competitor and supplier developments, may also adversely affect our business, operations and growth.
Errors or defects can exist at any point in a product's life cycle, but are more frequently found after the introduction of new products or enhancements to existing products. Despite internal testing and testing by clients, our products may contain errors. We may also experience delays while developing and introducing new products for various reasons, such as difficulties in licensing data inputs. Defects, errors, or delays in our products that are significant, or are perceived to be significant, could result in rejection or delay in market acceptance, damage to our reputation, loss of revenues, lower rate of license renewals or upgrades, diversion of development resources, product liability claims or regulatory actions, or increases in service and support costs.
We have provisions in our client contracts to limit our exposure to potential liability claims brought by clients based on the use of our products or services or our delay or failure to provide products and services. Contracts with customers also increasingly include service level requirements and audit rights to review our security. Many of our customers in the financial services sector are also subject to regulations and requirements to adopt risk management processes commensurate with the level of risk and complexity of their third-party relationships, and provide rigorous oversight of relationships that involve certain "critical activities," some of which may be deemed to be provided by us. Any failure on our part to comply with the specific provisions in customer contracts could result in the imposition of various penalties, which may include termination of contracts, service credits, suspension of payments, contractual penalties, adverse monetary judgments, and, in the case of government contracts, suspension from future government contracting. Even if the outcome of any claims brought against us were ultimately favorable, such a claim would require the time and attention of our management, personnel, as well as financial and other resources and potentially pose a significant disruption to our normal business operations.
Failure to identify, integrate, or realize anticipated benefits of acquisitions and strains on resources as a result of growth
There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable candidates for successful acquisition at acceptable prices. Additionally, there may be integration risks or other risks resulting from acquired businesses, including our acquisition of CGS during fiscal 2022. Our ability to achieve the expected returns and synergies from past and future acquisitions and alliances depends in part upon our ability to integrate the offerings, technology, sales, administrative functions and personnel of these businesses effectively into our core business. We cannot guarantee that our acquired businesses will perform at the levels anticipated. In addition, past and future acquisitions may subject us to unanticipated risks or liabilities or disrupt operations.
Growth, such as the addition of new clients and acquisitions, puts demands on our resources, including our internal systems and infrastructure. These may require improvements or replacement to meet the additional demands of a larger organization. Further, the addition of new clients and the implementation of such improvements would require additional management time and resources. These needs may result in increased costs that could negatively impact results of operations. Failure to implement needed improvements, such as improved scalability, could result in a deterioration in the performance of our internal systems and negatively impact the performance of our business.
Failure to maintain reputation
We enjoy a positive reputation in the marketplace. Our ability to attract and retain clients and employees is affected by external perceptions of our brand and reputation. Reputational damage from negative perceptions or publicity, including without limitation market perception of our sustainability and corporate responsibility policies and practices, could affect our ability to attract and retain clients and employees and our ability to maintain our pricing for our products and services. Although we monitor developments for areas of potential risk to our reputation and brand, negative perceptions or publicity could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.
Operational Risks
Operations outside the United States involve additional requirements and burdens that we may not be able to control or manage successfully
In fiscal 2024, approximately 39% of our revenues related to operations located outside the U.S. In addition, approximately 81% of our employees are located in offices outside the U.S. We expect our growth to continue outside the U.S. Our non-U.S. operations involve risks that differ from or are in addition to those faced by our U.S. operations. These risks include difficulties in developing products, services and technology tailored to the needs of non-U.S. clients, including in emerging markets; different employment laws and rules; rising labor costs in lower-wage countries; difficulties in staffing and managing personnel that are located outside the U.S.; different regulatory, legal and compliance requirements, including in the areas of privacy and data protection, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, trade sanctions and restraints and currency controls, marketing and sales and
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other barriers to conducting business; social and cultural differences, such as language; diverse or less stable political, operating and economic environments and market fluctuations; civil disturbances or other catastrophic events that reduce business activity, including the risk that the current conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and in the Middle East expand in a way that impacts our business and operations; limited recognition of our brand and intellectual property protection; differing accounting principles and standards; restrictions on or adverse tax consequences from entity management efforts; and changes in U.S. or foreign tax laws. If we are not able to adapt efficiently or manage the business effectively in markets outside the U.S., our business prospects and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Failure to enter into, renew or comply with contracts supplying new and existing data sets or products on competitive terms
We collect and aggregate third-party content from data suppliers, news sources, exchanges, brokers and contributors into our own dedicated managed databases, which clients access to perform their analyses. We combine the data from these sources into our own dedicated databases. Clients have access to the data and content found within our databases. These databases are important to our operations as they provide clients with key information. We have entered into third-party content agreements of varying lengths, which in some cases can be terminated on one year’s notice at predefined dates, and in other cases on shorter notice. Some of our content provider agreements are with competitors, who may attempt to make renewals difficult or expensive. We seek to maintain favorable contractual relationships with our data suppliers, including those that are also competitors. However, we cannot control the actions and policies of our data suppliers and we may have data suppliers who provide us with notice of termination, or exclude or restrict us from use of their content, or only license such content at prohibitive cost. Additionally, despite our efforts to comply with our third-party data supplier agreements, there can be no assurances that third parties may not challenge our use of their content, which could result in increased licensing costs, loss of rights, and costly legal actions. Certain data sets that we rely on have a limited number of suppliers, although we make every effort to assure that, where reasonable, alternative sources are available. We are not dependent on any one third-party data supplier to meet the needs of our clients, with only two data suppliers each representing more than 10% of our total data costs for fiscal 2024. Our failure to be able to maintain our supplier relationships, or the failure of our suppliers to deliver accurate data or in a timely manner, or the occurrence of a dispute with a vendor over use of their content, could increase our costs and reduce the type of content and products and services available to our clients, which could harm our reputation in the marketplace and adversely affect our business.
Increased accessibility to free or relatively inexpensive information sources may reduce demand for our products and services
Each year, an increasing amount of free or relatively inexpensive information becomes available, particularly through the internet, and this trend may continue. The availability of free or relatively inexpensive information may reduce demand for our products and services. While we believe our offerings are distinguished by such factors as customization, timeliness, accuracy, ease-of-use, completeness and other value-added factors, if users choose to obtain the information they need from public or other sources, our business, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely affected.
Inability to hire and retain key qualified personnel
Our business is based on successfully attracting, motivating and retaining talented and diverse employees. Creating a diverse and inclusive environment that promotes empowerment and engagement is key to our ability to attract, retain, and develop talent. Competition for talent, especially engineering personnel, is strong. We need technical resources such as engineers to help develop new products and services and enhance existing products and services. We rely upon sales personnel to sell our products and services and maintain healthy business relationships. Our future success also is dependent on the continued service and performance of the members of our senior leadership team. All of these personnel possess business and technical capabilities that are difficult to replace. If we are unsuccessful in our recruiting efforts, or if we are unable to retain key employees, our ability to develop and deliver successful products and services may be negatively affected and could have a material, adverse effect on our business.
Pandemics and other global public health epidemics may adversely impact our business, our future results of operations and our overall financial performance
Our business could be materially and adversely affected by the risk, or the public perception of risk, related to a pandemic or widespread health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant outbreak, epidemic or pandemic of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis adversely affecting the broader economies, financial markets and overall demand for our products and services. In addition, any preventative or protective actions that governments implement or that we take in respect of a global health crisis, such as travel restrictions, quarantines or site closures, may interfere with the ability of our employees, vendors, and data suppliers to perform their respective responsibilities and
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obligations relative to the conduct of our business, including our ability to gather content. Such results could have a material adverse effect on our operations, business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
Legislative and regulatory changes in the environments in which we and our clients operate
As a business, we are subject to numerous laws and regulations in the U.S. and in the other countries in which we operate. These laws, rules, and regulations, and their interpretations, may conflict or change in the future, and compliance with these changes may increase our costs or cause us to make changes in or otherwise limit our business practices. In addition, the global nature and scope of our business operations make it more difficult to monitor areas that may be subject to regulatory and compliance risk. If we fail to comply with any applicable law, rule, or regulation, we could be subject to claims and fines and suffer reputational damage. Uncertainty caused by political change globally and complex relationships across countries heightens the risk of regulatory uncertainty.
Many of our clients operate within a highly regulated environment and must comply with governmental legislation and regulations. The U.S. regulators have increased their focus on the regulation of the financial services industry. Increased regulation of our clients may increase their expenses, causing them to seek to limit or reduce their costs from outside services such as ours. Additionally, if our clients are subjected to investigations or legal proceedings they may be adversely impacted, possibly leading to their liquidation, bankruptcy, receivership, reduction in assets under management, or diminished operations, which would adversely affect our revenues.
Some recent legislative and regulatory changes that we believe might materially impact us and our clients include: (a) in the European Union ("EU") and the United Kingdom ("UK"), the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (recast) ("MiFID II"), which became effective in January 2018, may adversely affect demand for our products and services; (b) in the UK, the uncertainty surrounding the UK and EU regulatory frameworks following the UK's departure from the EU in January 2020 ("Brexit"), including the Financial Services and Markets Bill, may negatively impact our revenues or growth; and (c) evolving laws, rules and regulations in a variety of jurisdictions around such areas as climate, data privacy, cybersecurity, AI and data protection.
Adverse resolution of litigation or governmental investigations
We are party to lawsuits in the normal course of our business. Litigation and governmental investigations can be expensive, lengthy and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict. Unfavorable resolution of lawsuits could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. For additional information regarding legal matters, see Item 3. Legal Proceedings, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Third parties may claim we infringe upon their intellectual property rights or they may infringe upon our intellectual property rights
We may receive notice from others claiming that we have infringed upon their intellectual property rights. Responding to these claims may require us to enter into royalty and licensing agreements on unfavorable terms, incur litigation costs, enter into settlements, stop selling or redesign affected products, or pay damages and satisfy indemnification commitments with our clients or suppliers under contractual provisions of various license arrangements. Additionally, third parties may copy, infringe or otherwise profit from the unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights, requiring us to litigate to protect our rights. Certain countries may not offer adequate protection of proprietary rights. If we are required to defend ourselves or assert our rights or take such actions mentioned, our operating margins may decline as a result. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, expenditures to acquire the use of technology and intellectual property rights as part of our strategy to manage this risk.
Additional cost due to tax assessments resulting from ongoing and future audits by tax authorities as well as changes in tax laws
In the ordinary course of business, we are subject to changes in tax laws as well as tax examinations by various governmental tax authorities. The global and diverse nature of our business means that there could be additional examinations by governmental tax authorities and the resolution of ongoing and other probable audits which could impose a future risk to the results of our business.
For example, as discussed in greater detail in Part II, Item 8. Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K , during fiscal 2024, we took a charge of approximately
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$54 million related to a sales tax dispute with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, bringing our total charge with respect to that matter to $64 million. While we do not anticipate taking additional material charges with respect to this matter, and we believe that the assumptions and estimates used to determine the charge are reasonable, future developments could result in further adjustments being made to this amount.
Changes in tax laws or the terms of tax treaties in a jurisdiction where we are subject to tax could have an impact on our taxes payable. In addition, as a global taxpayer, we face challenges due to increasing complexities in accounting for taxes in a variety of jurisdictions, which could impact our tax obligations and effective tax rate.
Financial Market Risks
Exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates and the failure of hedging arrangements
Due to the global nature of our operations, we conduct business outside the U.S. in several currencies. Our primary currency exposures include the British Pound Sterling, Euro, Indian Rupee and Philippine Peso. To the extent our international activities increase in the future, our exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates may increase as well. To manage this exposure, we utilize derivative instruments, namely foreign currency forward contracts. By their nature, all derivative instruments involve elements of market and credit risk. The market risk associated with these instruments resulting from currency exchange movements is expected to offset the market risk of the underlying transactions, assets and liabilities being hedged. Credit risk is managed through the continuous monitoring of exposure to the counterparties associated with these instruments. Our primary objective in holding derivatives is to reduce the volatility of earnings with changes in foreign currency. Although we believe that our foreign exchange hedging policies are reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, our attempt to hedge against these risks may not be successful, which could cause an adverse impact on both our results of operations and cash flows.
Business performance may not be sufficient to meet financial guidance or publicly disclosed long-term targets
We provide public, full-year financial guidance based upon assumptions regarding our expected financial performance, including our ability to grow revenues and Organic ASV plus professional services, to meet our planned expenses and maintain a certain tax rate, and our ability to achieve our profitability targets. We can provide no assurances that we will be able to maintain the levels of growth and profitability that we have experienced in the past, or that our growth strategies will be successful. If we are unable to successfully execute on our strategies to achieve our growth objectives and retain our existing clients, or if we experience higher than expected operating costs or taxes, we risk not meeting our full-year financial guidance or may find it necessary to revise such guidance during the year.
Economic, political and market forces beyond our control could adversely affect our business.
Our costs and the demand for our products and services may be impacted by domestic and international factors that are beyond our control. Negative conditions in the general economy in either the United States or abroad, including conditions resulting from financial and credit market fluctuations, changes in economic policy, inflation rate fluctuations and trade uncertainty, including changes in tariffs, sanctions, international treaties and other trade restrictions, or other geopolitical events, such as the ongoing military conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East, could result in an increase in our costs and/or a reduction in demand for our products and services, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Relating to Our Debt
Our indebtedness may impair our financial condition and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under the Senior Notes and our other debt instruments
As of August 31, 2024, our total outstanding principal amount of debt was $1.4 billion, none of which is secured. This includes our obligations under the Senior Notes and the 2022 Credit Facilities. In addition, under the 2022 Revolving Facility, we have $250.0 million of unused commitments and an option to increase the size of the facility by an additional $750.0 million. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 12, Debt in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for definitions of these terms and more information on our debt.
Our indebtedness could have important consequences to investors, including:
a.making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations;
b.limiting our ability to borrow additional amounts to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our growth strategy and other purposes;
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c.requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to pay interest on our debt and scheduled amortization on the 2022 Term Facility, which would reduce availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, execution of our strategy and other general corporate purposes;
d.making us more vulnerable to adverse changes in general economic, industry and government regulations and in our business by limiting our flexibility in planning for, and making it more difficult for us to react quickly to, changing conditions;
e.placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared with those of our competitors that have less debt; and
f.exposing us to risks inherent in interest rate fluctuations because some of our borrowings are at variable rates of interest, which could result in higher interest expense in the event of increases in market interest rates.
In addition, we may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows from our operations to repay our indebtedness when it becomes due and to meet our other cash needs. If we are not able to pay our debts as they become due, we will be required to pursue one or more alternative strategies, such as selling assets, refinancing or restructuring our indebtedness or selling additional debt or equity securities. We may not be able to refinance our debt or sell additional debt or equity securities or our assets on favorable terms, if at all, and if we must sell our assets, it may negatively affect our ability to generate revenues.
Despite current indebtedness levels, we may still incur more debt. The incurrence of additional debt could further exacerbate the risks associated with our indebtedness
Subject to certain limitations, the 2022 Credit Agreement and the indenture governing the Senior Notes permit us and our subsidiaries to incur additional debt. If new debt is added to our or any such subsidiary’s current debt levels, the risks described above in the previous risk factor could intensify.
The restrictive covenants in our debt may affect our ability to operate our business successfully
The 2022 Credit Agreement contains, and our future debt instruments may contain, various provisions that limit our ability to, among other things: incur liens; incur additional indebtedness, guarantees or other contingent obligations; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; engage in mergers and consolidations; make investments and acquisitions; change the nature of our business; and make sales, transfers and other dispositions of property and assets. The indenture governing the Senior Notes also contains various provisions that limit our ability to, among other things: incur liens; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; engage in mergers and consolidations; and make sales, transfers and other dispositions of property and assets. These covenants could adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs and pursue available business opportunities.
In addition, the 2022 Credit Agreement requires us to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy certain financial condition tests. Events beyond our control, including changes in general economic and business conditions, may affect our ability to meet those financial ratios and financial condition tests. There can be no assurance that we will meet those tests or that the lenders will waive any failure to meet those tests. A breach of any of these covenants or any other restrictive covenants contained in the definitive documentation governing our indebtedness would result in a default or an event of default. If an event of default in respect of any of our indebtedness occurs, the holders of the affected indebtedness could declare all amounts outstanding, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable, which, in turn, could cause the default and acceleration of the maturity of our other indebtedness. We expect we will be permitted to incur substantial amounts of secured debt under the covenants in the indenture governing the Senior Notes and the 2022 Credit Facilities. If, upon an acceleration, we were unable to pay amounts owed in respect of any such indebtedness secured by liens on our assets, then the lenders of such indebtedness could proceed against the collateral pledged to them.
Certain of our borrowings and other obligations are based upon variable rates of interest, which could result in higher expense in the event of increases in interest rates
The 2022 Credit Agreement provides that (i) loans denominated in U.S. dollars, at our option, will bear interest at either the one-month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") (with a 0.1% credit spread adjustment and subject to a "zero" floor), (ii) the Daily Simple SOFR (with a 0.1% credit spread adjustment and subject to a "zero" floor) or (iii) an alternate base rate. Under the 2022 Credit Agreement, loans denominated in Pounds Sterling will bear interest at the Daily Simple Sterling Overnight Index Average ("SONIA") (subject to a "zero" floor) and loans denominated in Euros will bear interest at the Euro Interbank Offered Rate ("EURIBOR") (subject to a "zero" floor), in each case, plus an applicable interest rate margin. The interest rate margin will fluctuate based upon our senior unsecured non-credit enhanced long-term debt rating and our total leverage ratio. An increase in the alternate base rate, Term SOFR, Daily Simple SOFR, SONIA or EURIBOR would increase our interest payment obligations under the 2022 Credit Facilities and could have a negative effect on our cash flow and financial condition.
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To mitigate this exposure, on March 1, 2022, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement to hedge the variable interest rate obligation on a portion of our outstanding balance under the 2022 Credit Facilities. The 2022 Swap Agreement matured on February 28, 2024, and on March 1, 2024, we entered into the 2024 Swap Agreement to hedge a portion of our outstanding floating SOFR debt. However, as the interest rate swap agreement covers only a portion of our outstanding balance under the 2022 Credit Facilities, a substantial portion of our outstanding balance under the 2022 Credit Facilities continues to be exposed to interest rate volatility. An increase in the applicable rates would increase our interest payment obligations under the 2022 Credit Facilities and could have a negative effect on our cash flow and financial condition.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy
FactSet recognizes the importance of identifying, assessing, and managing material risks associated with cybersecurity threats. These risks include, among other things, operational risks, intellectual property theft, fraud, extortion, violation of data privacy or cybersecurity laws, legal and regulatory risks, and reputational risks.
We maintain an information security program with a dedicated internal team that is tasked with leading enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards, architecture, and processes. Our information security team is responsible for identifying, assessing, managing, and responding to cybersecurity risks, threats and incidents relating to the protection of our information assets, systems, and operations. The information security team also oversees the detection, prevention, mitigation, and remediation of all cybersecurity incidents.
Our information security program is managed by a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer ("CISO") who reports to our Chief Technology Officer, a member of our Executive Leadership Team ("ELT"). Our current acting CISO has a graduate degree in computer engineering and has worked in cybersecurity for over a decade. The information security team is comprised of approximately 60 employees, with dedicated teams assigned to governance, risk and compliance, identity and access management, strategy and architecture, and analytics and automation. The team operates from FactSet locations around the world, including offices in the U.S., India, the Philippines, and Europe.
FactSet's information security and governance framework is guided by International Organization for Standardization ("ISO") 27002 and System and Organization Control ("SOC") 2 Trust Service Criteria. We also have implemented the National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST") Cybersecurity Framework.
Cybersecurity risk management is integrated into our broader Enterprise Risk Management ("ERM") framework. FactSet's ERM program is designed to identify, prioritize, and assess the most significant risks that could impact our ability to achieve our strategic business objectives. ERM activities include conducting enterprise risk assessments to better understand risk exposures, emerging risks, and steps that management has taken to monitor and control such exposures. Our information security leadership team, in concert with our ERM team, reviews our oversight of cybersecurity risks at least annually through our enterprise risk assessment process.
FactSet's information security program is grounded in a risk-based approach. Our information security team undertakes various activities to assess, identify, and manage risks from cybersecurity threats, including managing security controls, conducting penetration testing, leading training and tabletop exercises, and conducting internal and external vulnerability assessments. Findings from our internal and external vulnerability assessments are classified using a combination of scores and internal business metrics. Findings are remediated commensurate with the respective risk rating. FactSet's IT Risk Management Policy includes severity-based escalation requirements designed to ensure proper management-level visibility and evaluation of risk issues, regardless of the source of that risk.
We have processes to identify and mitigate cybersecurity risks stemming from our relationships with third parties, including protocols to assess vendors' cybersecurity programs before we engage them and to monitor vendors, once engaged, for ongoing compliance with our cybersecurity standards.
We also have an incident response plan that provides procedures for how we can detect, respond to, and recover from potential cybersecurity incidents, which include processes designed to triage, assess severity, escalate, contain, investigate, and remediate any incident, as well as to comply with any applicable legal obligations and mitigate potential brand and reputational damage.
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Our information security program is regularly evaluated by internal and external experts with the results of those reviews reported to senior management, including the ELT and the FactSet Board of Directors (the "Board"). We also actively engage with key vendors, industry participants, and intelligence and law enforcement communities as part of our continuing efforts to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of our information security policies and procedures.
The cybersecurity threat landscape is dynamic and volatile and requires significant investment. To date, risks from cybersecurity threats have not materially affected our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. As discussed more fully under Item 1A, Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, although our processes are designed to help identify, detect, prevent, respond to, and mitigate cybersecurity risks, cybersecurity threats are rapidly evolving and we may not be able to anticipate, prevent, or detect all such attacks and there is no guarantee that a future cybersecurity incident could not materially affect our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition.
Cybersecurity Governance
Cybersecurity is an important part of our Board's risk management focus. Regular reporting on the results and status of our ERM function, as well as our information security program, is provided to our senior management, including the ELT and the Board.
The Board is responsible for overseeing our risk management governance, and our Board, together with its committees, engages with our management team in monitoring Company risks, including cybersecurity and data protection risks. The Audit Committee is responsible for risk oversight, including risks related to cybersecurity threats, and periodically reviews our information security programs, including our cybersecurity efforts.
Our CISO regularly updates the Audit Committee on our information security program, providing an overview of risks and trends and addressing topics including our incident response plan, cybersecurity threat developments, and the steps we are taking to respond to these matters.
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
As of August 31, 2024, we have 35 offices worldwide, including our corporate headquarters located at 45 Glover Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut where we occupy 91,718 square feet of office space. These offices include our data content collection offices located in India, the Philippines and Latvia. We also have two data centers that support our technological infrastructure located in U.S.
Refer to the table set forth below for the listing of our leased office space by geographic location. We believe the amount of leased space as of August 31, 2024 is adequate for our current business needs. We regularly review our real estate footprint to best support our operations and should our real estate needs increase, we believe additional space will be available.
Segment Location
Americas Austin, Texas
Boston, Massachusetts
Charlotte, North Carolina
Chicago, Illinois
Lakewood, Colorado
Los Angeles, California
New York, New York
Norwalk, Connecticut
Piscataway, New Jersey
Reston, Virginia
San Francisco, California
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Toronto, Canada
Youngstown, Ohio
EMEA Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dublin, Ireland
Frankfurt, Germany
Gothenburg, Sweden
London, England
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Milan, Italy
Paris, France
Riga, Latvia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Stockholm, Sweden
Asia Pacific Chennai, India
Hong Kong SAR, China
Hyderabad, India
Manila, the Philippines
Melbourne, Australia
Mumbai, India
Shanghai, China
Singapore
Sydney, Australia
Tokyo, Japan
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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we are subject to legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. Based on currently available information, our management does not believe that the ultimate outcome of these unresolved matters against us, individually or in the aggregate, is likely to have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, annual results of operations and cash flows. However, these matters are subject to inherent uncertainties and management’s view of these matters may change in the future. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information on contingent matters.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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Part II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ under the symbol "FDS".
Holdersof Record – As of October 21, 2024, we had approximately 2,158 holders of record of our common stock. However, because many of our shares of common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of stockholders represented by these record holders.
Dividends - We paid four quarterly dividends during fiscal 2024. In the third quarter of fiscal 2024, we increased our quarterly cash dividend from $0.98 to $1.04 per share. Future cash dividend payments are subject to final determination by our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other relevant factors. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 14, Stockholders' Equity, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our dividends.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
There were no sales of unregistered equity securities during fiscal 2024.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table provides a month-to-month summary of the share repurchase activity during the three months ended August 31, 2024:
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(1)Includes 153,650 shares repurchased under the stock repurchase program, as well as 2,363 shares repurchased to satisfy withholding tax obligations due upon the vesting of stock-based awards.
(2)We had $64.8 million that remained authorized under our share repurchase program as of August 31, 2024, all of which expired upon the conclusion of fiscal 2024 and were not available for share repurchases after that date. On September 17, 2024, our Board of Directors authorized up to $300 million for share repurchases, which will be available during fiscal 2025. Repurchases may be made from time-to-time in the open market or via privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions. There is no defined number of shares to be repurchased over a specified timeframe through the life of our share repurchase program. It is expected that share repurchases will be paid using existing and future cash generated by operations. Refer to Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Liquidity and Capital Resources, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion on our share repurchase program.
Trading Arrangements
On August 11, 2023, we entered into an agreement to adopt a trading arrangement for the repurchase of shares of our common stock in the open market consistent with the provisions of Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Rule 10b5-1"). The arrangement provides for the repurchase of up to $250 million of our common stock during the period from September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 pursuant to a written algorithm for determining the amount, price and date for purchase of shares of our common stock.
On September 26, 2024, we entered into an agreement to adopt a trading arrangement for the repurchase of shares of our common stock in the open market consistent with the provisions of Rule 10b5-1. The arrangement provides for the repurchase of up to $250 million of our common stock during the period from September 27, 2024 through August 28, 2025 pursuant to a
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written algorithm for determining the amount, price and date for purchase of shares of our common stock.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
Refer to Part III, Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
StockPerformanceGraph
The annual changes for the five-year period shown in the graph below assume $100 had been invested in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, the Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services Index and the S&P 500 Financial Exchange and Data Index on August 31, 2019.
The total cumulative dollar returns shown on the graph represent the value that such investments would have had on August 31, 2024. Stockholder returns over the indicated period are based on historical data and should not be considered indicative of future stockholder returns.
The information contained in the above graph shall not be deemed to be soliciting material or filed or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent that we specificallyincorporate it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Actof 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
ITEM 6. RESERVED
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For a similar detailed discussion comparing fiscal 2023 and 2022, refer to Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations within our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our MD&A is designed to provide a reader of our financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of our management on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and certain other factors that may affect our future results. Our MD&A is presented in the following sections:
•Executive Overview
•Annual Subscription Value ("ASV")
•Client and User Additions
•Employee Headcount
•Results of Operations
•Non-GAAP Financial Measures
•Liquidity and Capital Resources
•Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
•Foreign Currency Exposure
•Critical Accounting Estimates
•New Accounting Pronouncements
Executive Overview
FactSet Research Systems Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, "we," "our," "us," the "Company" or "FactSet") is a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider with open and flexible technologies that aims to supercharge financial intelligence.
Our platform delivers expansive data, sophisticated analytics, and flexible technology used by global financial professionals to power their critical investment workflows. As of August 31, 2024, we had more than 8,200 clients comprised of over 216,000 investment professionals, including institutional asset managers, bankers, wealth managers, asset owners, partners, hedge funds, corporate users, and private equity and venture capital professionals. Our revenues are primarily derived from subscriptions to our multi-asset class data and solutions powered by our connected data and technology platform. Our products and services include workstations, portfolio analytics and enterprise data solutions. We also offer managed services that operate as an extension of our clients' internal teams to support data, performance, risk and reporting workflows.
We drive our business based on detailed understanding of our clients’ workflows, which helps us to solve their most complex challenges. We provide financial data and market intelligence on securities, companies, industries and people to enable our clients to research investment ideas and analyze, monitor and manage their portfolios. Our solutions span the investment lifecycle of investment research, portfolio construction and analysis, trade execution, performance measurement, risk management and reporting. We provide open and flexible technology offerings, including a configurable desktop and mobile platform, comprehensive data feeds, cloud-based digital solutions, and application programming interfaces ("APIs"). The CUSIP Global Services ("CGS") business supports security master files relied on by the investment industry for critical front, middle and back-office functions. All of our platforms and solutions are supported by our dedicated client service team.
We operate our business through three reportable segments ("segments"): the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. During fiscal 2024, we revised our internal organization within each segment to offer data, products and analytical applications by firm type: Institutional Buyside, Dealmakers, Wealth, and Partnerships and CGS.
Refer to Part I, Item 1. Business - Business Overview and Business Strategy and Part II, Item 8. Note 18, Segment Information, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
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Fiscal 2024 in Review
Revenues for fiscal 2024 were $2,203.1 million, an increase of 5.6% from the comparable prior year. The growth in revenues was reflective of organic revenues growth of 5.7% during fiscal 2024, compared with the prior year. Revenues increased in all our segments, primarily in the Americas. Revenues increased due to higher demand and price increases primarily from workstations, data solutions and middle office solutions. Refer to Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Non-GAAP Financial Measures, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a definition of organic revenues and a reconciliation between revenues and organic revenues.
As of August 31, 2024, organic annual subscription value ("Organic ASV") plus Professional Services totaled $2,272.8 million, an increase of 4.8% over the prior year. Organic ASV increased in all our segments, with the majority of the increase in the Americas. Organic ASV growth was driven by higher demand and price increases primarily from workstations and, to a lesser extent, CGS subscriptions, middle office solutions and data solutions. Refer to Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Annual Subscription Value, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the definitions of Organic ASV and Organic ASV plus Professional Services.
Operating margin increased to 31.8% for fiscal 2024, compared with 30.2% for fiscal 2023. This increase was primarily due to growth in revenues and, when expressed as a percentage of revenues, a decrease in employee compensation costs and lower asset impairment charges, partially offset by charges related to a Massachusetts sales tax dispute ("Sales Tax Dispute") and an increase in amortization of intangible assets. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on the Sales Tax Dispute.
Net income for fiscal 2024 was $537.1 million, an increase of 14.7% from the prior year. Diluted earnings per common share ("Diluted EPS") for fiscal 2024 was $13.91, an increase of 15.5% compared with the prior year. The increase in Net income and Diluted EPS was primarily driven by higher operating income. Diluted EPS further increased as a result of lower diluted weighted average common shares outstanding compared with the prior year.
We returned $385.9 million to our stockholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends during fiscal 2024.
As of August 31, 2024, our client and user count was 8,217 and 216,381, respectively. Our employee headcount was 12,398 as of August 31, 2024, up 1.3% compared to the prior year. This increase was driven by net headcount growth in Asia Pacific of 3.7%, while the Americas and EMEA experienced a net headcount decrease of 4.8% and 2.0%, respectively.
CUSIP Global Services Acquisition
On March 1, 2022, we completed our acquisition of CGS for a cash price of $1.932 billion, inclusive of working capital adjustments. We acquired CGS to expand our critical role in the global capital markets. Revenues from CGS are recognized based on geographic business activities in accordance with how our segments are currently aligned.
The purchase price for the CGS acquisition was financed from the net proceeds of the issuance of the Senior Notes and borrowings under the 2022 Credit Facilities. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 6, Acquisitions andNote 12, Debt in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on these defined terms as well as our acquisition of CGS, the Senior Notes and the 2022 Credit Facilities, respectively.
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Annual Subscription Value ("ASV")
We believe ASV reflects our ability to grow recurring revenues and generate positive cash flows, and thus serves as a key indicator of the successful execution of our business strategy.
–"ASV" at any point in time represents our forward-looking revenues for the next 12 months from all subscription services currently being supplied to clients, excluding revenues from Professional Services.
–"Organic ASV" at any point in time equals our ASV excluding ASV from acquisitions and dispositions completed within the last 12 months and the effects of foreign currency movements.
–"Professional Services" are revenues derived from project-based consulting and implementation services, annualized over the past 12 months.
–"Organic ASV plus Professional Services" at any point in time equals the sum of Organic ASV and Professional Services.
Organic ASV plus Professional Services
The following table presents the calculation of Organic ASV plus Professional Services as of August 31, 2024. With proper notice provided as contractually required, our clients can add to, delete portions of, or terminate service, subject to certain limitations.
(dollar amounts in millions) As of August 31, 2024
As reported ASV plus Professional Services(1) $ 2,276.0
Currency impact(2) (3.2)
Organic ASV plus Professional Services $ 2,272.8
Organic ASV plus Professional Services annual growth rate 4.8 %
(1) Includes $18.3 million in Professional Services as of August 31, 2024.
(2) The impact from foreign currency movements.
As of August 31, 2024, Organic ASV plus Professional Services was $2,272.8 million, an increase of 4.8% compared with August 31, 2023. Organic ASV increased in all our segments, with the majority of the increase related to the Americas. This increase in Organic ASV was primarily driven by higher sales to existing clients and, to a lesser extent, price increases to existing clients and sales to new clients, partially offset by existing client cancellations. These higher sales and price increases were primarily attributable to workstations and, to a lesser extent, CGS subscriptions, middle office solutions and data solutions.
Segment ASV
As of August 31, 2024, ASV from the Americas represented 65% of total ASV and was $1,456.8 million, an increase from $1,376.9 million as of August 31, 2023. Americas Organic ASV was $1,456.8 million as of August 31, 2024, a 6.1% increase from the prior year. The Organic ASV increase in the Americas was driven by higher demand and price increases primarily from workstations and, to a lesser extent, CGS subscriptions.
As of August 31, 2024, ASV from EMEA represented 25% of total ASV and was $570.3 million, an increase from $559.6 million as of August 31, 2023. EMEA Organic ASV was $569.3 million as of August 31, 2024, a 1.8% increase from the prior year. The EMEA Organic ASV increase was driven by higher demand and price increases mainly from middle office solutions and data solutions.
As of August 31, 2024, ASV from Asia Pacific represented 10% of total ASV and was $230.6 million, an increase from $215.4 million as of August 31, 2023. Asia Pacific Organic ASV was $228.4 million as of August 31, 2024, a 7.1% increase from the prior year. The Asia Pacific Organic ASV increase was driven by higher demand and price increases primarily from data solutions, workstations and middle office solutions.
Buy-side and Sell-side Organic ASV Growth
The buy-side and sell-side Organic ASV annual growth rates as of August 31, 2024 were 4.9% and 3.8%, respectively. Buy-side clients account for approximately 82% of our Organic ASV, consistent with the prior year, and primarily include institutional asset managers, wealth managers, asset owners, partners, hedge funds and corporate clients. The remainder of our
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Organic ASV is derived from sell-side firms and primarily include broker-dealers, banking and advisory, and private equity and venture capital firms.
Client and User Additions
The table below presents our total clients and users:
As of August 31,
(1)The client count includes clients with ASV of $10,000 and above.
Our total client count was 8,217 as of August 31, 2024, a net increase of 3.7% or 296 clients in the last twelve months, mainly due to an increase in corporate clients and wealth management clients.
As of August 31, 2024, there were 216,381 professionals using FactSet, representing a net increase of 13.9% or 26,409 users in the last twelve months, primarily driven by an increase in wealth users.
Annual ASV retention was greater than 95% of ASV for the year ended August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2023. When expressed as a percentage of clients, annual retention was approximately 90% for the year ended August 31, 2024, compared with approximately 91% for the year ended August 31, 2023.
Employee Headcount
As of August 31, 2024, our net employee headcount increased by 1.3% to 12,398, compared with 12,237 employees as of August 31, 2023. This net headcount growth was primarily due to our continued investment in our centers of excellence ("COEs"), primarily located in India and the Philippines, which accounted for approximately 69% of our employees.
As of August 31, 2024, compared to August 31, 2023, our net headcount growth in Asia Pacific was 3.7%, while the Americas and EMEA experienced a net headcount decrease of 4.8% and 2.0%, respectively. As of August 31, 2024, we had 8,632 employees located in Asia Pacific, 2,367 in the Americas and 1,399 in EMEA.
Results of Operations
For an understanding of the significant factors that influenced our performance during fiscal 2024 and 2023, the following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes presented in Part II, Item 8. in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The following table summarizes the results of operations for the years presented:
Years ended August 31,
(in thousands, except per share data) 2024 2023 % Change
Diluted weighted average common shares 38,618 38,898
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Revenues
Revenues in fiscal 2024 were $2,203.1 million, an increase of 5.6%. This growth in revenues was primarily reflective of organic revenues growth of 5.7%, with organic revenues increasing to $2,203.7 million for fiscal 2024.
Revenues increased in all our geographic segments, primarily in the Americas. The increase in revenues was mainly due to increased sales to existing clients and, to a lesser extent, price increases to existing clients and sales to new clients, partially offset by existing client cancellations. Revenues increased due to higher demand and price increases primarily from workstations, data solutions and middle office solutions.
Revenues by Segment
The following table summarizes our revenues by segment:
Years ended August 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands) 2024 2023 % Change
Americas
Revenues from the Americas increased 6.3% to $1,419.9 million in fiscal 2024, compared with $1,335.5 million in fiscal 2023. This growth in revenues was reflective of organic revenues growth of 6.3%. The increase in revenues was driven by higher demand and price increases primarily from workstations and, to a lesser extent, CGS subscriptions.
EMEA
Revenues from EMEA increased 4.3% to $563.2 million in fiscal 2024, compared with $539.8 million in fiscal 2023. This growth in revenues of 4.3% was reflective of a 4.1% increase in organic revenues and a net increase of 0.2% due to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The increase in revenues was driven by higher demand and price increases primarily from data solutions and middle office solutions.
Asia Pacific
Revenues from Asia Pacific increased 4.7% to $220.0 million in fiscal 2024, compared with $210.2 million in fiscal 2023. This growth in revenues of 4.7% was reflective of a 5.7% increase in organic revenues, partially offset by a net decrease of 1.0% due to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The increase in revenues was driven by higher demand and price increases primarily from workstations, data solutions and middle office solutions.
Operating Expenses
Principal Operating Expenses
Cost of services is mainly comprised of employee compensation costs and also includes expenses related to data costs, computer-related expenses, amortization of intangible assets, royalty fees, telecommunication costs and computer depreciation.
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") consists primarily of employee compensation costs and also includes expenses related to occupancy costs, professional fees, depreciation of furniture and fixtures, amortization of leasehold improvements, travel and entertainment expenses, marketing costs, other employee-related expenses, internal communication costs and bad debt expense.
Employee compensation costs are a major component of both our Cost of services and SG&A. These expenses primarily include costs related to salaries, incentive compensation and sales commissions, stock-based compensation, benefits, employment taxes, and any applicable restructuring costs.
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We assign employee compensation costs between Cost of services and SG&A based on the roles and activities associated with each employee. We categorize employees within the content collection, consulting, product development, software and systems engineering groups as Cost of services personnel. Employees included in our sales department and those that serve in various other support departments, including marketing, finance, legal, human resources and administrative services, are classified as SG&A.
Asset impairments consist primarily of expenses recognized when the carrying value of an asset exceeds its fair value.
The following table summarizes the components of our total operating expenses and operating margin:
(dollar amounts in thousands) Years ended August 31,
Cost of Services
Cost of services increased 4.0% to $1,011.9 million in fiscal 2024, compared with $973.2 million in fiscal 2023, primarily due to an increase in amortization of intangible assets and computer-related expenses.
Cost of services, when expressed as a percentage of revenues, was 45.9% for fiscal 2024, a decrease of 70 basis points compared with fiscal 2023. This decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in employee compensation costs, partially offset by higher amortization of intangible assets and computer-related expenses.
•Employee compensation costs decreased 180 basis points primarily due to a decrease in restructuring charges and variable compensation costs, partially offset by an increase in annual base salaries, net of capitalization of certain compensation costs. The increase in annual base salaries was primarily driven by annual merit increases and a net headcount increase in Cost of services of 166, primarily located in our COEs, partially offset by higher capitalization of compensation costs related to the development of our internal-use software.
•Amortization of intangible assets increased 60 basis points mainly due to higher amortization from capitalized costs related to the development of our internal-use software.
•Computer-related expenses increased 30 basis points primarily due to higher spend related to licensed software arrangements and cloud-based hosting services.
Selling, General and Administrative
SG&A expenses increased 6.1% to $485.1 million during fiscal 2024, compared with $457.1 million in fiscal 2023, primarily due to charges related to the Sales Tax Dispute, partially offset by a decrease in employee compensation costs.
SG&A expenses, when expressed as a percentage of revenues, were 22.0% for fiscal 2024, an increase of 10 basis points compared with fiscal 2023. This increase was primarily due to charges related to the Sales Tax Dispute, partially offset by a decrease in employee compensation costs.
•The charges related to the Sales Tax Dispute increased SG&A by 220 basis points. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on the Sales Tax Dispute.
•Employee compensation costs decreased 170 basis points primarily due to a decrease in variable compensation costs and restructuring charges.
Asset Impairments
Asset impairments were $4.7 million during fiscal 2024, compared with $25.9 million during fiscal 2023. The asset impairments were the result of a $3.4 million and $18.0 million charge during fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively, related to our
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lease right-of-use ("ROU") assets and property, equipment and leasehold improvements ("PPE") associated with vacating certain leased office space to rightsize our real estate footprint.
As there were no expected future cash flows from the lease ROU assets for locations we will not sublease, nor for PPE linked to the vacated leased office space, we concluded that these assets hold no remaining fair value and were fully impaired. For those locations we anticipated subleasing, we estimated the fair value of the lease ROU assets as of the cease use date, using a market approach, based on expected future cash flows from sublease income.
The remaining asset impairments for fiscal 2024 and 2023 were $1.3 million related to Developed technology and $7.9 million related to Developed technology and Trade names, respectively.
Operating Income and Operating Margin
Operating income increased 11.5% to $701.3 million in fiscal 2024, compared with $629.2 million in fiscal 2023. This increase was primarily due to growth in revenues, lower employee compensation costs and a decrease in asset impairment charges, partially offset by charges related to the Sales Tax Dispute. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, net of hedge activity, decreased operating income by $3.1 million during fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023.
Operating margin increased to 31.8% in fiscal 2024, compared with 30.2% in the prior year. This increase was primarily due to growth in revenues and, when expressed as a percentage of revenue, a decrease in employee compensation costs and lower asset impairment charges, partially offset by charges related to the Sales Tax Dispute and an increase in amortization of intangible assets.
Operating Income by Segment
We operate our business through three segments: the Americas; EMEA; and Asia Pacific. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 18, Segment Information in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our segments. The following table summarizes our operating income by segment:
Years ended August 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands) 2024 2023 % Change
Americas
Americas operating income increased 9.3% to $261.8 million during fiscal 2024, compared with $239.4 million from the prior year. This increase was primarily due to growth in revenues of 6.3% and lower employee compensation costs, partially offset by charges related to the Sales Tax Dispute.
•Employee compensation costs decreased primarily due to lower variable compensation and a decrease in annual base salaries mainly driven by higher capitalization of compensation costs related to the development of our internal-use software.
•The charge related to the Sales Tax Dispute is discussed in Part II, Item 8. Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
EMEA
EMEA operating income increased 16.4% to $283.0 million during fiscal 2024, compared with $243.0 million from the prior year. This increase was primarily due to growth in revenues of 4.3%, a decrease in asset impairment charges and lower employee compensation costs, partially offset by higher data costs.
•Asset impairment charges decreased primarily due to lower lease ROU asset and PPE impairment charges associated with vacating certain leased office space during fiscal 2024, compared with fiscal 2023.
•Employee compensation costs decreased primarily due to lower restructuring charges, partially offset by an increase in annual base salaries. The increase in annual base salaries was mainly driven by annual merit increases, partially offset by a net headcount decrease of 29 employees.
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•Data costs increased as the prior year included the release of certain accruals related to the successful resolution of exchange audits that reduced the prior year data costs.
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific operating income increased 6.7% to $156.5 million during fiscal 2024, compared with $146.8 million from the prior year. This increase was mainly due to growth in revenues of 4.7% and a reduction in certain operating expenses, partially offset by higher employee compensation costs. Employee compensation costs increased primarily due to higher annual base salaries driven by annual merit increases and a net headcount increase of 310 employees.
Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes and the effective tax rate are as follows:
Years ended August 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands) 2024 2023 % Change
We are subject to taxation in the United States ("U.S.") and various foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. Our effective tax rate is based on recurring factors and non-recurring events, including the taxation of foreign income. Our effective tax rate will vary based on, among other things, changes in levels of foreign income, as well as other non-recurring events.
Our effective tax rate was lower than the applicable U.S. corporate income tax rate for fiscal 2024 driven mainly by the utilization of foreign tax credits, research and development ("R&D") tax credits, a tax benefit from the exercise of stock options and a foreign derived intangible income ("FDII") deduction, partially offset by our net state taxes.
Our effective tax rate was lower than the applicable U.S. corporate income tax rate for fiscal 2023 driven mainly by R&D tax credits, a tax benefit from the exercise of stock options and a FDII deduction, partially offset by a one-time out-of-period adjustment related to a review and analysis of certain tax positions, as well as our net state taxes.
Our effective tax rate for fiscal 2024 was 17.6% compared with 19.8% for fiscal 2023. This decrease was primarily due to the increased utilization of foreign tax credits and a prior year out-of-period adjustment related to a review and analysis of certain tax positions. The adjustment related to the accounting of tax balance sheet accounts. All local, federal and foreign taxes payable were paid in a timely manner, subject to normal audits of open years. The decrease in the effective tax rate was partially offset by higher pretax income, which reduced the effective tax rate impact of certain tax benefits.
Net Income and Diluted EPS
Years ended August 31,
(in thousands, except per share data) 2024 2023 % Change
The increase in Net income and Diluted EPS for fiscal 2024, compared with fiscal 2023, was primarily driven by higher operating income. Diluted EPS further increased as a result of lower diluted weighted average common shares outstanding.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), we use non-GAAP financial measures including organic revenues, adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted Diluted EPS. The reconciliations from our financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP to these non-GAAP financial measures are shown in the tables below. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures reported in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, these non-GAAP financial measures have limitations in that
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they do not reflect all the items associated with the operations of our business as determined in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do, limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes.
Despite the limitations of these non-GAAP financial measures, we believe these adjusted financial measures and the information they provide are useful in viewing our performance using the same tools that management uses to gauge progress in achieving our goals. Adjusted measures may also facilitate comparisons to our historical performance.
Organic revenues exclude the current year impact of revenues from acquisitions and dispositions completed within the past twelve months ("Acquisition revenues" and "Disposition revenues", respectively) and the current year impact from changes in foreign currency. The table below provides an unaudited reconciliation of revenues to organic revenues:
Years ended August 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands) 2024 2023 % Change
Acquisition revenues (414) —
Currency impact 1,094 —
The table below provides an unaudited reconciliation of Operating income, operating margin, Net income and Diluted EPS to adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted Diluted EPS. Adjusted operating income and margin, adjusted net income, and adjusted Diluted EPS exclude the impact of acquisition-related intangible asset amortization and non-recurring items. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA represent earnings before interest expense, provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization, while adjusted EBITDA further excludes non-recurring non-cash expenses.
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Years ended August 31,
(in thousands, except per share data) 2024 2023 % Change
Business acquisition / integration costs (2) 884 7,033
Adjusted operating margin(3) 37.8 % 36.2 %
Business acquisition / integration costs(2) 650 5,845
Intangible asset amortization 1.27 1.53
Restructuring / severance 0.11 0.43
Business acquisition / integration costs(2) 0.02 0.15
Weighted average common shares (Diluted) 38,618 38,898
(1)The asset impairment primarily relates to impairment charges of lease ROU assets and PPE associated with rightsizing our real estate footprint.
(2)Fiscal 2024 related to certain business acquisition costs and fiscal 2023 related to integration costs from the CGS acquisition.
(3)Adjusted operating margin is calculated as adjusted operating income divided by Revenues.
(4)For purposes of calculating adjusted net income and adjusted Diluted EPS, all adjustments were taxed at an adjusted tax rate of 26.5% and 16.9% for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively.
(5)Primarily related to asset impairments.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of August 31, 2024, Cash and cash equivalents were $423.0 million, compared with $425.4 million as of August 31, 2023. Our cash and cash equivalents are held in numerous locations throughout the world, with $160.2 million in the Americas, $157.6 million in EMEA (predominantly in the UK) and the remaining $105.2 million in Asia Pacific (predominantly in the Philippines and India) as of August 31, 2024.
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As of August 31, 2024, we have $306.6 million of undistributed foreign earnings of which $87.7 million are permanently reinvested. It is not practicable to determine the deferred tax liability that would be payable if these permanently reinvested earnings were repatriated to the U.S. As of August 31, 2024, we have recorded a deferred tax liability of $3.6 million, which represents the future tax consequences that are expected upon the ultimate repatriation of earnings that are not permanently reinvested.
Our cash flows provided by operating activities, existing cash and cash equivalents, supplemented with our debt borrowings, have been sufficient to fund our operations while allowing us to invest in activities that support the long-term growth of our operations. Generally, some or all of our remaining available cash flows have been used to, among other things, service our existing and future debt obligations, satisfy our working capital requirements and fund various activities, including our capital expenditures, acquisitions, investments, dividend payments and repurchases of our common stock. Based on past performance and current expectations, we believe our sources of liquidity, including the available capacity under our existing revolving credit facility and other financing alternatives, will provide us the necessary capital to fund these transactions and achieve our planned growth for the next twelve months and the foreseeable future. We are exposed to credit risk for our cash and cash equivalents held in financial institutions in the event of a default, to the extent that such amounts are in excess of applicable insurance limits; however, we do not believe our concentration of cash and cash equivalents presents a significant credit risk as the counterparties to the instruments consist of multiple high-quality, credit-worthy financial institutions.
Sources of Liquidity
Debt and Swap Agreements
2022 Credit Agreement
On March 1, 2022, we entered into a credit agreement (the "2022 Credit Agreement") and borrowed an aggregate principal amount of $1.0 billion under its senior unsecured term loan credit facility (the "2022 Term Facility") and $250.0 million of the available $500.0 million under its senior unsecured revolving credit facility (the "2022 Revolving Facility" and, together with the 2022 Term Facility, the "2022 Credit Facilities"). The 2022 Term Facility matures on March 1, 2025, and the 2022 Revolving Facility matures on March 1, 2027. The 2022 Revolving Facility allows for the availability of up to $100.0 million in the form of letters of credit and up to $50.0 million in the form of swingline loans. We may seek additional commitments of up to $750.0 million under the 2022 Revolving Facility from lenders or other financial institutions.
We used these borrowings, along with the net proceeds from the issuance of the Senior Notes (as defined below) and cash on hand, to finance the consideration for the CGS acquisition, to repay prior outstanding borrowings and to pay related transaction fees, costs and expenses.
We may voluntarily prepay loans under the 2022 Credit Facilities at any time without premium or penalty. During fiscal 2024, we repaid $250.0 million under the 2022 Term Facility, inclusive of voluntary prepayments of $200.0 million. Since loan inception on March 1, 2022, we have repaid $875.0 million under the 2022 Term Facility, inclusive of voluntary prepayments of $762.5 million. As of August 31, 2024, we had short-term liquidity requirements of $125.0 million related to the outstanding balance of the 2022 Term Facility which becomes due March 1, 2025.
From the borrowing date through November 30, 2023, the outstanding borrowings under the 2022 Credit Facilities bore interest at a rate equal to the applicable one-month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") plus a 1.1% spread (comprised of a 1.0% interest rate margin based on a debt leverage pricing grid plus a 0.1% credit spread adjustment). From December 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024, the spread decreased to 0.975% (comprised of a 0.875% interest rate margin based on a debt leverage pricing grid plus a 0.1% credit spread adjustment). Interest on the 2022 Credit Facilities is currently payable on the last business day of each month, in arrears.
Additionally, we pay a commitment fee on the daily unused amount of the 2022 Revolving Facility using a pricing grid based on our senior unsecured non-credit enhanced long-term debt rating and our total leverage ratio. From the borrowing date through November 30, 2023, the commitment fee was 0.125%, which subsequently decreased to 0.1% through August 31, 2024.
The 2022 Credit Agreement contains usual and customary event of default provisions for facilities of this type, which are subject to usual and customary grace periods and materiality thresholds. If an event of default occurs under the 2022 Credit Agreement, the lenders may, among other things, terminate their commitments and declare all outstanding borrowings immediately due and payable.
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The 2022 Credit Agreement contains usual and customary affirmative and negative covenants for facilities of this type, including a financial covenant requiring maintenance of a total leverage ratio of no greater than 3.50 to 1.00 as of August 31, 2024. We were in compliance with all covenants and requirements of the 2022 Credit Agreement as of August 31, 2024.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 12, Debt, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of the 2022 Credit Agreement.
2024 Swap Agreement
On March 1, 2024, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement ("2024 Swap Agreement") to hedge a portion of our outstanding floating SOFR debt with a fixed interest rate of 5.145%. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 5, Derivative Instruments, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information on the 2024 Swap Agreement.
2022 Swap Agreement
On March 1, 2022, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement (the "2022 Swap Agreement") to hedge a portion of our outstanding floating SOFR debt with a fixed interest rate of 1.162%. The 2022 Swap Agreement matured on February 28, 2024. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 5, Derivative Instruments, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for more information on the 2022 Swap Agreement.
Senior Notes
On March 1, 2022, we completed a public offering of $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2.900% Senior Notes due March 1, 2027 (the "2027 Notes") and $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.450% Senior Notes due March 1, 2032 (the "2032 Notes" and, together with the 2027 Notes, the "Senior Notes"). The Senior Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture, dated as of March 1, 2022, by and between us and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee (the "Trustee"), as supplemented by the supplemental indenture, dated as of March 1, 2022, between us and the Trustee (the "Supplemental Indenture"). Interest on the Senior Notes is payable semiannually in arrears on March 1 and September 1 of each year.
We may redeem the Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time at specified redemption prices, plus any accrued and unpaid interest. Upon the occurrence of a change of control triggering event (as defined in the Supplemental Indenture), we must offer to repurchase the Senior Notes at 101% of their principal amount, plus any accrued and unpaid interest.
Uses of Liquidity
Returning Value to Stockholders
We returned $385.9 million and $315.3 million to our stockholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends during fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Dividends
During fiscal 2024 and 2023, we paid dividends of $150.7 million and $138.6 million, respectively. In the third quarter of fiscal 2024, our Board of Directors approved a 6% increase in the regular quarterly dividend from $0.98 to $1.04 per share. Fiscal 2024 marked the 25th consecutive fiscal year we have increased dividends on a stock split-adjusted basis, highlighting our continued commitment to returning value to our stockholders. Future cash dividend payments are subject to final determination by our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other relevant factors.
Share Repurchase Program
We may repurchase shares of our common stock under our share repurchase program from time-to-time in the open market or via privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions. We suspended our share repurchase program beginning in the second quarter of fiscal 2022, with the exception of potential minor repurchases to offset dilution from grants of equity awards or repurchases to satisfy withholding tax obligations due upon the vesting of stock-based awards, to prioritize the repayment of debt under the 2022 Credit Facilities. We resumed our share repurchase program in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. During fiscal 2024 and 2023, we repurchased 537,800 shares for $235.2 million and 430,350 shares for $176.7 million, respectively.
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There is no defined number of shares to be repurchased over a specified timeframe through the life of our share repurchase program. We had $64.8 million that remained authorized under our share repurchase program as of August 31, 2024, all of which expired upon the conclusion of fiscal 2024 and was not available for share repurchases after that date.
On September 17, 2024, our Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase authorization of up to $300 million in aggregate, which will be available during fiscal 2025. Refer to Part III, Item 12, Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion on our share repurchase program.
Capital Expenditures
For the year ended August 31, 2024, capital expenditures increased by 41% to $85.7 million, compared with $60.8 million in fiscal 2023. This increase was primarily due to higher expenditures related to the development of capitalized internal-use software.
Acquisitions
Our acquisitions with the most significant cash flows from fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2024 included CGS and Cobalt Software, Inc. ("Cobalt"). Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 6, Acquisitions in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of the CGS and Cobalt acquisitions and Note 19, Subsequent Events, for information on our proposed acquisition of Platform Group Limited ("Irwin").
CUSIP Global Services
On March 1, 2022, we completed the acquisition of CGS for a cash purchase price of $1.932 billion, inclusive of working capital adjustments. CGS manages a database of 60 different data elements uniquely identifying more than 50 million global financial instruments. It is the foundation for security master files relied on by critical front, middle and back-office functions. CGS, operating on behalf of the ABA, is the exclusive issuer of Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures ("CUSIP") and CUSIP International Number System ("CINS") identifiers globally and also acts as the official numbering agency for International Securities Identification Number ("ISIN") identifiers in the United States and as a substitute number agency for more than 30 other countries. We acquired CGS to expand our critical role in the global capital markets.
Cobalt Software, Inc.
On October 12, 2021, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Cobalt for a purchase price of $50.0 million, net of cash acquired and inclusive of working capital adjustments. Cobalt is a leading portfolio monitoring platform for the private capital industry. We acquired Cobalt to scale our data and workflow solutions through targeted investments as part of our multi-year investment plan and to expand our private markets offering.
Contractual Obligations
Purchase obligations represent our legally-binding agreements to purchase fixed or minimum quantities at determinable prices. As of August 31, 2024 and 2023, we had total purchase obligations with suppliers and vendors of $382.6 million and $362.2 million, respectively. Our total purchase obligations as of August 31, 2024 and 2023 primarily related to hosting services, acquisition of data and, to a lesser extent, third-party software providers.
We also have contractual obligations related to our lease liabilities and outstanding debt. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 11, Leases and Note 12, Debt in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding lease commitments and outstanding debt obligations, respectively.
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Summary of Cash Flows
The following table provides a summary of our net cash flow activity for the fiscal years presented:
Years ended August 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands) 2024 2023 $ Change
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 2,364 4,015 (1,651)
Operating
For fiscal 2024, net cash provided by operating activities was $700.3 million, which included net income of $537.1 million, non-cash charges of $191.7 million and a net cash outflow of $28.5 million to support our working capital requirements. The non-cash charges were primarily driven by depreciation and amortization and, to a lesser extent, stock-based compensation expense. The change in our working capital was primarily driven by cash outflows related to lease payments and prepaid expenses, partially offset by the timing of payments to vendors.
For fiscal 2023, net cash provided by operating activities was $645.6 million, which included net income of $468.2 million, non-cash charges of $194.6 million and a net cash outflow of $17.2 million to support our working capital requirements. The non-cash charges were primarily driven by depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense and amortization of lease ROU assets, partially offset by deferred income taxes. The net cash outflow in working capital was primarily due to an increase in accounts receivable driven by sales and the timing of client payments and cash outflows for lease payments, partially offset by an increase in net taxes payable due to an out-of-period adjustment related to a review and analysis of certain tax positions and timing of tax payments in certain jurisdictions.
Investing
For fiscal 2024, net cash used in investing activities was $144.3 million. The cash used in investing activities was primarily related to capital expenditures of $85.7 million mainly driven by the capitalization of internal-use software development costs and $58.6 million in investments, primarily related to the purchase of mutual funds.
For fiscal 2023, net cash used in investing activities was $95.4 million, mainly driven by capital expenditures of $60.8 million, primarily due to capitalization of compensation costs related to development of capitalized internal-use software and, to a lesser extent, investments in network-related equipment, mainly at our data centers and laptops. Cash used in investing activities was also driven by the acquisition of a business for $23.6 million.
Financing
For fiscal 2024, net cash used in financing activities was $560.9 million, consisting mainly of $250.0 million related to the partial repayment of the 2022 Term Facility, $235.2 million of share repurchases and $150.7 million of dividend payments, partially offset by $91.7 million of proceeds from employee stock plans.
For fiscal 2023, net cash used in financing activities was $632.0 million, consisting mainly of $375.0 million related to the partial repayment of the 2022 Term Facility, $176.7 million of share repurchases and $138.6 million of dividend payments, partially offset by $72.0 million of proceeds from employee stock plans.
Free Cash Flow
We define free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, as cash provided by operating activities, less purchases of PPE and capitalized internal-use software. We believe free cash flow is a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business that, after capital expenditures, can be used for strategic opportunities, including returning value to stockholders, investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions, and strengthening the balance sheet. Free cash flow should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, consolidated net income as a measure of our performance and net cash provided by operating activities as a measure of our liquidity.
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The following table reconciles our net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow:
Years ended August 31,
(dollar amounts in thousands) 2024 2023 $ Change
We generated free cash flow of $614.7 million during fiscal 2024, an increase of $29.9 million compared with fiscal 2023. This increase was driven by higher cash provided by operating activities, mainly due to an increase in net income, partially offset by higher capitalized costs mainly related to the development of our internal-use software.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2023, we had no off-balance sheet financing other than letters of credit incurred in the ordinary course of business. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 12, Debt andNote 13, Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our letters of credit.
As of August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2023, we also had no other arrangements with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships (such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities) established for purposes of facilitating off-balance sheet financing, other debt arrangements, or other contractually limited purposes.
Foreign Currency Exposure
As we operate globally, we are exposed to the risk that our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be impacted by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. During fiscal 2024 and 2023, we maintained a series of foreign currency forward contracts to hedge a portion of our primary currency exposures, namely the British Pound Sterling, Euro, Indian Rupee and Philippine Peso. We entered into these contracts with the intent to hedge between 25% to 75% of the currency exposure related to our projected operating income in these primary currencies over their respective hedge periods. As of August 31, 2024, the hedge maturity periods of our outstanding foreign currency forward contracts range from the first quarter of fiscal 2025 through the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
The following table summarizes the gross notional value of our foreign currency forward contracts to purchase the respective local currency with U.S. dollars as of August 31, 2024 and August 31, 2023:
Refer to Part II, Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our foreign currency exposures.
Critical Accounting Estimates
We prepare the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP, which requires us to make certain estimates and apply judgements that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable at the time the Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared and, as such, they may ultimately differ materially from actual results.
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We describe our significant accounting policies in Part II, Item 8. Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors reviews the development and selection of our critical accounting estimates. The critical accounting estimates and judgments that we believe to have the most significant impacts to our Consolidated Financial Statements are described below.
Income Taxes
We are subject to taxation in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. Our provision for income taxes is an estimate based on our understanding of laws in federal, state and foreign tax jurisdictions. These laws can be complicated and are difficult to apply to any business. The tax laws also require us to allocate our taxable income to many jurisdictions based on subjective allocation methodologies and information collection processes. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate primarily due to the impact of state taxes, foreign operations, R&D and other tax credits, tax audit settlements, the tax benefit from stock option exercises and the FDII tax deduction.
Our provision for income taxes is subject to volatility and could be adversely impacted by numerous factors such as changes in earnings or tax laws, regulations, or accounting principles, including accounting for uncertain tax positions or interpretations of them. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and unrecognized tax benefits.
Further, as a result of certain ongoing employment and capital investment actions and commitments, our income in certain countries is subject to reduced tax rates. Our failure to meet these employment and capital investment actions and commitments could adversely affect our provision for income taxes. In addition, we are subject to the continuous examination of our income tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. There can be no assurance that the outcomes from these continuous examinations will not adversely impact our operating results and financial condition.
Significant judgment is required in determining our uncertain tax positions. We follow a two-step approach in recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not (defined as a likelihood of more than 50%) that a tax position will be sustained based on its technical merits as of the reporting date. The second step, for those positions that meet the recognition criteria, is to measure and recognize the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon effective settlement with a taxing authority. As the determination of liabilities related to uncertain tax positions and associated interest and penalties requires significant estimates and assumptions, there can be no assurance that we will accurately predict the outcomes of these audits. For this reason and due to ongoing audits by multiple tax authorities, we regularly engage in discussions and negotiations with tax authorities regarding tax matters in various jurisdictions. We adjust these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit or the refinement of an estimate. To the extent that the final outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will affect the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made. We accrue interest on all tax exposures for which reserves have been established consistent with jurisdictional tax laws. The Provision for income taxes on our Consolidated Statements of Income includes the impact of changes to reserves and any related interest. We have no reason to believe that such audits will result in the payment of additional taxes and/or penalties that would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial position, beyond current estimates.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 10, Income Taxes in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
Stock-based Compensation
We measure and recognize stock-based compensation expense for all stock-based awards granted to our employees and our non-employee members of the Board of Directors ("non-employee directors") based on their estimated grant date fair value. To estimate the grant date fair value, we utilize a lattice-binomial option-pricing model ("binomial model") for our employee stock options and the Black-Scholes model for non-employee directors stock options and common stock purchased by eligible employees under our Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Both models involve certain estimates and subjective assumptions regarding our stock price volatility, the expected life of the award, the term selected for the risk-free rate and the expected dividend yield. The binomial model also incorporates market conditions, vesting restrictions and exercise patterns.
Our performance share units ("PSUs") require management to make assumptions regarding the probability of achieving specified performance levels established at the time of grant, which are reviewed on a quarterly basis. The ultimate number of
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common shares that may be earned from a PSU is determined pursuant to a payout range based on the achievement of specified performance levels.
We estimate expected forfeitures of equity awards at the date of grant and recognize compensation expense only for those awards expected to vest. The forfeiture assumption is revised if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.
The assumptions we use to calculate and account for stock-based compensation awards represent management's best estimates, which involve inherent uncertainties. As a result, if we revise our assumptions and estimates, our stock-based compensation expense could differ from amounts recorded.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 16, Stock-Based Compensation in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired at the acquisition date. On the date of acquisition, goodwill is assigned to one or more reporting units, which are consistent with our segments. Goodwill is not amortized as it is estimated to have an indefinite life. We test goodwill annually for impairment during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or more frequently if events and circumstances occur indicating that it is more likely than not that the fair value of any one of our reporting units is less than its respective carrying value. Impairment is tested at the reporting unit level and if the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the fair value, then the goodwill is considered impaired and written down to the reporting unit’s fair value.
We may elect to perform a qualitative analysis for the reporting units to determine whether it is more likely than not (a likelihood of more than 50%) that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value. In performing a qualitative assessment, we consider such factors as macro-economic conditions, industry and market conditions in which we operate, including the competitive environment and significant changes in demand for our products or services. We also consider the share price both in absolute terms and in relation to peer companies. If the qualitative analysis indicates that it is more likely than not the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value or if we elect not to perform a qualitative analysis, a quantitative analysis is performed to determine whether a goodwill impairment exists.
The quantitative goodwill impairment analysis is used to identify potential impairment by comparing the carrying value of a reporting unit with its fair value. To perform this analysis, we apply the income approach which utilizes discounted cash flows, along with other relevant market information. Significant judgment is involved in determining the assumptions used in estimating future cash flows. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, the following estimates: expected sales, working capital needs to support each reporting unit, capital expenditures and related depreciation and amortization, operating expenses, expected tax rates and the weighted average cost of capital for each reporting unit. Our cost of capital is based on assumptions about interest rates, as well as a risk-adjusted rate of return required by our equity investors. Changes in these estimates can impact the present value of expected cash flows used in determining fair value of a reporting unit. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the fair value, then the goodwill is considered impaired and written down to the reporting unit’s fair value. The impairment loss for the reporting unit cannot exceed the carrying value of the goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.
Intangible Assets
We amortize our identifiable intangible assets over their estimated useful lives, which are evaluated annually to determine whether events and circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining period of amortization. If the estimate of the remaining useful life is changed, the remaining carrying amount of the intangible asset is amortized prospectively over that revised remaining useful life. Determining the useful life of intangible assets requires judgement and an understanding of our planned use of the asset, among other factors.
Intangible assets are tested for impairment qualitatively on a quarterly basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset group is not recoverable. If indicators of impairment are present, our intangible assets are tested for impairment by comparing the carrying value to undiscounted cash flows and, if impaired, written down to fair value based on discounted cash flows. Significant judgment is involved in determining the assumptions used in estimating future cash flows.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 8, Goodwill and Note 9, Intangible Assets in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
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Business Combinations
We account for business combinations using the purchase method of accounting. The acquisition purchase price is allocated to the underlying identified, tangible and intangible assets and liabilities assumed, based on their respective estimated fair values on the acquisition date. The excess of the purchase consideration over the fair value of the identified assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill and assigned to one or more reporting units. The value and useful life assigned to acquisition-related tangible and intangible assets impact the amount and timing of future amortization expense. Determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed and the expected useful life requires management’s judgment and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including assumptions with respect to future cash inflows and outflows, discount rates, asset lives and market multiples, among other items. Acquisition-related expenses and restructuring costs, if any, are recognized separately from the business combination and are expensed as incurred.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 6, Acquisitions in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
Property, Equipment and Leasehold Improvements
We review our PPE to determine if any indicators of impairment are present on a quarterly basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset group may not be recoverable. If indicators of impairment are present, the asset group is tested for impairment by comparing the carrying value to undiscounted cash flows and, if impaired, written down to fair value based on discounted cash flows.
A significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred and in calculating the inputs to the impairment calculation. Indicators we consider include, but are not limited to, a significant decline in our expected future cash flows, a change in an expected useful life, unanticipated competition, slower growth rates, ongoing maintenance and necessary improvements to the assets, or changes in the usage or operating performance. Inputs to an impairment calculation include estimates related to future cash flows and asset fair values, forecasting asset useful lives and selecting the discount rate that reflects the risk inherent in future cash flows. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions included in our impairment assessment, we may be exposed to losses that could be material.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 7, Property, Equipment and Leasehold Improvements in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
Contingencies
We are subject to various legal proceedings, claims and litigation that have arisen in the ordinary course of business, which involve inherent uncertainties. Assessing the probability of loss for such contingencies and determining how to accrue the appropriate liabilities requires judgment. If actual results differ from our assessments, our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows would be affected.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our contingent matters.
New Accounting Pronouncements
For a discussion of accounting pronouncements recently adopted and those issued but not yet adopted, refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
In the normal course of business, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange risk and interest rate risk that could impact our financial position and results of operations. Current market events have not required us to materially modify our financial risk management strategies with respect to our exposures to foreign currency exchange risk or interest rate risk.
Foreign Currency Transaction Risk
As we operate globally, we are exposed to the risk that our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be impacted by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. During fiscal 2024 and 2023, we maintained a series of foreign currency forward contracts to hedge a portion of our primary currency exposures, namely the British Pound Sterling, Euro, Indian Rupee and Philippine Peso. We entered into these contracts with the intent to hedge between 25% to 75% of the currency exposure related to our projected operating income in these primary currencies over their respective hedge periods. As of August 31, 2024, the hedge maturity periods of our outstanding foreign currency forward contracts range from the first quarter of fiscal 2025 through the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, net of hedge activity, decreased operating income by $3.1 million during fiscal 2024, when compared to fiscal 2023. We utilize cash flow hedges to manage risk and not for speculative or trading purposes.
We performed a sensitivity analysis to determine the effects on both the fair value of our outstanding foreign currency forward contracts and our operating income, excluding these forward contracts, of a hypothetical devaluation of the U.S. dollar by 10% as of August 31, 2024, relative to the other foreign currencies in which we transact. The sensitivity analysis indicated that a devaluation of the U.S. dollar by 10% would have increased the fair value of our outstanding forward contracts by approximately $19 million as of August 31, 2024 and decreased our operating income, excluding these forward contracts, by an estimated $43 million for fiscal 2024. This sensitivity analysis has inherent limitations as it disregards the possibility that rates of multiple foreign currencies will not always move in the same direction relative to the value of the U.S. dollar over time and does not account for our forward contracts that we utilize to mitigate fluctuations in exchange rates.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 5, Derivative Instruments in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our foreign currency exposures and our foreign currency forward contracts.
Foreign Currency Translation Risk
We are exposed to foreign currency risk due to the translation of our results from certain international operations into U.S. Dollars, as part of the consolidation process. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates can create volatility in our results of operations and our financial condition.
The following table reflects the foreign currency translation adjustment gains and losses recorded in Other comprehensive income (loss):
Years ended August 31,
Foreign currency translation adjustment gains (losses) $ 8,565 $ 21,511
Interest Rate Risk
Cash and Cash Equivalents and Investments
As of August 31, 2024, we had Cash and cash equivalents of $423.0 million and Investments of $69.6 million. Our Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and highly liquid investments including demand deposits and money market funds and our Investments consist of mutual funds. We are exposed to interest rate risk through fluctuations of interest rates on these investments. As we have a restrictive investment policy, our financial exposure to fluctuations in interest rates is expected to remain low. Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our Cash and cash equivalents.
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Debt
2022 Credit Agreement
As of August 31, 2024, our outstanding variable interest rate debt included $125.0 million under the 2022 Term Facility and $250.0 million under the 2022 Revolving Facility. From the borrowing date through November 30, 2023, the outstanding borrowings under the 2022 Credit Facilities bore interest at a rate equal to the applicable one-month Term SOFR plus a 1.1% spread (comprised of a 1.0% interest rate margin based on a debt leverage pricing grid plus a 0.1% credit spread adjustment). From December 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024, the spread decreased to 0.975% (comprised of a 0.875% interest rate margin based on a debt leverage pricing grid plus a 0.1% credit spread adjustment).
To mitigate our exposure to interest rate volatility due to changes in SOFR, we entered into the 2022 Swap Agreement on March 1, 2022, to hedge a portion of our outstanding floating SOFR debt with a fixed interest rate of 1.162%. The 2022 Swap Agreement matured on February 28, 2024. To continue to hedge our outstanding floating SOFR debt, on March 1, 2024, we entered into the 2024 Swap Agreement with a notional amount of $200.0 million at a fixed interest rate of 5.145%. The notional amount of the 2024 Swap Agreement declines by $50.0 million on a quarterly basis beginning May 31, 2024 and matures on February 28, 2025. As of August 31, 2024, the notional amount of the 2024 Swap Agreement was $100.0 million.
Our Senior Notes have a fixed interest rate and are not subject to interest rate change. As such, our interest rate exposure is limited to the outstanding principal balance of our variable rate debt under our 2022 Credit Facilities in excess of our swap agreements. As of August 31, 2024, our interest rate exposure on our variable rate debt, net of our 2024 Swap Agreement, was $275.0 million. Assuming the principal balance of our outstanding variable rate debt, net of the 2024 Swap Agreement, remained at $275.0 million, a hypothetical 25 basis point change (up or down) in the one-month SOFR would result in an approximate $1 million change to our annual interest expense as of August 31, 2024.
Refer to Part II, Item 8. Note 5, Derivative Instruments and Note 12, Debt in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our swap agreements and outstanding borrowings.
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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements Page
Management’s Statement of Responsibility for Financial Statements 49
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 49
Consolidated Financial Statements:
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements 60
Financial Statement Schedule:
Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts 98
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Management’s Statement of Responsibility for Financial Statements
Our management prepares and is responsible for the fairness, integrity and objectivity of our Consolidated Financial Statements. The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and include amounts based on our management’s estimates and judgments. All financial information in this Report on Form 10-K has been presented on a basis consistent with the information included in the accompanying financial statements.
Our policies and practices reflect corporate governance initiatives that are compliant with the listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Stock Market and the corporate governance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Our management, with oversight by our Board of Directors, has established and maintains a strong ethical climate so that our affairs are conducted to the highest standards of personal and corporate conduct.
We maintain accounting systems, including internal accounting controls, designed to provide reasonable assurance of the reliability of financial records and the protection of assets. The concept of reasonable assurance is based on recognition that the cost of a system should not exceed the related benefits. The effectiveness of those systems depends primarily upon the careful selection of financial and other managers, clear delegation of authority and assignment of accountability, inculcation of high business ethics and conflict-of-interest standards, policies and procedures for coordinating the management of corporate resources, and the leadership and commitment of top management. In compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we assessed our internal control over financial reporting as of August 31, 2024 and issued a report (see below).
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for FactSet. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management (with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer) conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of August 31, 2024 as a result of the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting described below.
Our management has identified certain control deficiencies related to the design and operation of our information technology (“IT”) general controls (“ITGCs”) that support our revenues, accounts receivable, and deferred revenues processes which, in the aggregate, rise to a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting. The deficiencies related to program change management and user access in connection with segregation of duties and restriction to appropriate users. As a result, the automated controls and IT dependent manual business process controls that rely upon information from the affected financial applications were also deemed not effective. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
While we have concluded that these control deficiencies did not result in any material misstatements in our Consolidated Financial Statements or disclosures in any of the fiscal years ended August 31, 2024, 2023 or 2022, they were not remediated as of August 31, 2024, and thus created a reasonable possibility that they could result in a material misstatement to the Consolidated Financial Statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Accordingly, we determined that these control deficiencies constituted a material weakness.
After giving full consideration to the material weakness, and the additional analyses and other procedures we performed to ensure that our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K were prepared in accordance
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with GAAP, our management has concluded that our Consolidated Financial Statements present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods disclosed in conformity with GAAP.
Ernst & Young LLP (PCAOBID: 42), an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and has issued an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as stated in their report on the subsequent page.
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of FactSet Research Systems Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (the Company) as of August 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended August 31, 2024, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at August 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended August 31, 2024, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of August 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated October 29, 2024 expressed an adverse opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the account or disclosure to which it relates.
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Measurement of income tax provision
/s/Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2013.
Stamford, Connecticut
October 29, 2024
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of FactSet Research Systems Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited FactSet Research Systems Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of August 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, because of the effect of the material weakness described below on the achievement of the objectives of the control criteria, FactSet Research Systems Inc. (the Company) has not maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of August 31, 2024, based on the COSO criteria.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The following material weakness has been identified and included in management’s assessment. Management has identified a material weakness related to the design and operation of information technology (“IT”) general controls for certain financial applications that support the revenue, accounts receivable, and deferred revenue processes. Consequently, automated controls and IT dependent manual business process controls that rely upon information from the affected financial applications were also deemed ineffective.