Orin
EFXNYSE·Consulting Services

Equifax Inc. EFX

Market cap $17.6BP/E 26.0× trailingGross margin 44.4%Reports Tue 20 Oct, before the open
$149.43
+0.63 (+0.42%)live 11:20 ET
52-wk $147.89 – $258.40
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 30 Aug · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Equifax's fundamental recovery remains intact — FY2025 revenue reached $6.07B with 6.9% YoY growth, FCF improved to $1.13B from $132.6M in FY2022, and EPS recovered to $5.32 from $4.40 in FY2023. However, the stock has rallied to $194.35 (above both the 50-day MA of $175.03 and 200-day MA of $188.36) and now trades at 33.9x earnings, a 20% premium to the peer median of 28.3x, even as EV/EBITDA at 14.8x remains 23% below peers.

With smart money at -0.08 as of Q2 2026 and net insider selling of $59.5M over 24 months, the risk/reward at current levels is balanced rather than compelling.

What could go wrong

  • Valuation compression. P/E of 33.9x sits 20% above the peer median of 28.3x; any deceleration in revenue or EPS growth could trigger a multiple re-rating lower.
  • Gross margin decline. Gross margin fell to 44.6% in FY2025 from 55.7% in FY2024, with gross profit declining from $3.16B to $2.71B despite revenue growth; if this reflects a structural cost shift rather than reclassification, operating margins could eventually compress.
  • Smart money outflows. Smart money score turned negative at -0.08 as of 2026-06-30, down from 0.099 in Q1 2026, suggesting institutional positioning has softened.
  • Insider selling pressure. Over the trailing 24 months, insiders net sold $59.5M in value across 81 dispositions versus 60 acquisitions; the CEO exercised options at $112.46 in July 2026 but also sold common shares at $168–$176.

What would change my mind

Q3 2026 earnings acceleration. Revenue growth exceeds 7% YoY with operating margin expansion above 18.5%, confirming the recovery is acceleratingbullish
FCF margin sustained above 18%. Trailing FCF margin holds at or above the FY2025 level of 18.7% with capex continuing to normalize below $481Mbullish
Gross margin deterioration. Gross margin continues to decline below the FY2025 level of 44.6% without a corresponding operating income offsetbearish
Smart money further deterioration. Smart money score declines beyond -0.15 in the next 13F filing with fund count dropping below 60bearish

Where this comes from: FMP annual fundamentals + derived_metrics, FY2025 · FMP annual fundamentals, FY2022/FY2023/FY2025 · peer_relative composite · technicals as of 2026-08-28. Orin's read on EFX; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$1.2B0.0% of fund
Harris Associates L P$1.2B1.6% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$832.1M0.0% of fund
State Street$825.3M0.0% of fund
Soroban Capital Partners$700.1M1.5% of fund
Massachusetts Financial Services /Ma/$620.4M0.2% of fund

86 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 142 Form 4 filings, net −$60.3M. Of the 50 on hand, 1 was an open-market purchase and 17 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Industrials
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E26.0×48.0×44.5×
EV/EBITDA12.0×21.2×—
P/S2.71×5.55×—
P/B4.0×6.6×—

Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−2.57σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

4.2%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $1.1B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

36 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$216

$182 – $245 · +45% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 24 buy or overweight
  • 11 hold
  • 1 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 26.7× of 6 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
EFXEquifax Inc.$17B26.0×12.0×44.4%10.7%15%
DOVDover Corporation$25B22.5×14.9×39.6%13.5%15%
HUBBHubbell Incorporated$25B27.5×20.2×35.2%14.5%24%
HWMHowmet Aerospace Inc.$92B49.1×34.8×34.4%20.5%34%
ODFLOld Dominion Freight Line, Inc.$36B33.6×19.9×31.7%19.4%25%
VLTOVeralto Corporation$23B24.1×18.3×60.2%17.3%33%
VRSKVerisk Analytics, Inc.$22B25.9×15.7×67.7%28.2%-212%

The median is of the 6 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 2.7% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 26.7×FY25 40.5×

What its sector has traded at

Industrials
FY14 173.5×FY26 32.6×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$128$169.03 · −24%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$95$169.03 · −44%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $149.43
52-week range$148 – $258
Analyst targets$182 – $245
Standard DCF$128 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $169.03
Levered DCF$95 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $169.03
At own 5y-median P/E (48×)$275
At 5y P/E range (34–56×)$196 – $319
At sector P/E (45×)$255

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.