EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
CH:EFX Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPSCHF1.86
Consensus EPSCHF1.81
Beat/MissBeat by +CHF0.05
One Year Ago EPSCHF1.68
CH:EFX Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual RevenueCHF1.39B
Expected RevenueCHF1.39B
Beat/MissBeat by +CHF3.67M
YoY Revenue Growth+9.55%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/20/2026
TimeBefore Open
Conference CallTuesday, October 20, 2026
CH:EFX Upcoming Earnings
Equifax's next earnings date is estimated for February 10, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
CH:EFX Q3 2026 Earnings Call
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Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was broadly positive. Equifax exceeded third-quarter revenue and EPS guidance, expanded EBITDA margins, raised full-year margin guidance, delivered strong growth in diversified markets, government, talent, consumer lending, international operations, and AI-enabled products, and maintained strong free cash flow and shareholder-return plans. The principal negative was a significantly weaker U.S. mortgage market, which reduced current and expected mortgage revenue and is expected to pressure 2027 transaction volumes. Additional challenges included lower Employer Services revenue, some slowing in hiring, financial institution, and auto volumes, and inflation pressure on lower-income consumers. Highlights significantly outweighed the lowlights.Company Guidance
Solid Third-Quarter Revenue and EPS Performance
Equifax delivered diversified markets revenue growth of over 8%, exceeding its mid-single-digit guidance, with broad-based performance across all three business units. Reported revenue was $1.693 billion, up 10% on a reported basis and 9% in constant currency. EPS grew 11% to $2.26 per share, above the high end of guidance.
Strong EBITDA Margin Expansion
EBITDA margins excluding FICO increased 130 basis points year over year in the third quarter, driven by operating leverage, AI productivity, and cost management despite $20 million of mortgage market headwinds in September. Full-year EBITDA margin guidance was raised to an increase of 100 basis points, up from 75 basis points previously and twice the long-term framework of 50 basis points.
Workforce Solutions Diversified Growth
Workforce Solutions total diversified markets revenue increased 9%, while verified diversified markets revenue increased 13%. Talent Solutions revenue grew over 20%, driven by new products, increased product penetration across incarceration and education data assets, and pricing. Consumer lending posted high double-digit revenue growth, led by card and consumer finance, penetration, and record growth.
Government Business Contract Momentum
The EWS government team signed agreements with state agencies totaling over $550 million in annual contract value, including approximately $150 million of new business and $400 million of renewals. The company stated that these agreements will principally benefit the Workforce Solutions government vertical in 2027. Government revenue grew mid-single digits in the third quarter.
Government Pipeline and New Solutions
Equifax reported robust discussions with state agencies and several large new federal opportunities in its pipeline. New offerings include Continuous Evaluation for SNAP, support for Medicaid work-requirement income verification beginning in January 2027, and EWS Complete Income, which combines employment, gig work, self-employed wages, and non-earned income through applicant-permission services.
Workforce Records Continued to Expand
Twin records reached 23 million total active records, up 12%, and 125 million total current active records, up 11%, representing 110 million unique individuals or SSNs. Equifax expects strong record growth through 2026 and in 2027 from W-2 records and alternative sources including pension, gig, and 1099 records.
USIS Diversified Markets and Consumer Direct Growth
USIS diversified markets revenue grew 6%. B2B revenue increased 5%, including high-single-digit online growth in financial institutions and mid-single-digit online growth in auto. Financial Marketing Services offline batch revenue grew over 10%, led by marketing, identity and fraud, and account reviews. Consumer Direct revenue increased 9%, supported by subscriber growth and partner-channel wins.
USIS Margin Improvement
USIS EBITDA margin was 35.4% in the quarter, while EBITDA margin excluding FICO royalties was 42.4%, up over 230 basis points year over year. The improvement was attributed to better diversified markets revenue growth, cost management, and AI-driven productivity.
VantageScore Adoption Accelerated
Approximately 2,000 mortgage lenders were using VantageScore in underwriting, a sevenfold increase since April, while mortgage VantageScore volume increased over 230% since April. More than 200 mortgage lenders were exclusively using VantageScore. Equifax expects additional lenders to move to the paid VantageScore model in the fourth quarter and into 2027.
VantageScore Pricing and Margin Opportunity
Equifax plans to maintain the $1 VantageScore price through the end of 2028. Management stated that full conversion from FICO scores to VantageScore could provide approximately $30 million to $40 million, or roughly $35 million, of annualized margin upside at current run-rate levels.
New Mortgage Score Select Product
Equifax launched Mortgage Score Select, allowing lenders and brokers to pull an Equifax mortgage credit file without a score or with a selected score, including VantageScore 4, classic FICO, or FICO Score 10T when approved. Customers can pull the file again within 24 hours for $1, plus the cost of the selected score or without a score.
International Revenue Growth
International revenue increased approximately 7% in constant currency, including 12% growth in Asia Pacific, 11% growth in Australia, and 8% growth in Latin America. Latin American growth included double-digit revenue growth in Peru and Central America and high-single-digit growth in Brazil. Canada and Europe each grew 4%.
Círculo Crédito Acquisition
Equifax agreed to acquire Círculo Crédito, the fastest-growing credit bureau in Mexico, for an enterprise value of $750 million. Círculo's revenue increased 24% over the last 12 months through September and it delivered 47% EBITDA margins. Equifax expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted EPS in the first full year of ownership and expects to close it in the fourth quarter.
Record AI-Enabled Product Vitality
Equifax delivered a record new product vitality index of over 17% in the third quarter, above its 15% 2026 guidance and 10% long-term framework goal. More than 80% of year-to-date new products leveraged efx.ai capabilities, and the company reported double-digit performance lifts from efx.ai-enabled analytical products.
AI Productivity and Cost-Out Program
Equifax increased its multiyear AI productivity goal from $75 million to $150 million. Management said AI deployment across operations, technology, finance, HR, legal, and other functions is driving efficiencies, and described the program as still being in its early innings.
Strong Free Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns
Equifax returned $158 million of cash to shareholders in the third quarter and approximately $850 million year to date. Year-to-date share repurchases totaled approximately $650 million across 3.6 million shares, or 3% of shares outstanding. The company continues to expect over $1 billion of free cash flow and cash conversion above 100% in 2026.
Capital Capacity for M&A and Buybacks
Equifax stated that it has over $1.5 billion of financial capacity and expects approximately $1.5 billion of capital available in 2026 for M&A and shareholder returns while maintaining debt leverage at about three times EBITDA. The company expects to complete the Círculo acquisition and continue share repurchases in the fourth quarter.
Fourth-Quarter Guidance Includes Growth and Margin Expansion
Fourth-quarter revenue is expected to be between $1.605 billion and $1.635 billion, up approximately 4.5% year over year at the midpoint. Diversified markets revenue is expected to increase 6% to 7%, EBITDA is expected to be $529 million to $546 million, up almost 6% at the midpoint, and EPS is expected to be $2.07 to $2.17, up approximately 1.7% at the midpoint. EBITDA margins excluding FICO royalties are expected to expand about 90 basis points.
Full-Year Diversified Markets and Cash Flow Outlook
For 2026, Equifax expects diversified markets revenue growth of high single digits, revenue of $6.661 billion at the midpoint, EBITDA of $2.125 billion at the midpoint, adjusted EPS of $8.50 at the midpoint, over $1 billion of free cash flow, and cash flow conversion of at least 100%.
CH:EFX Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed