MSCI Inc. (MSCI) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

MSCI's P/E of 35.0 is below its own 5-year median of 40.0.

P/E above the industry

MSCI's P/E of 35.0 is above the Miscellaneous Business Services median of 25.8.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

MSCI's EV/EBITDA of 27.8 is below its 5-year median of 32.9.

P/S above the industry

MSCI's price-to-sales of 13.78 is above the Miscellaneous Business Services median of 1.67 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

Trading above fair value

The share price of $661.53 is above our fair value estimate of $597.45.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 10.7% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing 10%+ a year

Revenue grew 11.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 13.5% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew 13.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 14.8% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 12.3% over the last twelve months; the Miscellaneous Business Services median is 9.9%.

Guidance raised

MSCI raised its Full-Year 2026 Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities outlook on Oct 20, 2026.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 82.9% over the last twelve months, against 82.4% a year earlier.

Return on equity

Needs positive equity and five years of results.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 49.1%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity against the industry

Needs positive equity.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 14.8% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 40.3% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 39.4%.

Net margin above the industry

MSCI's net margin of 40.3% is above the Miscellaneous Business Services median of 3.8%.

Debt level

Needs debt and equity figures.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 24.0% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 6.9 times.

Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

Current assets are 0.82 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 6.50; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

MSCI paid dividends worth 1.2% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 1.2% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; MSCI yields 1.2%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 42.1% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 37.0% of free cash flow.