Information solutions provider Equifax Inc. (EFX) on Wednesday reported a decline in profit for the third quarter, hurt by lower operating revenues and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. Adjusted earnings, although was lower than in the year-ago period, topped Wall Street view. The company guided the fourth quarter almost in line with Street estimates.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based company reported third-quarter net income attributable to the company of $59.7 million or $0.47 per share, down from $72.3 million or $0.56 per share in the same quarter last year.
Excluding the impact of acquisition-related amortization expense, restructuring and asset write-down charges and income tax benefit in the prior year, adjusted earnings for the quarter dropped to $73.4 million or $0.57 per share from $82.1 million or $0.63 per share in the third quarter of 2008. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.55 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company's projection for third-quarter adjusted earnings was in the range of $0.52 to $0.57 per share.
Operating revenue for the quarter dropped 7% to $451.9 million from $484.1 million in the prior year quarter. Four analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $452.14 million for the quarter. The company noted that unfavorable foreign exchange rates reduced operating revenues by 3%.
Total U.S. Consumer Information Solutions generated $200.7 million, down 9% from last year, hurt primarily by a 12% drop in revenue from Online Consumer Information Solutions.
Total International revenues, consisting of Europe, Latin America and Canada Consumer, dropped 13% to $114.9 million with all the three reporting double-digit decline in quarterly revenues.
TALX revenues for the quarter were $83.1 million, up 13% from last year, owing to higher Work Number revenues as well as increase in revenues at Tax and Talent Management Services.
Revenue from North America Personal Solutions declined 9% to $37.1 million, and North America Commercial Solutions revenues slipped 4% to $16.1 million.
Total operating expenses declined to $345.6 million from $376.9 million, primarily due to lower selling, general and administrative expenses in the latest period.
For the second quarter of 2009, Equifax had reported net income attributable to the company of $59.6 million, down 16% from $70.8 million in the prior year quarter. Earnings per share fell to $0.47 from $0.54 in the previous year quarter. Second-quarter operating revenue declined of 9% to $455.4 million from $501.9 million in the second quarter of 2009.
For the first three quarters of the fiscal, net income attributable to the company dropped to $173.7 million or $1.36 per share from $208.8 million or $1.59 per share. Operating revenue declined to $1.360 billion from $1.489 billion in the prior year.
Looking ahead, the company expects adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter in the range of $0.53-$0.58. Analysts expect the company to report fourth quarter earnings in the range of $0.54-$0.59 per share with a consensus of $0.56 per share.
Equifax also said today that it agreed to buy IXI Corp., which measures consumer wealth and asset data, for $124 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the near future. Equifax and IXI have worked together over the last 18 months.
Commenting on the deal, Richard Smith, Equifax's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said "The wealth and asset data, which IXI owns, significantly broadens and deepens the insight about consumers' capacity, ability and propensity to spend or to pay on their obligations. This unique consumer wealth data substantially enhances our strategy of providing differentiated data, best-in-class analytics, and technology for our customers' decisioning needs."
EFX closed Wednesday's regular trade at $28.45, down $0.17 or 0.59%, on 1.64 million shares. The stock dropped over 3% in the extended trade. For the past year, the shares have been trading in the range of $19.38-$29.62.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.