Equifax Inc. (EFX) Earnings Decline on Data Breach Scandal

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Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) disappointed in its quarterly results despite an earnings beat following the data breach reported by the company last quarter.

Equifax Inc. (EFX)

For its third quarter of fiscal 2017, the consumer credit reporting agency earned 79 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, it raked in $1.53 per share, beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.49 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue was weaker for the period as Equifax raked in $834.8 million over the three months ended September. Seven analysts polled by Zacks called for sales of $847.3 million.

The hack compromised the personal information of 145.5 million consumers, taking a toll on Equifax’s reputation and resulting in investigations from every state, a federal crime probe and lawsuits. The company said it is not sure how much the data breach has hampered its earnings.

Equifax predicts that providing free services will set it back between $56 million and $110 million. A further $87.5 million has been spent on legal fees since the hack.

Net income for the period slid to $96.3 million, or 79 cents per diluted share, compared to the $132.8 million, or $1.09 per diluted share from a year ago.

The company announced during the earnings call that it is offering a dividend of 39 cents per share, payable on Dec. 15, 2017, to shareholders on record as of the market’s close on Nov. 24, 2017. Equifax has offered cash dividends for over 100 consecutive years.

EFX shares fell 0.4% after the bell Thursday.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/11/equifax-inc-efx/.

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