Equifax (EFX)

[winston]

Equifax's Future Could Go in One of Two Directions

Analysts disagree on whether Equifax could wind up more like S&P, or ChoicePoint.

by Chris Nolter

Source: The Street

https://www.thestreet.com/story/1430808 ... yptr=yahoo

[winston]

Equifax earnings: Breach may have hurt consumers, but it won’t hurt the business

By Emma Court

Ultimately, consumers aren’t Equifax’s main business — selling services to other businesses is

“Our view remains that Equifax’s core value proposition — facilitating underwriting, decisioning, marketing and risk management — remains intact”

Potential breach-related fines and lawsuit settlements could be substantial, Wall Street analysts said, ranging between about $500 million to $1 billion. But the company can probably absorb it, along with whatever legal, cybersecurity and customer service costs the breach will entail.

“We believe that it could take several quarters for these questions to come into focus, and we do not expect Q3 results to provide many answers,” Bisbee said.

But others saw a clearer picture. The hack will also likely eat into the company’s $200 million in direct-to-consumer business, but even a substantial loss would be limited, since it makes up just 6% of total revenue.

Source: Market Watch

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/equifa ... yptr=yahoo

[winston]

Equifax, reeling from hack, still has no earnings report date

by John McCrank

Equifax has until Nov. 9 to release its results or seek an extension.

The average analyst price target on the stock is now $124.62, down from $153.25 before the breach.

Source: Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-equif ... ess%201700

[winston]

not vested

Equifax profit falls as hacking costs take toll

by John McCrank

The Atlanta-based company said it recorded $87.5 million in expenses related to the hack during the quarter, including legal fees, investigation of the breach, and free credit monitoring for U.S. consumers whose data was exposed in the breach.

Equifax estimated a range of additional costs between $56 million and $110 million to continue providing the free services.

Equifax reported third-quarter revenue of $834.8 million, missing analysts’ average estimate of $845.94 million, according to I/B/E/S Thomson Reuters.

Net income attributable to Equifax fell to $96.3 million, or 79 cents per diluted share, from $132.8 million, or $1.09 per diluted share, a year earlier.

Adjusted for one-time costs, such as hacking- and merger-related expenses, Equifax said it earned $1.53 per share, topping analysts’ average estimates by 4 cents.

Source: Reuters


http://www.reuters.com/article/us-equif ... ser%20List

[winston]

not vested

Equifax: Crime Pays

by Samantha Miller

Summary

Equifax represents a compelling situational opportunity due to the recently announced massive data breach.

The data breach could actually be accretive to Equifax's revenues long term.

The market has a short memory. This too shall one day be mostly forgotten and it will be business as usual.

Source: Seeking Alpha

https://seekingalpha.com/article/413101 ... ngcom_feed