Group 1 - The article discusses the evolution of market update platforms since 2008, highlighting the competition in the space and the limited number of companies that specialize in providing high-quality benchmarks [1] - It emphasizes the importance of independent analysis and the role of various analysts, including both professional and individual investors, in contributing to market insights [2]

Financial Performance - Consolidated revenue for Q3 2024 was $569.4 million, representing a 10.5% increase from $515.5 million in Q3 2023[107] - Operating income for Q3 2024 reached $115.5 million, up 65.0% from $70.0 million in Q3 2023[107] - Operating margin improved to 20.3% in Q3 2024, compared to 13.6% in Q3 2023, reflecting a 6.7 percentage point increase[107] - Total consolidated revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, was $1,684.1 million, a 12.3% increase from $1,499.9 million in the same period of 2023[107] - Adjusted operating income for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, was $316.6 million, reflecting a 132.5% increase from $136.2 million in the same period of 2023[107] Cash Flow - Cash provided by operating activities was $191.9 million in Q3 2024, a 46.8% increase from $130.7 million in Q3 2023[107] - Free cash flow for Q3 2024 was $155.8 million, up 53.6% from $101.4 million in Q3 2023[107] - Cash provided by operating activities for the first nine months of 2024 was $438.2 million, compared to $178.6 million in the prior-year period, reflecting an increase of 145.4%[158] - Free cash flow for the first nine months of 2024 reached $336.1 million, a substantial increase of 275.5% compared to $89.5 million in the same period last year[170] Revenue Breakdown - License-based revenue grew by $24.3 million, or 6.3%, in Q3 2024, driven by strong demand for PitchBook and Morningstar Data and Analytics products[113] - Asset-based revenue increased by $12.3 million, or 17.2%, in Q3 2024, primarily due to growth in Morningstar Wealth, Morningstar Retirement, and Morningstar Indexes[113] - Transaction-based revenue rose by $17.3 million, or 29.1%, in Q3 2024, mainly driven by Morningstar Credit revenue[113] - License-based revenue for the first nine months grew by $86.2 million, or 7.7%, with organic growth of 7.9% attributed to PitchBook and Morningstar Data and Analytics[114] - Asset-based revenue for the first nine months increased by $41.4 million, or 20.3%, driven by Morningstar Wealth, Morningstar Retirement, and Morningstar Indexes[114] - Transaction-based revenue for the first nine months rose by $56.6 million, or 33.0%, with organic growth of 30.3% primarily from Morningstar Credit[114] Expenses and Margins - Total operating expenses increased by $8.4 million, or 1.9%, in Q3 2024, with cost of revenue being the largest category[117] - Compensation expense rose by $16.2 million in Q3 2024, primarily due to increased bonus accruals[118] - General and administrative expenses decreased by $12.1 million in Q3 2024, largely due to a decline in SEC-related settlement expenses[124] - Cost of revenue increased by $19.8 million in Q3 2024, driven by higher compensation and technology infrastructure costs[122] - Operating margin for the first nine months of 2024 was 18.8%, an increase of 9.7 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023[128] Tax and Income - Income before income taxes for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was $149.3 million, a significant increase from $55.8 million in the same period last year, representing a growth of 167.5%[157] - The effective tax rate decreased to 19.8% in Q3 2024, down from 29.9% in Q3 2023, primarily due to a book gain from the sale of the Commodity and Energy Data business[157] Capital Expenditures and Debt - Capital expenditures for Q3 2024 were $(36.1) million, a 23.2% increase from $(29.3) million in Q3 2023[107] - Capital expenditures for the first nine months of 2024 increased to $102.1 million, compared to $89.1 million in the prior-year period, reflecting a growth of 14.6%[170] - The company’s total outstanding debt under the Amended 2022 Credit Agreement was $515.9 million as of September 30, 2024, with borrowing availability of $650.0 million under the revolving credit facility[161] Shareholder Returns - A regular quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share was approved in September 2024, amounting to $17.4 million, payable on October 31, 2024[166] - The company did not repurchase any shares under the share repurchase program for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, leaving $498.6 million available for future repurchases[167] Foreign Currency Exposure - The company is subject to risks from fluctuations in foreign currencies from operations outside the United States, with no current positions in derivative instruments to hedge this risk[176] - The estimated effect of a 10% adverse currency fluctuation on revenue is $(4.8) million for Australian Dollars, $(12.9) million for British Pounds, $(10.4) million for Canadian Dollars, $(11.2) million for Euros, and $(9.4) million for other foreign currencies[176] - The estimated effect of a 10% adverse currency fluctuation on operating income is $(1.9) million for Australian Dollars, $2.0 million for British Pounds, $(1.5) million for Canadian Dollars, $(2.9) million for Euros, and $3.7 million for other foreign currencies[176] Corporate Governance - The company has no changes in internal control over financial reporting that materially affected its internal control during the three months ended September 30, 2024[181] - The company’s disclosure controls and procedures were deemed effective as of September 30, 2024, providing reasonable assurance for timely disclosure of required information[180]

News Release 22 West Washington Street Telephone: +1 312 696-6000 Chicago Facsimile: +1 312 696-6009 Illinois 60602 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Morningstar, Inc. Reports Third-Quarter 2024 Financial Results CHICAGO, Oct. 23, 2024 - Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment insights, posted double-digit third-quarter revenue growth while expanding operating margins. "Morningstar Credit led the way in the quarter with additional contributions from across the business supporting ...

CONCORD, Calif., Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AssetMark, a leading provider of wealth management and technology solutions for financial advisors, announced the addition of Morningstar Wealth, a division of independent investing insights firm Morningstar, as a third-party strategist on the AssetMark Platform. This launch will enable financial advisors currently working with AssetMark to access a wide range of model portfolios and separately managed accounts ("SMAs") from the Morningstar Investment Mana ...

General and administrative expense decreased $9.8 million in the second quarter of 2024. A decline in professional fees of $5.0 million was the largest contributor to the decline during the quarter due to the factors noted above. Facilitiesrelated expenses also declined $4.5 million during the second quarter of 2024 due to the factors noted above. Depreciation and Amortization | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | |--------------------|-------|--------------|------- ...

Revenue Growth - Reported revenue increased 13.2% to $1.1 billion compared to the prior-year period; organic revenue grew 13.3%[26] - Morningstar reported revenue increased by 13.3% to $571.9 million compared to the prior-year period, with organic revenue growth of 13.6%[36] - Consolidated revenue for Q2 2024 reached $571.9 million, a 13.3% increase from $504.7 million in Q2 2023[85] - Total reportable segments revenue for the first half of 2024 was $1,014.1 million, reflecting a 12.9% increase from $898.0 million in the first half of 2023[85] Profitability - Diluted net income per share increased 90.5% to $1.60; adjusted diluted net income per share increased 54.6% to $2.01[25] - Adjusted operating income increased 87.9% to $108.5 million[2] - Adjusted operating income rose by 99.0%, reaching $201.1 million, while reported operating income increased by 203.8%[38] - Consolidated net income for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $69.1 million, compared to $36.1 million for the same period in 2023, representing an increase of 91.6%[60] Cash Flow - Cash provided by operating activities increased 414.2% to $246.3 million; free cash flow increased to $180.3 million compared to negative $11.9 million in the prior-year period[27] - Cash provided by operating activities increased to $152.7 million from $24.5 million in the prior-year period, reflecting a strong operational performance[37] - Free cash flow improved significantly to $120.8 million from a negative $5.8 million in the prior-year period, marking an increase of 110.8% when excluding prior-year negative impacts[37] Segment Performance - Morningstar Data and Analytics contributed $196.9 million to consolidated revenue, with revenue increasing 5.9% in the second quarter versus the prior-year period[31] - PitchBook contributed $151.7 million to consolidated revenue, with revenue increasing 10.9% on a reported and organic basis[32] - Morningstar Wealth contributed $62.6 million to consolidated revenue, with revenue increasing 12.2% in the second quarter versus the prior-year period[33] - Morningstar Retirement contributed $33.3 million to consolidated revenue, with a revenue increase of 21.5% in the second quarter compared to the prior-year period[47] - Morningstar Credit revenue increased by 43.2% in the second quarter versus the prior-year period, contributing $77.6 million to consolidated revenue[70] - Morningstar Indexes revenue increased by 22.3% to $207.6 billion, driven by higher investable product revenue and net inflows[72] Operating Metrics - Average AUMA increased 18.2% to $304.9 billion[22] - The second-quarter operating margin improved to 19.0%, up from 8.3% in the prior-year period, while adjusted operating margin was 22.9% compared to 13.8%[39] - Adjusted operating margin improved to 22.9% in Q2 2024, compared to 13.8% in Q2 2023, reflecting a 9.1 percentage point increase[85] Expenses and Liabilities - Unallocated corporate expenses increased to $46.1 million in Q2 2024 from $38.9 million in Q2 2023[9] - Operating expenses were relatively flat at $463.4 million, with a 1.4% increase when excluding M&A-related expenses[63] - Total liabilities decreased to $1,969.8 million as of June 30, 2024, from $2,075.6 million as of December 31, 2023[82] Tax and Other Financials - The Company's effective tax rate was 21.7% in the second quarter of 2024[30] - Total assets remained stable at $3,403.5 million compared to $3,403.4 million in the prior period[59] - Cash and cash equivalents totaled $439.2 million as of June 30, 2024, compared to $389.0 million at the end of 2023[74] - The impact of Corporate and All Other on consolidated adjusted operating income improved to negative $46.6 million from negative $53.7 million in the prior-year period[73] Severance and Other Costs - The company recorded $3.3 million in severance expenses related to the expected sale of assets from the Morningstar Wealth Turnkey Asset Management Platform[34]

RichVintage Morningstar's Best Value Stocks On June 26, Morningstar published 10 Best Value Stocks to Buy for the Long Term 10 Best Value Stocks to Buy for the Long Term. Morningstar noted: "Looking forward, we think long-term investors will be better off paring down those positions in growth stocks that are becoming overextended and reinvesting those proceeds into value stocks that trade at an attractive margin of safety from their intrinsic valuations." We've put together a list of the best value stocks t ...

Lieutenant Colonel G. Anthony (Tony) Bancroft, USMCR, team leader and Portfolio Manager of the Gabelli Commercial Aerospace & Defense ETF (GCAD), will present on Insights on the Commercial Aviation and Defense Spending Landscape at 10:15 am CT on Thursday June 27th. LtCol Bancroft joined Gabelli Funds in 2009 after serving as an F/A-18 Hornet fighter pilot with the United States Marine Corps. About GGRW Please read the Prospectus, including the Risk Discussion, carefully (when it becomes available) to under ...

CONCORD, Calif., June 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wealth management platform AssetMark, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc. and a Registered Investment Adviser (collectively "AssetMark"), today announced a strategic alliance with Morningstar Wealth, a division of independent investing insights firm Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN). Additionally, financial advisors currently working with AssetMark will gain access to a wide range of model portfolios and separately managed a ...

A recent article about ETFs to buy from Morningstar.com caught my attention for a few reasons. Secondly, Jackson's three choices made for an intriguing 3-ETF, 60/40 portfolio. Jackson didn't talk about this angle; I just went with it. To make this an original piece, I will choose three different ETFs for my 3-stock, 60/40 portfolio that are also highly rated and ready to deliver life-changing returns for investors. Source: Eviart / Shutterstock.com The actively managed ETF charges 0.43%. It generates monthl ...