Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Equifax reported revenue of $1,540,000,000 for Q3 2025, an increase of over 7% in constant currency and reported dollars, exceeding the midpoint of July guidance by $25,000,000 [5][12] - Adjusted EPS was $2.4 per share, $0.12 above the midpoint of July guidance, reflecting stronger revenue growth and solid operating leverage [9][12] - Adjusted EBITDA margins were 32.7%, up 20 basis points sequentially [9] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - USIS mortgage revenue increased by 26% in Q3, driven by stronger market volumes and lower mortgage rates [23][56] - EWS revenue grew by 5%, with government performance driving growth [10][13] - International revenue was up 7% in constant currency, with Canada showing strong growth of 11% [29] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Mortgage hard credit inquiries were down about 7%, better than expectations of a decline over 12% [6][12] - Total U.S. mortgage revenue accounted for 21% of Equifax's total revenue in the quarter [8] - The mortgage market decline, as measured by hard credit inquiries, was a nearly 150 basis point drag on revenue growth [44] Company Strategy and Development Direction - Equifax is focusing on leveraging its new cloud capabilities and efx.ai to drive innovation and new product development [32][57] - The company is expanding its VantageScore offerings in response to FICO's price increases, aiming to drive competition in the mortgage credit scoring market [25][28] - The strategy includes enhancing partnerships and developing new solutions to address government program integrity and improper payments [20][21] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in long-term mortgage activity improvement as inflation stabilizes and rates decrease [7][12] - The company anticipates continued strong performance in the fourth quarter and is raising full-year guidance for revenue and adjusted EPS [12][56] - Management highlighted the positive momentum from government engagements post-OB3 legislation, expecting significant growth opportunities in 2026 and beyond [19][21] Other Important Information - Equifax incurred a restructuring charge of approximately $44,000,000 for cost reduction actions, expected to yield annual savings of about $30,000,000 starting in late 2026 [4] - The company returned about $360,000,000 to shareholders in Q3 through share repurchases and dividends [56] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you go into more detail on the mortgage pricing changes? - Management noted a groundswell of attention regarding FICO's price increase and the competitive response from Equifax, indicating active conversations with customers about VantageScore [60][62] Question: Can you elaborate on the margin guidance? - Management explained that the reduction in margin guidance is primarily due to increased variable compensation linked to stronger performance and a higher mix of mortgage revenue impacting gross margins [63][66] Question: What is the expected ramp-up in government discussions post-OB3? - Management indicated a mix of both immediate engagement and longer-term revenue opportunities, with states likely to start using solutions ahead of the fiscal year-end [68][70] Question: What is driving the increase in general corporate expenses? - The increase is attributed to higher variable compensation resulting from stronger performance and revenue growth [72][74] Question: What factors explain the difference in mortgage growth between USIS and EWS? - The disparity is largely due to the timing of mortgage activity benefits, with USIS seeing earlier benefits from lower rates compared to EWS [77][78]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In 2024, revenue increased by almost 8% on a reported and organic constant currency basis, aligning with the long-term growth framework of 8% to 12% [7] - Adjusted EPS was $7.29 per share, up over 8.5% compared to the previous year [7] - Free cash flow reached $813 million, up 58%, with cash conversion at 89% [8][51] - Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $502 million, marking the first quarter in Equifax's history to exceed $500 million [15] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Workforce Solutions revenue grew by 7% in the quarter, primarily impacted by lower talent solutions and onboarding revenue due to a weaker hiring market [17] - Government revenue increased by 11%, consistent with expectations, while Employer Services revenue declined by 9% due to the hiring market's weakness [18][19] - USIS revenue rose over 10%, driven by strong mortgage performance, with mortgage revenue up 47% [20][22] - International revenue grew by 11% in constant currency, exceeding the long-term framework of 7% to 9% [25] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The U.S. mortgage revenue was up 29% in the quarter but showed a significant decline in late December and January due to rising mortgage rates [13][14] - The hiring market is expected to decline by about 8% in 2025 compared to 2024, with U.S. hard credit inquiries projected to decrease by 12% [28][29] - The dollar's strength negatively impacted revenue by approximately $75 million, affecting the overall growth rate by over 200 basis points [30] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on leveraging its cloud transformation to drive growth, innovation, and new product development, with 85% of revenue now in the new Equifax cloud [9][52] - Equifax plans to return capital to shareholders through dividend growth and a multi-year share repurchase program starting in 2025 [8][36] - The company aims to maintain a vitality index above 10% in 2025, leveraging new products and AI capabilities [11][26] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledged the challenges posed by the U.S. mortgage and hiring markets, which are expected to impact revenue growth in 2025 [28][50] - Despite these challenges, the company remains confident in its ability to deliver organic revenue growth in the long-term range of 7% to 10% as markets normalize [51] - The management expressed optimism about the future of the government business, highlighting a significant total addressable market of $5 billion [86] Other Important Information - The company has made significant progress in cloud data and technology transformation, which is expected to provide a competitive advantage moving forward [9][52] - Adjusted EBITDA margins are expected to increase by about 25 basis points in 2025, despite lower revenue growth levels [39] Q&A Session Summary Question: EWS margin guidance reconciliation - Management noted that the decline in the mortgage market and onboarding costs for new partners are impacting margins, but they expect to return to margin growth as markets recover [56][59] Question: Impact of mortgage and hiring headwinds on growth - Management confirmed that without these headwinds, growth would have been approximately 200 basis points higher, with a significant impact on EPS [63][64] Question: Government business outlook - Management indicated that while there are challenges due to changes in reimbursement programs, they expect government revenue growth to return to double digits in the second half of 2025 [69][70] Question: Mortgage revenue as a percentage of total revenue - Mortgage revenues accounted for 17.7% of total revenues in Q4 2024, with a focus on hard inquiries that correlate with loan originations [74][75] Question: Non-mortgage growth factors - Management highlighted that auto and financial services performed relatively well, but the significant difference in growth rates between quarters was due to strong sales in the previous quarter [80]