Equifax Earnings: Mortgage Volume Decline Hurts Results, but Equifax Has Some Pockets of Strength

Equifax saw a third quarter somewhat softer than expected as mortgage volumes continue a downward trend. Revenue was $1.32 billion or $1.30 billion excluding its acquisition of Boa Vista, which was just shy of the $1.33 billion FactSet consensus and the firm’s midpoint guidance of $1.33 billion. We attribute the softness to lower mortgage volumes (mortgage credit inquiries were down 29% in the quarter) and to a lesser extent a stronger dollar weighing on reported results. With mortgage rates continuing to move higher, investors’ patience on mortgage volumes will be tested, but we believe mortgage volumes will rise over the long term and view Equifax’s shares as attractive at current levels. We will maintain our wide moat rating and $270 fair value estimate on Equifax’s shares.