MSCI
MSCI Inc.
Financial Services · Financial Data & Stock Exchanges · United States · Stock
Score Breakdown
Scored for Dividend Income profile
Sub-scores are 0–20 each; Model Score is weighted by your selected investment goal. How it works →
Why Ranked Here
- A perfect profitability score anchors the composite, driven by a 54.7% operating margin and 38.4% net margin in FY2025 that reflect an exceptionally efficient business.
- Near-top scores in both momentum and dividend — supported by four consecutive quarters of revenue growth and a multi-year dividend per share increase from $4.58 to $7.20 — contribute meaningfully to the 72.4/100 total.
- The growth factor earned a mid-range score as +9.7% revenue and +8.4% net income growth, while solid, did not reach the model's higher thresholds, and the financial health factor also scored in the mid-range.
Why Not Higher
- The absence of any macro theme assignment means MSCI receives no thematic tailwind credit, which structurally limits the composite score.
- Growth rates, while consistent, were not high enough to earn a top growth score, and net income variability across quarters — including a dip to $284,669,000 in 2025Q4 — kept the momentum score just below the maximum.
Data Confidence
10 / 10
Very High — full data coverage
Why This Score
Grounded in figures from this company's SEC EDGAR filings — not a restatement of the score itself.
Revenue grew from FY2024's $2,856,128,000 to FY2025's $3,134,459,000, a gain of +9.7%. Net income rose +8.4% over the same period, while diluted EPS increased +11.7% from FY2024 to FY2025.
The model rewarded consistent top-line and bottom-line expansion, with EPS growth slightly outpacing revenue and net income growth, likely reflecting share count reduction. The mid-range score suggests the growth rates, while solid, did not reach the higher thresholds required for a top score.
In FY2025, MSCI reported an operating margin of 54.7% and a net margin of 38.4%, reflecting exceptional earnings conversion from revenue. Return on equity in FY2025 was -45.3%, driven by a negative equity base rather than operating underperformance.
The model awarded a perfect score primarily on the strength of the extraordinarily high operating and net margins in FY2025, which indicate a highly efficient, asset-light business model. The negative ROE, while technically negative, is a structural artifact of shareholder-friendly capital return activity rather than a sign of operational weakness.
Filing evidence currently available does not support a more specific explanation for this factor.
Revenue has risen sequentially in each of the last four quarters: $772,679,000 in 2025Q2, $793,426,000 in 2025Q3, $822,554,000 in 2025Q4, and $850,800,000 in 2026Q1. Operating income similarly trended upward from $425,234,000 in 2025Q2 to $463,643,000 in 2025Q4, though it edged slightly lower to $456,900,000 in 2026Q1. Net income was more variable, dipping to $284,669,000 in 2025Q4 before rebounding sharply to $406,000,000 in 2026Q1.
The model rewarded the consistent sequential revenue acceleration and generally rising operating income as evidence of sustained business momentum, while the net income volatility across quarters tempered the score slightly below the maximum.
Dividends per share have grown each year from $4.58 in FY2022 to $5.52 in FY2023, $6.40 in FY2024, and $7.20 in FY2025. The dividend payout ratio in FY2025 stood at 46.3% of net income.
The model rewarded the consistent multi-year dividend per share growth trajectory alongside a payout ratio that signals both meaningful income return to shareholders and sufficient retained earnings to sustain future increases, resulting in a near-top score for this factor.
MSCI is not currently assigned to any of the 24 tracked macro themes in the model.
The absence of a theme assignment means the security did not receive any thematic tailwind credit under the model's current methodology; this reflects the model's classification state and is not an indicator of the company's business quality or outlook.
Research Summary
AI-generated analysis reflects data and conditions as of the report date shown above. Verify any specific figures through primary sources before acting on this analysis.
MSCI Inc. earns a composite score of 72.4/100 with a Low risk rating and a Dividend Candidate label, reflecting a business that combines exceptional profitability, consistent dividend growth, and steady revenue momentum. Revenue grew +9.7% year-over-year to $3,134,459,000 in FY2025, while operating and net margins reached 54.7% and 38.4% respectively, underscoring an asset-light, highly efficient model. Dividends per share have risen every year from $4.58 in FY2022 to $7.20 in FY2025, with a payout ratio of 46.3% that leaves room for continued increases. The score is tempered by the absence of a macro theme assignment and moderate growth rates that did not reach the highest thresholds.
Plain English
MSCI is a highly profitable company that keeps growing its revenue and raises its dividend every year, making it an attractive income-oriented holding, though its overall score is held back because it doesn't fit into any of the model's special macro trend categories and its growth, while solid, isn't explosive.
Bull Case vs. Bear Case
Bull Case
- Exceptional profitability: MSCI posted a 54.7% operating margin and 38.4% net margin in FY2025, reflecting a highly efficient, asset-light business model that converts a large share of revenue into earnings.
- Consistent dividend growth: Dividends per share have increased every year from $4.58 in FY2022 to $7.20 in FY2025, with a 46.3% payout ratio that signals both meaningful shareholder returns and capacity for future increases.
- Sustained revenue momentum: Quarterly revenue has risen sequentially in each of the last four reported quarters, from $772,679,000 in 2025Q2 to $850,800,000 in 2026Q1, demonstrating durable top-line acceleration.
Bear Case
- No macro theme tailwind: MSCI is not assigned to any of the 24 tracked macro themes, meaning it receives no thematic credit in the model, which weighs on the composite score regardless of underlying business quality.
- Moderate growth rates: Revenue grew +9.7% and net income grew +8.4% year-over-year in FY2025 — solid but not at the higher thresholds the model requires for a top growth score, limiting upside to the composite.
- Net income volatility: Quarterly net income was uneven, dipping to $284,669,000 in 2025Q4 before rebounding to $406,000,000 in 2026Q1, introducing some uncertainty around the consistency of bottom-line results.
What Could Change the Picture
Bullish Triggers
- If MSCI were assigned to one or more of the model's tracked macro themes, it could receive meaningful thematic tailwind credit that would lift the composite score.
- Acceleration in revenue or earnings growth beyond current mid-single to low-double-digit rates could push the growth factor score higher and strengthen the overall composite.
Bearish Triggers
- A sustained deceleration in sequential quarterly revenue growth — reversing the trend from $772,679,000 in 2025Q2 to $850,800,000 in 2026Q1 — would undermine the momentum factor that currently supports the score.
- Any reduction or pause in dividend per share growth, which has risen every year from FY2022 through FY2025, would weaken the dividend factor that is central to the Dividend Candidate label.
Risk Profile
Low RiskThe Low risk rating is supported by consistently rising sequential quarterly revenues and strong operating income trends, though net income showed some quarter-to-quarter variability, dipping in 2025Q4 before recovering sharply in 2026Q1. Total assets stood at $5,702,459,000 in FY2025, providing a tangible balance sheet base, though the financial health factor's specific drivers are not fully detailed in available filing evidence.
This report is for educational and research purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice — always conduct your own due diligence before making investment decisions.