Equifax Inc.
EFX,
shares fell 1.5% in the extended session Wednesday after the consumer credit reporting agency reported fourth-quarter earnings that were above Wall Street expectations. Equifax said it earned $74.5 million, or 61 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $15.8 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Equifax said it was hit with a $31.9 million charge related to “right sizing” the organization as investments in technology transformation are reduced in 2021 relative to 2020. Adjusted for that and other items, the company earned $2 a share in the quarter. Revenue rose 23% to $1.12 billion, the company said. Amid a boom for mortgages and refinancing due to low interest rates, Equifax said revenue from its mortgage business rose 55%. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted profit of $1.83 a share on sales of $1.08 billion. Equifax guided for first-quarter revenue between $1.105 billion and $1.125 billion, and adjusted EPS between $1.45 and $1.55. For full-year 2021, the company guided for revenue between $4.35 billion and $4.45 billion, and adjusted EPS between $6.20 and $6.50. The quarterly and yearly guidances are around expectations or above. Shares of Equifax ended the regular trading day down 0.1%.
