Equifax Inc at RBC Capital Markets Technology, Internet, Media and Telecommunications Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : Maybe we'll just kick it off talking about the state of consumer lending. If you can talk about what's -- what do you see from a credit card, autos, consumer lending, personal loans, but also on the mortgage front? And how do you think about it as we get into more of a procyclical environment? Obviously, there are a lot of macro factors in terms of rates, theN fed rate cut, but also longer-term yields going up. You also have new administration, which are going to be more pro-business. How does all of that fit together? Thanks.

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's great color. If I can drill down further on that under 100 basis point of margin expansion. So you provided a lot of good color there. But I'm just wondering if you could articulate what are you assuming in terms of mortgage? Are you assuming like 5% when you are talking about 100 or even flattish mortgage? And the same thing on the other lending side? Any thoughts on those fronts?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : Yeah, no, not guidance.

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's very helpful color. And then something that you mentioned, your partner, or FICO, in particular, has already communicated that FICO price increases for next year. Historically, you have tried to maintain your margins on those price increases. Is that a fair assumption that you would continue to do that as we look going forward?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's helpful color. And then maybe one final question on mortgage, just on this tri-merge to bi-merge. FHFA had communicated that data on 4Q '25, any thoughts on the timeline there, potential for that to get pushed out?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : Yes. That's very helpful color. Switching gears, let's talk about verification business. You've had some great success adding new payroll providers, even signing up big HR service providers, including Workday. Can you just talk about what's driving that strong momentum? And how do you think about the pipeline as we get through this year, but also going into next year, just high-level pipeline?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's great color. And I do want to go and drill down into government. But before we do that, in terms of contributors, as you mentioned, you've signed up Workday, but are there other opportunities to sign up other HR software provider, but also retirement service providers or gig economy? How do you think about that opportunity? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. NOVEMBER 19, 2024 / 9:40PM, EFX.N - Equifax Inc at RBC Capital Markets Technology, Internet, Media and Telecommunications Conference

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's great. Maybe drilling down further on the government side, one of the questions that we get is, how is this new department of government efficiency that may potentially come up. How does that affect your business? Is that a positive? Or could that be a headwind for the business?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's great color. And then in terms of penetration, as you said, it's adopted at the state level, and there's still room there for penetration. So just even taking an example of Medicaid how much -- how many states have already adopted and how much runway do you have for penetration?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's great. And then maybe just thinking about other verticals like talent, in particular. You talked about some of the weakness there, which was very apparent. Even when First Advantage reported, you continue to see base business decline. How do you think about those trends? And where are you seeing those weakness? Are there certain verticals, certain areas that you've seen weakness?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : Talking about outperformance, we continue to see really good outperformance and that improved in the mortgage market as well, the verification mortgage market. What's driving that outperformance? How do you think about that sustainability of the outperformance going forward?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's great. And I think that takes us into this conversation around moving on to the fully cloud and the vitality index. You've seen some significant acceleration in vitality in the business and what's really driving it. So you mentioned a couple of these cross-selling opportunities, but I was wondering if you could also talk about the new product initiatives?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's great. If there are any questions, please raise your hands, and we can have the mic being brought around. I'll -- maybe one more question on employee services. The revenue decline, that was much worse in the third quarter. Obviously, some of it is ERC headwinds. Can you just talk about some of the headwinds that you've seen? And how do we think about those headwinds moderating as we go forward?

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : Sure. Absolutely. That's very important.

Question: Ashish Sabadra - RBC Capital - Analyst : That's very helpful color. And if I can ask just one quick follow-up, just given the dislocation in the stock that we've seen recently, does that create opportunity for you? And when you think about buyback, you think about more opportunistic or more scheduled buyback?