Experian plc (EXPN.L) — Company Research

Last Updated: 24 October 2026

Experian plc is the world's largest consumer credit bureau by revenue. It collects and analyses credit and identity data on consumers and businesses, sells that data and the software built on it to lenders, insurers, retailers, car dealers and healthcare providers, and runs free and paid credit services for more than 215 million consumer members. Experian is headquartered in Dublin, listed in London and reports in US dollars, with a financial year that ends on 31 March. Since the last version of this report (7 June 2026) Experian has reported 7% organic growth in the first quarter of FY27, completed the idwall acquisition in Brazil, appointed Adam Crozier as Chair and launched new cash-flow data products for lenders. Half-year results are due on 18 November 2026. Every figure below comes from Experian's results announcements, trading updates and RNS notices. There are no analyst opinions, price targets or ratings anywhere in it.

Share prices, and figures worked out from them, are not shown for London-listed companies on ChartsView.

1. Company Snapshot

2. The Bull and Bear Case

Bull Case

• Steady organic growth: organic revenue grew 8% in FY2026, with every quarter between 8% and 9%, and FY27 guidance is 6–8% organic growth and 8–11% total growth, confirmed on 16 Jul 2026.
• Margins and earnings compounding: Benchmark EPS rose from 124.5 cents in FY2022 to 179.8 cents in FY2026, the Benchmark EBIT margin reached 28.6%, and management guides to double-digit Benchmark EPS growth in FY27.
• AI built on proprietary data: the Ascend platform has more than 2,300 client solutions live, Experian Assistant speeds up credit model building, and a ServiceNow partnership and the Experian Agent Trust framework extend the data into agentic AI workflows.
• Latin America scale: Latin America produced US$1,297m of revenue in FY2026 with 8% organic growth, and grew 12% organically in Q1 FY27, helped by the ClearSale and idwall acquisitions in Brazil.
• Cash returns: Benchmark free cash flow was US$1,583m in FY2026, the full-year dividend rose 11% to 69.25 cents, and two US$1bn buyback programmes run to 30 Jun 2027.

Bear Case

• AI disruption debate: data and analytics shares sold off in early 2026 on fears that AI tools could weaken pricing for data and software, and Experian's revenue is concentrated in data products.
• Consumer Services slowing: Consumer Services organic growth fell to 2% in Q1 FY27, and North America Consumer Services shrank 2% as two data-breach support contracts wind down.
• US regulation and litigation: a CFPB lawsuit filed in January 2025 over Experian's handling of consumer disputes is still in discovery, and US mortgage regulators have been changing how many credit bureau reports lenders must pull.
• Weak spots outside the Americas: UK and Ireland grew only 2% organically in FY2026 and EMEA and Asia Pacific just 1% in Q1 FY27, while net debt rose to US$5,179m after US$792m of acquisitions.

3. Business Segments

From FY2026 Experian reports two business lines: B2B (split into Financial Services and Verticals) and Consumer Services. The table shows FY2026 revenue from ongoing activities of US$8,425m.

By region, North America produced US$5,587m (67%, organic growth 10%, margin 34.2%), Latin America US$1,297m (15%, 8%), UK and Ireland US$942m (11%, 2%) and EMEA and Asia Pacific US$599m (7%, 5%). Follow data and software names on the ChartsView Live Charts page.

4. Business Model and Moat

How it makes money. Lenders and other businesses pay Experian each time they pull a credit report, score or identity check, and pay subscriptions and licence fees for analytics and decisioning software such as Ascend and PowerCurve. Consumers use free credit reports and scores, and Experian earns referral fees when they take out credit cards or loans through its marketplace, plus subscription fees for premium services.

Unit economics. Data is collected once and sold many times, so extra volume is highly profitable. FY2026 Benchmark EBITDA was US$3,010m on US$8,425m of ongoing revenue, and 93% of Benchmark EBIT was converted into operating cash flow.

The moat. Experian holds credit files on hundreds of millions of people, built up over decades from lenders who contribute data in return for access. A new entrant would need years of payment history to match it. Regulation of credit reporting also raises the cost of entry. In the US it competes with Equifax and TransUnion, which have similar data assets.

Capital allocation. Experian targets net debt of 2.0–2.5 times Benchmark EBITDA (1.7 times at 31 Mar 2026), spends on bolt-on acquisitions (US$792m in FY2026), pays a progressive dividend and buys back shares.

5. Financial Health

All figures are in US dollars for years to 31 March, as reported. Experian is not an SEC registrant, so there is no SEC XBRL data; long-term debt is non-current borrowings from each year's balance sheet in the full-year results announcement.

GAAP EPS is statutory basic EPS under IFRS. Adjusted EPS is Experian's Benchmark EPS, which excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles, acquisition costs, exceptional items and financing fair-value movements. Net debt at each year end was US$3,950m (FY2022), US$4,030m (FY2023), US$4,053m (FY2024), US$4,684m (FY2025) and US$5,179m (FY2026).

Experian reports revenue growth each quarter but earnings only at the half and full year. Organic growth by quarter in FY2026 was 8%, 9%, 8% and 9%. H2 EPS figures are worked out by subtracting H1 from the full year and are approximate because share counts differ between halves.

Cash flow and balance sheet. In FY2026 cash generated from operations was US$2,875m and net cash inflow from operating activities US$2,239m. Capital expenditure was US$726m (US$677m on intangible assets, mostly software and data, and US$49m on property, plant and equipment). Depreciation and amortisation charged within Benchmark EBIT was US$613m; total depreciation and amortisation including acquisition amortisation was US$876m. At 31 Mar 2026 cash and cash equivalents were US$328m, current borrowings US$900m, non-current borrowings US$4,665m and net debt US$5,179m, with US$2.5bn of undrawn committed bank facilities.

FY27 guidance (20 May 2026, confirmed 16 Jul 2026). Total revenue growth of 8–11%, organic revenue growth of 6–8%, margin expansion at the higher end of Experian's medium-term framework and double-digit Benchmark EPS growth.

6. Valuation Metrics

Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

7. What Are They Building

Agentic AI on Ascend. Experian is turning its Ascend platform into the base for AI agents that build credit models, run fraud checks and handle lending workflows. It has a multi-year partnership with ServiceNow using the Model Context Protocol, and Experian Agent Trust, built with Visa, Cloudflare, Skyfire and Akamai, is meant to let consumers authorise AI agents to make payments. Experian puts its AI-enabled addressable market at more than US$15bn.

AI products in use. Experian Assistant, launched in October 2024, speeds up model development on Ascend. In healthcare, Patient Access Curator has cut insurance claim denials by about 30% for users. Experian's virtual assistant has handled about 3.5 million consumer conversations, and Experian apps run inside ChatGPT in the US and UK.

Cash-flow data for lenders. On 12 Oct 2026 Experian launched a Cashflow Data Bureau and Cashflow Attributes, which let commercial lenders assess businesses using bank-account cash-flow data as well as credit history.

Bolt-on acquisitions. Recent deals include ClearSale (Brazilian fraud prevention, completed 1 Apr 2025), KYC360 (UK identity compliance), AtData (US email data), Own Up (US AI mortgage marketplace, completed after March 2026), idwall (Brazilian identity verification, closed 1 Jul 2026) and eInsights (healthcare insurance discovery, 20 Oct 2026).

Cloud migration. The move of North American and Brazilian systems to the cloud is largely complete (excluding Health), and Experian expects savings from ending dual running from FY27.

8. Competitive Landscape

Experian's main rivals are the two other big US credit bureaus and the leading credit-score provider. Information-services groups such as RELX and Moody's compete in parts of the market.

Experian's FY2026 revenue of US$8,445m is larger than Equifax's or TransUnion's 2025 revenue, and its 8% organic growth was in line with or ahead of their reported growth.

9. Leadership and Insider Activity

Brian Cassin is Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lloyd Pitchford is Chief Financial Officer and Adam Crozier became Chair after the AGM on 22 Jul 2026, succeeding Mike Rogers. Director and PDMR (persons discharging managerial responsibilities) dealings disclosed by RNS in 2026 include:

On 4 Aug 2026 Experian Finance plc rolled over a contract for differences used to hedge employee share plans (475,000 shares matured, 600,000 entered); this is a company hedge, not a personal dealing. Esther Lee, a non-executive director, also buys small numbers of ADRs through dividend reinvestment. The only sales in 2026 were to cover tax on vesting awards.

10. Key Risks

• Data security (Operational): Experian holds sensitive personal and financial data on hundreds of millions of people; a major breach or misuse would bring fines, lawsuits and lost trust. Data loss and resiliency against ransomware and AI-driven cyber attacks are listed principal risks.
• US regulation and litigation (Regulatory): the CFPB lawsuit filed in January 2025 over consumer dispute handling is still in discovery, and rules on credit reporting, open banking, privacy and AI keep changing.
• AI and competition (Competitive): Equifax, TransUnion, FICO and new AI-led entrants compete for the same clients, and AI tools could change how lenders buy data and models.
• Credit cycle (Macro): revenue depends on lending volumes; higher interest rates or a recession reduce credit applications and marketplace referrals.
• Consumer Services slowdown (Commercial): North America Consumer Services fell 2% in Q1 FY27 as breach-response contracts end; a longer slowdown would weigh on group growth.
• Currency and Brazil (Financial): Latin America is 15% of revenue, mostly in Brazilian reais, so a weaker real reduces reported US dollar revenue and profit.

11. Recent Developments

• 20 May 2026 — FY2026 results. Revenue US$8,445m, organic growth 8%, Benchmark EPS 179.8 cents, dividend up 11% to 69.25 cents and a further US$1bn buyback; FY27 guidance of 6–8% organic growth.
• 01 Jul 2026 — idwall acquisition closed. Experian completed its purchase of idwall, a Brazilian identity-verification business.
• 16 Jul 2026 — Q1 FY27 trading update. Revenue up 10% at actual rates and 7% organically; B2B grew 9% and Consumer Services 2%; full-year guidance confirmed.
• 22 Jul 2026 — New Chair. Adam Crozier succeeded Mike Rogers as Chair after the AGM.
• 12 Oct 2026 — Cashflow Data Bureau launched. New products give commercial lenders bank-account cash-flow data and attributes alongside credit data.
• 20 Oct 2026 — eInsights acquired. Experian Health bought eInsights to expand its insurance-discovery services for hospitals and clinics.

12. Key Dates to Watch

• 18 Nov 2026 — H1 FY27 results (six months to 30 Sep 2026) and first interim dividend announcement
• Expected Jan 2027 — Q3 FY27 trading update (date not yet published; last year 21 Jan)
• Expected Feb 2027 — FY27 first interim dividend payment (last year 6 Feb)
• Expected May 2027 — FY27 full-year results (date not yet published)
• 30 Jun 2027 — end date for both current US$1bn share buyback programmes

The CFPB case has no trial date yet. Interest-rate decisions that affect lending volumes are on the ChartsView Economic Calendar. Discuss Experian with other investors in the ChartsView Forum.

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