Hurdle Test
MSCI Inc
MSCI|Financial Services|Financial Data & Stock Exchanges|Fiscal year ends December|Latest annual filing FY2025, the year ended Dec 31, 2025
$561.67
Staying power
Discipline
Revenue growthCleared
11.8%
a year, FY2016 to FY2025
Rule: 10-year CAGR at or above 8%
EBITDA growthCleared
14.5%
a year, operating income plus D&A
Rule: 10-year CAGR at or above 8%
Free cash flowCleared
16.6%
a year after stock comp; 3-year margin 45.5%
Rule: growth at or above 5%, margin at or above 10%
LeverageCleared
3.00x
net debt to EBITDA; 5.8B net debt
Rule: below 3.0x
Share countCleared
-2.5%
a year, FY2016 to FY2025; buybacks at least offset issuance
Rule: flat or falling over the period
Cash marginCleared
45.9%
latest free cash flow margin; 3-year average 45.5%
Rule: no more than 2% below the three-year average
DurableClears all four staying-power checks, 5th year running (FY2021 to FY2025).FY2016 to FY2025Discipline 2 of 2Fundamentals Rating 75 (Fortress)Methodology 2026-10-01.1Full analysis in Wealth Engine
Ten years of price against the hurdleMonth-end closes as traded, restated for splits
Price per shareHurdle price at the 29x exit, drawn flat from todayHurdle price at the last fiscal year-end multiple
Hurdle priceAn exhibit, not a check
$758price that returns 10% a year
over ten years, 29x exit
over ten years, 29x exit
Price vs hurdle26% below $561.67 last close
Modeled IRR at $561.6713.8%
Exit EV/EBITDA29.0x 10-yr median 29.1x, last FYE 25.8x
EBITDA growth path12% to 4% lesser of 5-yr 14.2% and 10-yr 14.5%, capped at 12%
Base cash flow per share$18.59 3-yr FCF margin on the latest revenue
Year-10 sale value$1,498/sh less $5.8B net debt
Shares0.08B, held flat
Multiple vs own history0.89x the last fiscal year-end EV/EBITDA against the ten-year median
Read this as arithmetic, not advice. The hurdle price is what the stated inputs imply, and the back-test found that buying below it did not sort winners from losers. Change the exit multiple and it moves; the grid below shows by how much.
Capital allocation, FY2016 to FY2025$ billions, except shares, per-share figures and yield; fiscal years end in December
| Fiscal year | Operating cash flow | Stock comp | Capex | Free cash flow | Net borrowing | FCFE | Shares (B) | FCF per share | Year-end price | FCF yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | +0.5 | 0.9 | 0.10 | $3.73 | $78.78 | 4.7% |
| 2017 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | +0.0 | 0.3 | 0.09 | $3.47 | $126.54 | 2.7% |
| 2018 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | +0.5 | 1.0 | 0.09 | $5.85 | $147.43 | 4.0% |
| 2019 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | +0.5 | 1.1 | 0.09 | $7.18 | $258.18 | 2.8% |
| 2020 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.7 | +0.3 | 1.0 | 0.08 | $8.39 | $446.53 | 1.9% |
| 2021 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 | +0.8 | 1.6 | 0.08 | $9.92 | $612.69 | 1.6% |
| 2022 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | +0.3 | 1.3 | 0.08 | $11.87 | $465.17 | 2.6% |
| 2023 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.1 | -0.0 | 1.1 | 0.08 | $13.45 | $565.65 | 2.4% |
| 2024 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.4 | +0.0 | 1.4 | 0.08 | $17.38 | $600.01 | 2.9% |
| 2025 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.4 | +1.7 | 3.1 | 0.08 | $18.76 | $573.73 | 3.3% |
| 9-yr CAGR | 15.5% | 14.9% | -0.9% | 16.6% | n/a | 15.5% | -2.5% | 19.7% | 24.7% | avg 2.9% |
Valuation, FY2016 to FY2025$ billions; market cap uses the fiscal year-end price
| Fiscal year | Revenue | EBITDA | EBITDA margin | Debt incl. leases | Cash & securities | Market cap | Enterprise value | EV / EBITDA | Net debt / EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 49.5% | 2.1 | 0.8 | 8 | 9 | 15.6x | 2.25x |
| 2017 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 51.8% | 2.1 | 0.9 | 12 | 13 | 19.4x | 1.80x |
| 2018 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 53.9% | 2.6 | 0.9 | 13 | 15 | 19.3x | 2.16x |
| 2019 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 53.6% | 3.2 | 1.5 | 22 | 24 | 28.5x | 2.07x |
| 2020 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 58.7% | 3.5 | 1.5 | 38 | 40 | 39.9x | 2.04x |
| 2021 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 59.1% | 4.3 | 1.4 | 51 | 54 | 44.8x | 2.39x |
| 2022 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 60.0% | 4.6 | 1.0 | 38 | 41 | 30.7x | 2.70x |
| 2023 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 61.0% | 4.6 | 0.5 | 45 | 49 | 31.9x | 2.69x |
| 2024 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 60.7% | 4.6 | 0.4 | 47 | 52 | 29.7x | 2.44x |
| 2025 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 61.6% | 6.3 | 0.5 | 44 | 50 | 25.8x | 3.00x |
| 9-yr CAGR | 11.8% | 14.5% | avg 57.0% | 13.2% | -4.7% | 21.5% | 21.1% | median 29.1x | avg 2.35x |
How much depends on the exit multipleTen-year modeled IRR by purchase price and exit EV/EBITDA
| Purchase price | 19.5x | 24x | 26x last FYE | 29x median | 38.5x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $421 | 13.8% | 15.8% | 16.6% | 17.7% | 20.7% |
| $506 | 11.3% | 13.3% | 14.1% | 15.2% | 18.1% |
| $562 last close | 9.9% | 11.9% | 12.7% | 13.8% | 16.7% |
| $646 | 8.2% | 10.1% | 10.9% | 12.0% | 14.9% |
| $758 | 6.2% | 8.1% | 8.9% | 10.0% | 12.9% |
Clears the 10% hurdleWithin 3 pointsBelowGrowth path and base cash flow held constant across the grid
For put sellers
$758Strikes at or below this price are at or below the model's 10% return price at the 29x exit, before any premium collected. The back-test found no edge in that line; the staying-power record above is what sorted outcomes.
$690The same hurdle if the market keeps paying the last fiscal year-end multiple of 25.8x at exit.
BetweenStrikes between the two prices are a bet that the multiple holds, not that the business grows.
Coming next. The monthly put strikes at or below the hurdle price, with premium, annualized yield and Zone Score from the options pipeline, for members. See plans
NotesWritten from the filings by rule; no forecasts
The company has cleared all four staying-power checks for 5 fiscal years running, since FY2021. Revenue grew 11.8% a year and EBITDA 14.5% a year from FY2016 to FY2025, and free cash flow after stock compensation grew 16.6% a year. The share count fell 2.5% a year through buybacks. Net debt stood at 3.0x EBITDA at the last fiscal year-end. At 26x EBITDA at the last fiscal year-end against a ten-year median of 29x, the model prices the last close of $562 as a 13.8% ten-year return; the grid shows how that changes if the multiple holds.
Trend check
45.9%Latest free cash flow margin, against a three-year average of 45.5%.
1%Capital spending as a share of revenue in the latest year, from 4% in FY2016. Rising capital intensity holds free cash flow back even when operating cash flow grows.
2.5BSpent on buybacks in the latest fiscal year, 0.6B on dividends; the share count fell 2.5% a year over the period.
75Wealth Engine Fundamentals Rating (Fortress), as of Oct 9, 2026: Financial Health 75, Execution 87, Moat 11 of 15, Growth 12.5 of 15.
Definitions
- Free cash flow is operating cash flow less stock-based compensation less capital spending. Stock comp is treated as a real cost.
- Net borrowing is the year's change in long-term debt. FCFE adds it back to free cash flow, the classic one-page definition.
- EBITDA is operating income plus depreciation and amortization. Debt includes lease obligations; cash includes short-term investments.
- Market cap uses the fiscal year-end price as traded, restated for later splits but not for dividends; enterprise value adds debt and subtracts cash.
- Share count is the yearly change in shares outstanding over the period; flat or falling clears. Cash margin is the latest free cash flow margin against its three-year average; within two points clears.
- Hurdle price is the present value, at the hurdle rate, of ten years of modeled free cash flow per share plus a year-10 sale at the exit multiple. It is shown as an exhibit: the 2011 to 2021 back-test found that buying below it did not sort winners from losers, so it is not scored.
- Cleared on a check means the number clears the stated rule; Not cleared means it does not. Durable, Holding and First year say how many fiscal years running the company has cleared all four staying-power checks (four or more, two or three, one); Partial and Not cleared count the checks it clears today. All of it is fact about the filings, not a rating of the stock.