Franklin Resources
Franklin Resources' revenue rose 3.5% to $8.8 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 6.9%, up from 4.8% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $912 million, up 14.8%. It paid out $924 million in dividends and buybacks, 101% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 1.4%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share fell 12.2% a year and net income 12.4% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 11%.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value Franklin Resources yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Franklin Resources' 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Franklin Resources' fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $912M, net cash of $1.2B at September 30, 2025 and 517 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Franklin Resources: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 2.0% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 10%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Asset Management & Custody Banks), plus 1 point for unsteady results (revenue fell in two of the last five years); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $30.99
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Franklin Resources' earnings per share of $1.47 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 18.5×, the middle of Franklin Resources' own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (its peers' median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 11%, 10% and 9%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $30.99
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- Franklin Resources' P/E at the last close
- 21.1×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlackstoneBX | $119.06 | $4.47 | 26.6× |
| Franklin ResourcesBEN | $30.99 | $1.47 | 21.1× |
| T. Rowe PriceTROW | $103.49 | $9.97 | 10.4× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 4,647 | 4,782 | 4,402 | 4,409 | 3,574 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 3,399 | 3,376 | 3,053 | 2,780 | 2,362 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | −1,248 | −1,406 | −1,350 | −1,629 | −1,212 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −0.6x | −0.8x | −1.1x | −3.1x | −1.7x |
| Debt to equity | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.2x | 0.2x |
| Interest coverage | 22.0x | 18.1x | 8.9x | 4.2x | 6.4x |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | — |
| Quick ratio | — | — | — | — | — |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 1 insider bought $2.1 million of Franklin Resources shares on the open market, and none sold any.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 20, 2025 | Charles B Johnson10% owner | Bought | 50,000 | $21.20 | $1.1 million | Form 4 |
| Nov 18, 2025 | Charles B Johnson10% owner | Bought | 50,000 | $21.49 | $1.1 million | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | — | — | — |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Pass | Fail |
| F-score | — | — | — |
| Accruals ratio | −0.7% | −1.6% | −1.7% |
Compare
Put Franklin Resources side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Resources | FY25 | 3.5% | 6.9% | 10.4% | 3.6% | −1.7x | — | |
| T. Rowe Price | FY25 | 3.1% | 29.9% | 20.2% | 21.7% | — | — | Compare |
| Invesco | FY25 | 5.1% | −10.9% | 22.6% | −3.8% | — | — | Compare |
| Blackstone | FY25 | 9.2% | — | 31.5% | 22.1% | 1.3x | — | Compare |
| Brookfield Asset Management | FY25 | 21.0% | — | 43.4% | — | — | — | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 6,618 | 6,392 | 6,319 | 5,774 | 5,566 | 8,426 | 8,275 | 7,849 | 8,478 | 8,771 |
| Revenue growth | −16.7% | −3.4% | −1.1% | −8.6% | −3.6% | 51.4% | −1.8% | −5.2% | 8.0% | 3.5% |
| Gross profit | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 2,366 | 2,264 | 2,028 | 1,467 | 1,049 | 1,875 | 1,774 | 1,102 | 408 | 604 |
| Net income | 1,727 | 1,697 | 764 | 1,196 | 799 | 1,831 | 1,292 | 883 | 465 | 525 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 2.94 | 3.01 | 1.39 | 2.35 | 1.59 | 3.57 | 2.53 | 1.72 | 0.85 | 0.91 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 584 | 559 | 538 | 504 | 492 | 491 | 489 | 491 | 510 | 517 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 1,728 | 1,135 | 2,230 | 268 | 1,083 | 1,245 | 1,957 | 1,089 | 971 | 1,066 |
| Capital expenditure | 98 | 75 | 106 | 234 | 104 | 79 | 90 | 149 | 177 | 154 |
| Free cash flow | 1,630 | 1,060 | 2,123 | 35 | 980 | 1,166 | 1,866 | 940 | 794 | 912 |
| Dividends paid | 409 | 441 | 2,117 | 519 | 533 | 560 | 583 | 607 | 656 | 684 |
| Share buybacks | 1,308 | 765 | 1,425 | 754 | 218 | 208 | 181 | 256 | 274 | 240 |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 14 | 87 | 494 | 3,821 | 9 | 1,355 | 500 | 175 | 0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 132 | 123 | 118 | 112 | 122 | 172 | 208 | 183 | 246 | 215 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 8,483 | 8,750 | 6,911 | 6,207 | 3,990 | 4,647 | 4,782 | 4,402 | 4,409 | 3,574 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 1,401 | 1,044 | 696 | 697 | 3,017 | 3,399 | 3,376 | 3,053 | 2,780 | 2,362 |
| Total assets | 16,099 | 17,534 | 14,384 | 14,532 | 21,684 | 24,168 | 28,061 | 30,121 | 32,464 | 32,368 |
| Total liabilities | 3,510 | 2,656 | 3,132 | 3,161 | 10,274 | 11,425 | 14,236 | 16,547 | 17,900 | 18,180 |
| Shareholders' equity | 11,936 | 12,620 | 9,899 | 9,906 | 10,114 | 11,223 | 11,475 | 11,917 | 12,508 | 12,078 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 35.8% | 35.4% | 32.1% | 25.4% | 18.8% | 22.2% | 21.4% | 14.0% | 4.8% | 6.9% |
| Net margin | 26.1% | 26.5% | 12.1% | 20.7% | 14.3% | 21.7% | 15.6% | 11.2% | 5.5% | 6.0% |
| Free cash flow margin | 24.6% | 16.6% | 33.6% | 0.6% | 17.6% | 13.8% | 22.6% | 12.0% | 9.4% | 10.4% |
| Return on capital | 30.5% | 29.8% | 22.0% | 23.8% | 10.9% | 15.7% | 12.8% | 7.7% | 2.6% | 3.6% |
| Return on equity | 14.5% | 13.8% | 6.8% | 12.1% | 8.0% | 17.2% | 11.4% | 7.5% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Return on assets | 10.7% | 10.1% | 4.8% | 8.3% | 4.4% | 8.0% | 5.0% | 3.0% | 1.5% | 1.6% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −2.9x | −3.3x | −3.0x | −3.6x | −0.9x | −0.6x | −0.8x | −1.1x | −3.1x | −1.7x |