First Advantage

FA · Nasdaq · Industrials · Financials, fiscal 2019 to 2025

FA · Last close · November 6, 2026

$23.53

First Advantage's revenue rose 83.0% to $1.6 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 8.4%, up from −7.2% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $188 million, up 611.9%. The diluted share count rose 16.6%.

First Advantage Corporation Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 26, 2026 · 0001193125-26-076740 Updated November 6, 2026

Revenue

$1.6B

83.0%

Operating margin

8.4%

15.7 pts

Net income

−$35M

Free cash flow

$188M

611.9%

Return on capital

3.2%

5.4 pts

Market cap

$4.1B

Nov 6 close

P/E

94.1x

On $0.25 EPS, 4 qtrs

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.

What First Advantage does

First Advantage sells software and data that employers use to check job candidates and employees. Its services include identity verification, criminal background screening, verification of credentials, drug and health screening, and continuous monitoring for risk. It says it serves more than 80,000 customers, including about two-thirds of the Fortune 100, and screens people in over 200 countries and territories.

It has three reportable segments: First Advantage Americas, First Advantage International, and Sterling. Sterling Check Corp. became part of First Advantage on October 31, 2024 and offers similar services worldwide. The company sells to people in many parts of its customers' organizations, such as human resources, compliance and legal teams, and earns its revenue from the checks it performs.

First Advantage says it plans to grow by serving selected industries, selling more to existing customers, cross-selling new products and winning new customers.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Failing to get the expected benefits from the Sterling acquisition.
Laws that govern background screening are numerous and keep changing.
Security breaches or mishandling of the personal data it collects.
Damage to its reputation or brand.
Not being able to carry out its growth plans on time.

From First Advantage's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2019 to 2023, earnings per share grew 5.5% a year and net income 2.2% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 11%. First Advantage then lost money in fiscal 2024 and 2025.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	294	394	214	169	240
Debt incl. finance leases	555	557	565	2,163	2,115
Net debt (negative means net cash)	261	163	351	1,994	1,875
Net debt to EBITDA	2.0x	1.0x	2.4x	134.6x	7.7x
Debt to equity	0.5x	0.5x	0.6x	1.7x	1.6x
Interest coverage	2.5x	3.5x	1.8x	−0.9x	0.8x
Current ratio	4.3x	5.6x	4.4x	1.9x	2.4x
Quick ratio	4.3x	5.6x	4.4x	1.9x	2.4x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project First Advantage's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open First Advantage's projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, 1 insider bought $106,740 of First Advantage shares on the open market, and 4 insiders sold $276.1 million, $889,173 of it under trading plans set up in advance.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Aug 12, 2026	Joseph OsnossDirector	Sold	12,500,000	$22.02	$275.2 million	Form 4
Jun 8, 2026	James Lindsey ClarkDirector	Sold plan	4,921	$15.69	$77,210	Form 4
Jun 1, 2026	Bret T JardineChief Legal Officer	Sold plan	25,000	$16.71	$417,750	Form 4
May 12, 2026	Bret T JardineChief Legal Officer	Sold plan	682	$16.12	$10,994	Form 4
May 7, 2026	Joelle M SmithPresident	Sold plan	23,334	$15.00	$350,010	Form 4
Mar 5, 2026	Bret T JardineChief Legal Officer	Sold plan	600	$12.09	$7,254	Form 4
Mar 4, 2026	Bret T JardineChief Legal Officer	Sold plan	1,090	$12.32	$13,429	Form 4
Mar 2, 2026	Douglas NairneGlobal Chief Operating Officer	Bought	9,000	$11.86	$106,740	Form 4
Nov 17, 2025	Bret T JardineChief Legal Officer	Sold plan	954	$13.13	$12,526	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	4 of 8	3 of 8	5 of 8
Rule of 40	15.3%	15.7%	95.0%
Altman Z''	2.71	0.66	1.18
Accruals ratio	−7.1%	−5.0%	−5.9%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Fail	Fail
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	Fail	Fail	Pass
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Pass	Fail
F-score	4 of 8	3 of 8	5 of 8

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put First Advantage 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
First Advantage	FY25	83.0%	8.4%	12.0%	3.2%	7.7x	5
Paylocity	FY26	11.0%	21.8%	28.1%	26.5%	−0.4x	8	Compare
Paycom	FY25	8.9%	27.6%	19.9%	—	—	—	Compare
Korn Ferry	FY26	6.4%	12.8%	11.0%	21.9%	−1.5x	8	Compare
Upwork	FY25	2.4%	16.4%	30.8%	31.0%	−2.0x	6	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

7 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	482	472	712	810	764	860	1,574
Revenue growth	—	−1.9%	50.8%	13.7%	−5.7%	12.6%	83.0%
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	33	32	46	52	49	64	102
Operating income	92	−2	64	94	82	−62	132
Net income	34	−48	16	65	37	−110	−35
Diluted EPS (US$)	0.21	−0.37	0.11	0.43	0.26	−0.74	−0.20
Diluted shares (millions)	164	130	142	152	146	149	173
Cash flow
Cash from operations	72	73	149	213	163	28	195
Capital expenditure	7	5	7	6	2	2	7
Free cash flow	65	68	141	207	161	26	188
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	0	60	60	0	0
Acquisitions	0	0	49	19	41	1,620	0
Stock-based compensation	1	2	10	8	15	32	24
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	81	154	294	394	214	169	240
Debt incl. finance leases	—	785	555	557	565	2,163	2,115
Total assets	—	1,764	1,887	1,886	1,631	3,923	3,834
Total liabilities	—	969	754	759	724	2,616	2,520
Shareholders' equity	—	794	1,132	1,127	907	1,307	1,314
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	19.1%	−0.4%	9.0%	11.6%	10.7%	−7.2%	8.4%
Net margin	7.1%	−10.1%	2.2%	8.0%	4.9%	−12.8%	−2.2%
Free cash flow margin	13.5%	14.3%	19.9%	25.5%	21.1%	3.1%	12.0%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	—	12.3%	70.6%	39.2%	15.3%	15.7%	95.0%
Return on capital	—	—	2.9%	5.3%	4.9%	−2.2%	3.2%
Return on equity	—	—	1.7%	5.7%	3.7%	−10.0%	−2.7%
Return on assets	—	—	0.9%	3.4%	2.1%	−4.0%	−0.9%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	10.5x	2.0x	1.0x	2.4x	134.6x	7.7x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: First Advantage's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with First Advantage.