Where DFIN sits among all investable US stocks
Cheapness against five-year return on assets, as percentiles. Upper left is cheaper with higher returns; larger dark dots are its industry (Software).
DFIN is a cheap, high-return compliance software firm whose live buyback is the catalyst, though deal-driven earnings and a sharp rebound limit the cushion.
DFIN sells compliance and reporting software and services to public companies and funds. Its shares are up 74.8% in five years, ahead of peers (down 51.3%) and the S&P 500 (+71.2%), but behind the tech sector fund (+111.6%). They have swung hard on deal-driven earnings and guidance. The question is whether 11.4× operating income is still cheap after the rebound. It is: high returns and a live buyback back the discount, though the cushion is thinner.
The last five years on the numbers
Where DFIN has ranked among investable US stocks each quarter since 2021. Hollow dot: five years ago; solid dot: the latest quarter. The share price over the same years is in the five-year record below.
Cheap and high quality: 18th-percentile multiple, 89th-percentile return on assets.
11.4× EV to operating income: 18th percentile of US stocks, 10th cheapest of 144 in software (industry median 70th, sector 64th). Earnings yield 8.8% vs 4.9% Treasury. FCF yield 10.4% (84th percentile); net debt $107M.
Against the market, its industry and sector
DFIN as a percentile of all 3,202 investable US stocks, against the 144 in Software and the 414 in the Technology sector.
| Metric | DFIN | Position | In its industry | Industry median | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquirer's Multiple | 18th | #10 of 144 | 70th | 64th | |
| Free cash flow yield | 84th | #12 of 144 | 52nd | 44th | |
| Shareholder yield | 89th | #19 of 144 | 51st | 44th | |
| Dividend yield | 26th | #17 of 144 | 26th | 26th | |
| Return on assets, 5-yr avg | 89th | #15 of 144 | 29th | 48th | |
| Debt to book equity | 35th | #73 of 144 | 34th | 38th | |
| Market cap | 40th | #101 of 144 | 64th | 56th |
Percentiles of the number itself. For the Acquirer's Multiple and debt to equity, lower is better: the 5th percentile on the multiple is cheaper than 95% of investable US stocks. Green is the better end, red the worse. Orange dot: DFIN; bar: industry median; diamond: sector median. Data as of 2026-10-31.
Over- or under-earning?
Earning about normallyReturn on assets ranks at the 63rd percentile of investable US stocks, against a median of the 74th and a low of the 2nd since 2017. That is close to its usual level, so today's multiple is about right on a normalized basis. If earnings normalize, the multiple would likely stay about where it is: from the 15th percentile today (cheaper than 85% of investable US stocks), around the 15th, judging by where it sat in past quarters when returns were at their usual level.
| Percentile | Today | Returns normal | Returns at low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on assets (higher is better) | 63rd | 74th (median) | 2nd (low) |
| Acquirer's Multiple (lower is cheaper) | 15th | 15th | n/a |
Percentiles among investable US stocks. Return on assets is operating income over total assets, trailing 12 months. The last two columns show where it sat in past quarters when returns were within 7.5 points of their median (7 quarters) and of their low (1). The past, not a forecast.
Price v Return
What the shares and assets earn, against the 10-year Treasury.
Its industry against its own history
Software report →Software's Acquirer's Multiple sits at the 70th percentile, cheaper than in 65% of quarters since 1999. Return on assets is the 29th percentile (usual range); free cash flow yield is the 52nd, higher than in 79%. DFIN stands out.
| Metric | Percentile now | Usual range | Against its history | Last 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquirer's Multiple | 70th | 62nd–80th | Usual range | |
| Free cash flow yield | 52nd | 36th–58th | Higher than usual | |
| Shareholder yield | 52nd | 29th–43rd | Near its highest | |
| Dividend yield | 26th | 24th–30th | Usual range | |
| Return on assets, 5-yr | 29th | 22nd–50th | Usual range | |
| Debt to equity | 36th | 8th–40th | More debt than usual | |
| Company size | 64th | 35th–62nd | Near its largest |
The industry's median stock as a percentile of all investable US stocks on each number. For the Acquirer's Multiple and debt to equity, lower is better: the 10th percentile is cheaper than 90% of the market. For yields, returns and size, higher is bigger. Usual range covers the middle 80% of quarters since 1999; it's the shaded band in each chart. Each chart is zoomed to its own range (the numbers on the left): green shading marks the metric's better side and red its worse side, the dashed line is the 50th percentile, and the dot is today, coloured by where it sits.
A live buyback is the catalyst; activism and takeover only possible.
A $150 million program runs to Dec 31, 2027, with $118.5 million left; buyback yield is 8.5%. No activist or bid found. No controlling holder, but net debt, not net cash.
Catalyst check
Likelihood of a catalyst: HighA live buyback is the catalyst; no activist, bid or sale process was found, and no one controls the vote.
Deal-driven earnings and a sharp rebound limit the margin of safety.
Part of earnings tracks deal volume, and shares are up 82.3% since June. Returns are normal: the multiple sat at the 15th percentile when returns were normal, against 15th today.
Value-trap check
Grades can't see how much earnings ride on IPO and deal activity, or the 82.3% rebound since June that narrows the cushion.
Company news drove the biggest swings; sector and market moves drove others.
Over five years DFIN rose 74.8%, peers fell 51.3%, the tech fund rose 111.6%, the S&P 500 71.2%. Guidance misses cut it; buybacks and the Oct 29 beat lifted it.
Five years of moves
DFIN +74.8% since 2021-10-29, against the median of BL, BR, WK −51.3%, Technology (XLK) +111.6% and the S&P 500 (SPY) +71.2%. Numbered dots mark inflections (peaks and troughs); shaded bands mark divergences from the sector or market.
What drove each turning point
| # | Turning point | DFIN | Peers | Sector | S&P 500 | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trough · 2022-05-06 → 2022-08-12 | +67.9% | +14.5% | +7.4% | +4.3% | Company |
| Company-driven. Q1 2022 sales fell 14.0%, then shares rebounded 67.9% against peers' 14.5% as it bought back 2,180,796 shares in Q2. SEC filing; SEC filing | ||||||
| 2 | Divergence vs sector · 2022-05-06 → 2023-02-17 | +88.1% | +14.1% | +0.3% | +0.3% | Company |
| Not among the most significant turning points; not researched. | ||||||
| 3 | Trough · 2023-03-17 → 2024-07-26 | +89.4% | −21.8% | +52.6% | +42.1% | Sector |
| No news found; DFIN rose 89.4% while the sector gained 52.6% and the market 42.1%, as peers fell 21.8%. A sector-led rally that DFIN outran. | ||||||
| 4 | Divergence vs market · 2023-12-22 → 2025-04-11 | −36.7% | −28.7% | +4.2% | +14.5% | Sector |
| Not among the most significant turning points; not researched. | ||||||
| 5 | Peak · 2024-07-26 → 2025-04-11 | −41.8% | −4.7% | −7.8% | −1.0% | Company |
| Company-driven. DFIN fell 41.8% against peers' 4.7% after disappointing Q4 results, soft Q1 guidance, a faster legacy print decline and weak capital markets activity. Yahoo Finance (554 days ago) | ||||||
| 6 | Trough · 2025-04-11 → 2025-07-25 | +60.2% | +9.9% | +32.3% | +19.7% | Sector |
| Sector-led: a market-wide tariff shock hit the low; the rebound of 60.2% beat the sector's 32.3%, helped by adjusted EBITDA up 23.6% and buybacks. mbrenndoerfer.com (271 days ago); SEC filing; SEC filing | ||||||
| 7 | Divergence vs market · 2025-07-11 → 2026-02-13 | −39.2% | −25.5% | +9.4% | +9.9% | Sector |
| Not among the most significant turning points; not researched. | ||||||
| 8 | Peak · 2025-07-25 → 2026-02-13 | −39.2% | −31.0% | +6.8% | +7.6% | Sector |
| Sector-driven: peers fell 31.0% and DFIN 39.2%. DFIN also fell 12.29% on a weak Q3 outlook and record-low capital markets revenue, then software's AI-fear selloff hit the group. itiger.com; Yahoo Finance (463 days ago); Yahoo Finance | ||||||
| 9 | Trough · also +81.9% vs market · 2026-06-05 → 2026-11-06 | +82.3% | +27.4% | −8.4% | +0.2% | Company |
| Company-driven. Shares rose 82.3% as peers gained 27.4%; the Oct 29 Q3 report beat, with adjusted EPS of $1.07 against 84 cents expected and ActiveDisclosure up about 24%. Yahoo Finance (8 days ago); fool.com (0 days ago) | ||||||
Prices: daily closes. Peers chosen by the AI analyst as the closest US-listed businesses. Moves are over each window: for a peak or trough, the move that followed it. Driver is Company, Sector or Market; see Definitions below.
Every report on DFIN
Each AI analyst report as it was published, with the share price that day and the move since (today $66.98). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
| Report | Price then | Since | What it said |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 7, 2026Latest | $66.98 | +0.0% | A live buyback at 11.4× operating income, with 89th-percentile returns on assets · Catalyst: High |
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Definitions
- Acquirer's Multiple®
- Enterprise value ÷ operating income (trailing 12 months). What an acquirer would pay for the whole business against what it earns before interest and tax. Lower is cheaper.
- Enterprise value
- Market cap at today's price, plus debt, preferred stock and minority interests, less cash.
- Operating income
- Trailing 12 months, after depreciation and amortization.
- Operating earnings yield
- Operating income ÷ enterprise value: the Acquirer's Multiple turned upside down.
- Free cash flow yield
- Trailing 12-month free cash flow (cash from operations less capital spending) ÷ market cap.
- Shareholder yield
- Trailing 12-month dividends plus net buybacks (shares bought back less shares issued) ÷ market cap. Dividend yield and buyback yield are its two parts.
- Return on assets
- Trailing 12-month operating income ÷ total assets at the latest quarter.
- Net debt : market cap
- Debt less cash, as a share of market cap. Negative means net cash.
- E(r)
- Expected annual return if the Acquirer's Multiple doesn't change. It has three parts: return on assets (what the business earns on what it owns); incremental growth (return on assets × the reinvestment rate, where the reinvestment rate is five-year average capital spending ÷ five-year average total assets: what reinvested capital adds); and shareholder yield (what is paid out through dividends and buybacks). E(r) = return on assets × (1 + reinvestment rate) + shareholder yield.
- 10-year Treasury
- The latest monthly 10-year US Treasury yield, the risk-free rate the yields are compared with.
- Percentiles
- Where the stock sits among investable US stocks (price above $3, market cap above $75M, average daily trading above $850,000, no ADRs or MLPs), updated each week. Each is the percentile of the number itself: for the Acquirer's Multiple (here EBIT ÷ enterprise value) and debt (total debt ÷ book equity), lower is better; for yields, five-year average return on assets and market cap, higher is bigger. Stocks outside the investable set, such as ADRs, are placed against it.
- Industry and sector
- FactSet RBICS industry. Industry and sector medians are the middle investable stock's percentile. Industry history is that median each quarter since 1999; the usual range is the middle 80% of quarters.
- Turning points
- Inflection points are the peaks and troughs where the stock's trend reversed by about 25% or more on weekly closes; each is compared over the move that followed. Divergences are stretches where the stock pulled away from its sector fund or the S&P 500 by about 20% or more. Each is set against its peers' median, its sector fund and the S&P 500 over the same window. Driver: Market if the market moved with it (same way, at least half as far) and so did its peers or sector; Sector if only its peers or sector did; Company otherwise.
- Value-trap grades
- Return on assets: Strong at 10% or more, Mixed at 5% or more. Net debt : market cap: Strong at 30% or less, Mixed at 100% or less. Free cash flow yield: Strong at 10% or more, Mixed at 5% or more. Shareholder yield: Strong at 8% or more, Mixed at 3% or more.