Experian Delivers Robust H1 Growth with 12% Revenue Surge and Upbeat FY26 Guidance

Experian H1 FY26: strong top-line growth, fatter margins, confident guidance

Experian has delivered a tidy first half. Revenue from ongoing activities rose 12% at constant currency (13% at actual rates) to US$4,058m, with organic growth of 8%. Benchmark EBIT – a clean measure of profit that strips out acquisition amortisation and other one-offs – increased 14% to US$1,149m, taking the Benchmark EBIT margin to 28.3%.

Earnings followed through: Benchmark EPS was 85.0 US cents, up 12% at actual exchange rates. On a statutory basis, profit before tax jumped 36% to US$975m, helped by non-cash FX gains on Brazilian funding and other fair value items. Cash flow was healthy and the dividend is heading up again.

Key numbers (six months to 30 Sep 2025)
Total revenue (statutory)	US$4,070m (+12%)
Revenue (ongoing activities)	US$4,058m (+12% cc)
Organic revenue growth	8%
Benchmark EBIT (ongoing)	US$1,149m (+14%)
Benchmark EBIT margin	28.3% (+50 bps cc)
Benchmark EPS	85.0 USc (+12%)
Statutory PBT	US$975m (+36%)
Basic EPS (statutory)	81.7 USc (+36%)
Benchmark operating cash flow	US$885m (+25%)
Cash conversion	77% (H1 seasonally weaker)
Net debt / Benchmark EBITDA	1.8x
First interim dividend	21.25 USc per share (+10%)

What drove the performance

Two engines: Consumer Services and B2B. “Organic growth” is the growth rate excluding currency and recent acquisitions. “Constant currency” strips out FX translation. “Benchmark EBIT” removes items like acquisition amortisation and exceptional costs to show underlying profit.

Consumer Services: bigger audience, broader monetisation

• Organic revenue up 9%. Excluding an approximate 4% headwind from one-off data breach services last year, underlying growth was 13%.
• Free members now exceed 208 million globally, providing a sizeable funnel for marketplaces and subscriptions.
• North America saw strong marketplace momentum across credit cards, personal loans and insurance. Initiatives such as No Ding Decline and Activate are pulling in more lenders; insurance had a contractual catch-up.
• In the UK and Ireland, app enhancements boosted engagement; ReFi has already consolidated £60 million of consumer debt, improving outcomes for borrowers and lenders.
• In Brazil, Limpa Nome continues to scale debt resolution, while the new Serasa Pass simplifies secure login across third-party sites.
• Margin expanded by 230 bps as the business scaled.

B2B: data, analytics and industry verticals keep ticking

• Organic revenue up 8% overall, with both Financial Services and Verticals contributing.
• North America Financial Services grew 13% organically, helped by rich data assets and the Ascend analytics platform. Mortgage profile revenue rose 43% mainly on pricing.
• Verification Solutions and Employer Services expanded to 64 million records, adding to long-term utility.
• Health benefited from claims management and AI-enabled Patient Access Curator, while Automotive grew across credit, value recovery and vehicle history.
• B2B margin dipped 30 bps, reflecting cloud “dual-run” costs and recent acquisitions.

Regional mix: North America leads; UK modest; LatAm and EMEA/APAC mixed

• North America: Organic revenue +10%; Benchmark EBIT up 15% to US$977m; margin 35.4% (+90 bps). Consumer Services accelerated in Q2, and B2B remained robust.
• Latin America: Organic revenue +4%; Consumer Services +18% but B2B flat amid macro headwinds. Margin down 240 bps to 25.6% due to integration of acquisitions, notably ClearSale.
• UK and Ireland: Organic revenue +1%. B2B -1% with subdued macro; Consumer Services +11% thanks to marketplace and subscription. Margin up 60 bps to 19.5%.
• EMEA and Asia Pacific: Organic revenue +6% and total growth +35% on the illion acquisition. Margin improved to 4.8%, up 480 bps year-on-year.

Cash, capex and balance sheet

Benchmark operating cash flow rose 25% to US$885m, with cash conversion of 77% in the seasonally weaker half (management still guides to greater than 90% for the full year). Capex was 8% of revenue as Experian keeps investing in data sets, software and cloud migration.

Net debt to Benchmark EBITDA sits at 1.8x, leaving headroom for investment and buybacks. In H1, Experian spent US$377m on acquisitions (including ClearSale in Brazil for US$329m net of cash) and US$194m net on share repurchases from a US$200m programme.

FY26 guidance and modelling markers

Management nudged expectations to the top end of the prior range and tightened the model inputs:

• Total revenue growth around 11% and organic growth of 8% (constant currency, ongoing).
• Benchmark EBIT margin accretion of +30 to +50 bps.
• Net interest about US$190m; Benchmark tax rate circa 26%.
• Capital expenditure 8-9% of revenue; operating cash flow conversion greater than 90% for the full year.
• FX, if current rates hold, is expected to be a 1% tailwind to revenue and Benchmark EBIT.
• Weighted average shares c.914m.

Strategy in action: why this matters

• Platform effect: Ascend now spans 34 capabilities and more than 2,200 client-specific solutions. This creates stickiness and pricing power across analytics and model risk management.
• AI enablement: Experian Assistant for Model Risk Management and the EVA virtual assistant (over two million interactions since launch) show real-world applications that improve productivity and engagement.
• Fraud and compliance build-out: ClearSale in Brazil is integrating into Experian’s identity and fraud suite; post-period acquisition of KYC360 strengthens financial crime compliance in the UK and Ireland.
• Mortgage scoring shift: The Experian Score Choice Bundle (including VantageScore 4.0) could catalyse a more competitive US mortgage score market, an area to watch for medium-term upside.
• Cloud migration: On track for North America (excluding Health) and Brazil to surpass 85% in the cloud by year-end FY26, supporting faster product rollout and cost efficiency.

My take: the good and the niggles

Positives

• Broad-based growth with North America firing and Consumer Services scaling nicely.
• Margin expansion despite cloud dual-run costs – evidence of productivity from AI and operating discipline.
• Cash generation improving; dividend up 10% and balance sheet leverage at a comfortable 1.8x.
• Guidance set to the top end for organic growth and margin accretion – a confident signal.

Watch-outs

• Statutory profit benefited from non-cash FX gains and fair value marks – not repeatable drivers.
• Latin America margin compression from acquisitions may persist near term as integrations complete.
• UK and Ireland B2B still soft with macro drag; recovery timing remains uncertain.
• Higher interest costs (net interest c.US$190m) take a bigger cut of earnings than a year ago.

What to monitor into H2

• Consumer Services momentum, particularly US insurance panels, marketplace conversion and UK ReFi penetration.
• Delivery of synergies from ClearSale, illion and KYC360, and the pace of margin rebuild in Latin America.
• Cloud migration milestones and any fade in dual-run costs.
• US mortgage ecosystem developments as VantageScore 4.0 enters the conforming market.
• Cash conversion trend towards the >90% full-year target.

Bottom line

Experian’s H1 is a solid print: double-digit revenue growth, expanding margins and stronger cash flow. Management is leaning into the opportunity set with continued capex and smart bolt-ons, while still returning cash via dividends and buybacks. The upgraded, top-end guidance for FY26 underlines confidence.

For investors, the story remains one of compounding: scalable platforms, expanding consumer reach and a growing suite of fraud, compliance and analytics solutions. Keep an eye on Latin America integration, the UK B2B backdrop and net interest, but the trajectory looks favourable heading into the Q3 update on 21 January 2026.