FDS
Factset Research Systems
stock NYSE

That’s exactly the right framework. Organic ASV seems to be accelerating throughout the SaaS selloff (up 6.7% organically YoY) and retention is holding above 95%. Also contract lengths getting longer. The AI will destroy FDS is an interesting theory, but the data do not show it as yet.

Validated data being scarce & FDS actually capturing that value are two different claims & the thesis leans on the first to prove the second. Even granting he ontology point, the question is whether it turns into pricing power & that's a number not an argument: ASV growth & retention. If the edge is there, retention holds in the mid 90s & ASV per client keeps climbing straight through the SaaS selloff. If it's eroding, it leaks there first, quarters before the multiple moves. Owning the data is the story, the retention line is the receipt. What did ASV growth actually do last print?

I dunno. If you can write software more cheaply, that means costs for SaaS go down. Unless you think someone kind vibe code a new FDS or ADBE. I suppose there’s a real threat from workflows being replaced by agents. But those agents will need contextual data to be able to work. A company like FDS has been around so long and have internalized so many oddball idiosyncrasies that algorithms can trade on their data.
My own screener is badass and I love it, but it’s not ready for that level of risk. It’s ready for me to use to make my own picks.