Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE:DFIN) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.30 EPS

18 Feb 2026, 13:56 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE:DFIN – Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.30, FiscalAI reports. Donnelley Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 22.46% and a net margin of 4.33%.The company had revenue of $172.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Donnelley Financial Solutions’ conference call:

Delivered a strong finish to 2025 with 10.4% consolidated net sales growth in Q4, Q4 Adjusted EBITDA up ~$14.1M (~44% YoY) and margin expansion (Q4 Adjusted EBITDA margin 26.6%; full‑year margin 31.3%), validating margin improvement trajectory.
Record software solutions net sales of $358.4M (+8.7%) now represent ~47% of sales and recurring offerings approach ~80% of revenue, supported by new products (New Venue, ArcFlex, Active Intelligence) that management expects to drive future SaaS growth.
Strong cash generation and capital allocation: full‑year free cash flow of $107.8M, non‑GAAP net leverage ~0.6x, and aggressive buybacks (repurchased ~3.6M shares for $172.3M in 2025) with ~$53.8M remaining authorization.
Secular decline in print and distribution (about 14% of 2025 sales) and the lumpy nature of transactional and ArcSuite revenue (tied to market activity and regulatory changes) create near‑term revenue variability despite overall strategic shift to software.

Donnelley Financial Solutions Price Performance

Donnelley Financial Solutions stock opened at $43.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.32. Donnelley Financial Solutions has a one year low of $37.07 and a one year high of $66.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 41.71 and a beta of 0.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DFIN. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,938,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Donnelley Financial Solutions by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Donnelley Financial Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $730,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 81,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,783,000 after acquiring an additional 21,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 20,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 9,569 shares during the period. 93.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on DFIN shares. Zacks Research downgraded Donnelley Financial Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.50.

View Our Latest Analysis on DFIN

Key Headlines Impacting Donnelley Financial Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Donnelley Financial Solutions this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — DFIN reported $0.70 EPS vs. $0.40 expected and $172.5M revenue vs. ~$155M expected, driving the immediate reaction as the quarter showed both top- and bottom-line upside. PR Newswire: Q4 & Full-Year Results
Positive Sentiment: Stronger margins & cash flow — adjusted EBITDA, margin expansion (+630 bps YoY in Q4), and higher free cash flow were highlighted, suggesting operating leverage as the business shifts to higher-margin software recurring revenue. PR Newswire: Q4 & Full-Year Results
Positive Sentiment: Recurring revenue strategy — management now expects ~80% of 2026 revenue to be recurring as software-led offerings and AI investments scale, a development investors view as boosting predictability and valuation multiple over time. Seeking Alpha: 80% Recurring Revenue
Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue guide is conservative vs. consensus — DFIN gave Q1 revenue guidance of $200M–$210M versus a consensus ~ $207.2M, leaving room for investor interpretation (slightly below or roughly in line depending on where the quarter lands). MSN: Q4 beat & guidance
Neutral Sentiment: Growth strategy and AI investments — analysts note the company is shifting from transactions to a software-led compliance platform; this supports longer-term upside but may entail near-term investment spend and execution risk. Yahoo Finance: Strategic Shift
Negative Sentiment: Full-year GAAP earnings decline — GAAP net earnings fell materially year-over-year (driven by prior-year nonrecurring items), which reminds investors there are one-time and non-GAAP adjustments underlying the headline EBITDA improvement. PR Newswire: Full-Year Results

Donnelley Financial Solutions Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE:DFIN) offers risk and compliance software and managed services designed to help corporations, financial institutions and legal firms meet regulatory and reporting requirements worldwide. Headquartered in Chicago, the company delivers a cloud-based platform for regulatory filings, content automation, virtual data rooms and board communications. Its solutions are tailored to support public companies with SEC, FCA and other global filing obligations, as well as banks, asset managers and credit unions seeking to streamline compliance workflows.