Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: Franklin Resources, Inc.

Updated on October 2, 2026 · accounts published on July 31, 2026

A cash-generative business whose margins sit far below their own history

Franklin Resources trades at a P/E of 21.1 over the last 12 months, 49 % above its ten-year median of 14.1 and 62 % above its sector median.

• Is Franklin Resources expensive or cheap? Its P/E of 21.1 is 62 % above the sector median of 13.0 and higher than 80 % of the last decade.
• How is the business doing? The operating margin of 9.7 % over the last 12 months is well below its 24.5 % average for fiscal 2014-2025.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Debt is 1.42 times equity, far above the prudent 0.5, while the 4.1 % dividend has risen for six straight years.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Franklin Resources reports on November 6, 2026; analysts expect EPS of $0.77, and it beat estimates in 6 of the last 8 quarters.
• Is it a scalable, lightly leveraged business? It passes two of six sector tests: revenue per share grew 8.5 % a year in fiscal 2020-2025, but margins, ROE and debt fall short.

Is Franklin Resources expensive or cheap?

Over the last 12 months Franklin Resources trades at a P/E of 21.1. That is 49 % above its ten-year median of 14.1 and above the 16.0 average of its last five fiscal years. Over the past decade the multiple ranged from 5.8 to 28.1, and the stock was cheaper than today 80 % of the time. The median P/E across 462 financial-services companies is 13.0, so Franklin Resources carries a 62 % premium. Cash flow gives a kinder reading: the 6.8 % free cash flow yield is above the 4.8 % earnings yield. After a 44 % rise over 12 months, the stock sits 12 % below its 52-week high of $35.77.

How is the business doing?

Growth is modest: revenue rose 3.5 % and EPS 7.1 % over the last 12 months. Profitability is the weak spot. The operating margin was 6.9 % in fiscal 2025 and has only recovered to 9.7 % over the last 12 months, against an average of 24.5 % across fiscal 2014-2025. Net margin is 9.6 % and ROE is 7.4 %, about half the 15 % that counts as healthy in financial services. The business still makes money, but each dollar of revenue now keeps far less profit than it did for most of the past decade.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Over the last 12 months Franklin Resources carries debt of 1.42 times equity, almost three times the 0.5 ceiling considered prudent for financial services. Shareholder returns look generous: a dividend yield of 4.2 % and six consecutive fiscal years of higher dividends per share through fiscal 2025. Coverage is the catch. In fiscal 2025 the payout reached 130 % of earnings, so accounting profit did not cover the dividend. Cash covered it better: free cash flow was 173.7 % of net income that year, and the 6.8 % free cash flow yield over the last 12 months is above the dividend yield.

What to expect from the next earnings?

The last report, on July 31, 2026, delivered EPS of $0.72 against $0.66 expected, a 9.4 % beat, and Franklin Resources has topped EPS estimates in 6 of the last 8 quarters. For the quarter due on November 6, 2026, the consensus is $0.77. Analysts are lukewarm: of the 27 who cover the company, 6 recommend buying, 16 holding and 5 selling. Forecasts are steady, with the 2027 EPS consensus moving only from $3.19 to $3.20 over the last 17 days. A quarter that confirms the margin recovery would say more than another small beat.

Is it a scalable, lightly leveraged business?

Financial-services firms such as asset managers, brokers and exchanges are not banks, so the useful checks are revenue growth, fees and the quality of cash. Franklin Resources clears two bars. Revenue per share grew 8.5 % a year over fiscal 2020-2025, above the healthy 6 % line, and free cash flow reached 173.7 % of net income in fiscal 2025, against a 90 % threshold. It misses the rest: a 6.9 % operating margin in fiscal 2025 against a healthy 30 %, ROE of 7.4 % against 15 %, and debt of 1.42 times equity against a prudent 0.5. Growth and cash are there, but the margins do not yet show the business scaling.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.