First Advantage Corp (FA)

Price$19.04Cached quoteAs of 2026-10-10 14:00 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe valuation is reasonable, but leverage and adjusted earnings leave little obvious bargain.

At the observed market value, equity is about $3.61 billion. Midpoint 2026 guidance implies roughly 17 times adjusted earnings. Adding about $1.8 billion of net debt gives enterprise value, meaning equity value plus net debt, near $5.4 billion, roughly 11 times guided adjusted EBITDA, a profit measure before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and selected adjustments. Those multiples are not demanding for current growth, but they are not deep-value levels either. Fair value assumes raised guidance is largely achieved and debt keeps falling. Pasted text StockAnalysis.com+2First Advantage Corporation+2

Big pictureCash generation is improving, but acquisition debt still absorbs much of the safety margin.

First-half operating cash flow rose to $123.0 million from $56.8 million. After $28.1 million of capitalized software development and $7.5 million of property purchases, cash left after running and reinvesting in the business was about $87 million, versus about $33 million a year earlier. Interest expense fell 32.7% to $61.4 million. Even so, June debt was about $2.06 billion against $237.9 million cash, and goodwill, largely accounting value assigned to acquired businesses, was $2.14 billion. Pasted text SEC+1

Business strengthCustomer relationships are sticky, but hiring volumes still control how much work gets ordered.

Second-quarter revenue rose 14.9%, and first-half revenue grew 11.9%. Existing-customer revenue increased 7.6% in the first half, new customers added 4.3%, and pricing was broadly stable. Many customer contracts run about three years, and most Sterling enterprise contracts are exclusive or make Sterling the primary provider. The weakness is volume certainty: contracts generally do not guarantee orders, most revenue still comes from pre-hire screening, and demand varies with hiring cycles and seasonality. SEC+1

What could change the storyFaster debt reduction would strengthen the case; a hiring slowdown would weaken it quickly.

Management raised 2026 revenue guidance to $1.67-$1.71 billion and adjusted earnings per share to $1.23-$1.29, while voluntary debt prepayments reached $95 million through early August. The company repurchased $38.2 million of shares in the first half; shares outstanding fell from 174.2 million at year-end to 171.6 million in June despite $9.7 million of share-based compensation. Buybacks are offsetting near-term dilution from employee equity awards, but they also use cash that could retire debt. Continued growth plus deleveraging would improve value; weaker hiring would do the opposite. Pasted text First Advantage Corporation+2SEC+2

AI: News

Guidance raised after record quarterA record quarter and higher guidance reset earnings expectations upward and strengthened the debt-paydown case.

On August 6, revenue reached $448.8 million, up 14.9%, adjusted profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $128.5 million, and management-adjusted earnings per share were $0.35. Management lifted 2026 revenue guidance to $1.67-$1.71 billion and adjusted earnings guidance to $1.23-$1.29 per share. Shares closed 17.3% higher that day. The timing is consistent with a positive earnings reaction, although one day's move cannot prove the release caused all of it. First Advantage Corporation+1

Silver Lake secondary saleSilver Lake sold a large block without issuing new shares, creating a near-term supply overhang.

On August 11, Silver Lake funds priced a sale of 12.5 million existing shares at a discount to prior trading levels. First Advantage sold no shares and received no proceeds, so the deal did not dilute ownership or improve the balance sheet. Shares closed 10.3% lower that day after the offering launch. The block's size and discount provide a plausible supply explanation, but the timing alone cannot establish that the offering caused the entire decline. First Advantage Corporation+2Investing.com+2

SmallCap 600 index additionJoining the S&P SmallCap 600 triggered index-fund demand without changing the underlying business.

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced June 11 that First Advantage would enter the S&P SmallCap 600 before trading on June 16, replacing Kennedy-Wilson. The shares rose almost 6% on June 12, while reporting pointed to buying demand from funds that track the index. This was mainly a trading and ownership-flow event: it can improve liquidity and visibility, but it does not by itself raise revenue, cash flow, or the underlying value of the business. News Release Archive+1

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Revenue

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2025

Net income

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Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Revenue	$1.57B	$860.2M	$763.8M	$810.0M	$712.3M	$472.4M	$481.8M
Research & development	$101.9M	$63.8M	$49.3M	$51.9M	$45.5M	$32.2M	$33.2M
Operating expenses	$1.44B	$922.6M	$682.2M	$715.7M	$648.5M	$474.4M	$389.6M
Operating income	$132.5M	−$62.4M	$81.5M	$94.3M	$63.8M	−$2.0M	$92.2M
Operating margin	8.41%	−7.25%	10.67%	11.64%	8.96%	−0.43%	19.13%
EBITDA	$244.3M	$14.8M	$148.9M	$164.3M	$133.2M	$60.3M	$107.1M
EBITDA margin	15.52%	1.72%	19.50%	20.28%	18.70%	12.76%	22.22%
Net income	−$34.8M	−$110.3M	$37.3M	$64.6M	$16.1M	−$47.5M	$34.3M
Net profit margin	−2.21%	−12.82%	4.88%	7.98%	2.25%	−10.05%	7.11%
Basic EPSper basic share	-$0.20	-$0.74	$0.26	$0.43	$0.11	-$0.37	$0.23
Diluted EPSper diluted share	-$0.20	-$0.74	$0.26	$0.43	$0.11	-$0.37	$0.21

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

52.20%of listed shares

Silver Lake Group, L.L.C.89.56M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of FA
Holder	% owned
Silver Lake Group, L.L.C.	52.20%89.56M shares
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/	9.15%15.71M shares
BlackRock, Inc.	7.03%12.06M shares
Capital World Investors	6.23%10.69M shares
FMR LLC	4.46%7.65M shares
ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN L.P.	4.44%7.62M shares
CAT ROCK CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP	2.46%4.23M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	2.40%4.12M shares
Staples Scott	≈2.23%3.82M shares
BAMCO INC /NY/	2.04%3.5M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	2.01%3.45M shares
Boston Partners	1.88%3.23M shares
STATE STREET CORP	1.88%3.22M shares
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP	1.81%3.11M shares
AMERICAN CENTURY COMPANIES INC	1.33%2.28M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	1.28%2.2M shares
EMERALD ADVISERS, LLC	1.28%2.19M shares
Sunriver Management LLC	1.13%1.94M shares
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO	1.08%1.86M shares
EMERALD MUTUAL FUND ADVISERS TRUST	0.83%1.43M shares

Percentages use 171.57M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Reported positions exceed 100% in total, so the circle shows the selected holder only.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys2$120.2K disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)14$2.60M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 8, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Clark James LindseyDirector	SellCommon Stock	4.9K	$15.69	$77.2K	56.8K
Jun 1, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Jardine Bret TChief Legal Officer	SellCommon Stock	25.0K	$16.71	$417.8K	7.0K
May 12, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Jardine Bret TChief Legal Officer	SellCommon Stock	682	$16.12	$11.0K	7.0K
May 7, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Smith Joelle MPresident	SellCommon Stock	23.3K	$15.00	$350.0K	19.4K
Mar 5, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Jardine Bret TChief Legal Officer	SellCommon Stock	600	$12.09	$7.3K	7.0K