---
title: "Verisk's buyback-built EPS beat meets a court order to close the $2.35 billion AccuLynx deal"
description: "Verisk printed 14 percent adjusted EPS growth on a share count down 7.7 percent, while quarterly free cash flow fell 40.5 percent to $200 million. Delaware's highest court has ordered the company to complete the $2.35 billion AccuLynx takeover it tried to abandon."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Platforms"
published: 2026-11-05T22:06:28.893Z
modified: 2026-11-05T22:06:28.893Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/verisk-s-buyback-built-eps-beat-meets-a-court-order-to-close-the-2-35-billion-acculynx-deal
language: en
keywords: "Verisk Analytics, Earnings, Share Buybacks, Free Cash Flow, AccuLynx, Delaware Courts"
---

# Verisk's buyback-built EPS beat meets a court order to close the $2.35 billion AccuLynx deal

> Verisk printed 14 percent adjusted EPS growth on a share count down 7.7 percent, while quarterly free cash flow fell 40.5 percent to $200 million. Delaware's highest court has ordered the company to complete the $2.35 billion AccuLynx takeover it tried to abandon.

[Verisk](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/verisk-analytics), the Jersey City analytics firm that prices risk for insurers, delivered the quarter its holders expect this morning: [revenue of $809 million, up 5.3 percent](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1442145/000143774926035082/0001437749-26-035082-index.htm), or 7.4 percent in organic constant currency, which strips out currency swings and acquisitions [1]. Adjusted EPS of $1.96 beat the $1.92 Zacks consensus by four cents [2].

Guidance held at a $7.60 adjusted EPS midpoint, though [StockStory scored the $7.45–7.75 range slightly short of the Street](https://markets.financialcontent.com/stocks/article/stockstory-2026-11-5-verisks-nasdaqvrsk-q3-2026-earnings-results-revenue-in-line-with-expectations), and the stock rose 4.5 percent to $208.26, about 27 times that midpoint [3]. The wires had framed the morning as a test with the AccuLynx acquisition still pending [4].

## The cash under the beat

The same filing carries the other numbers. GAAP net income fell 2.8 percent to $219 million on net interest expense of $53 million, up from $42.2 million, and losses on cost-based investments [1]. Operating cash flow fell 33.8 percent to $267.2 million, and free cash flow fell 40.5 percent to $200 million, on higher cash taxes, collection timing and interest payments of $75.2 million, triple the prior year's $24.9 million [1].

The 14 percent adjusted EPS growth is mostly the denominator [1]. Adjusted net income rose 5.4 percent to $253.8 million while diluted shares fell 7.7 percent, to 129.2 million from 139.9 million [1].

*Chart: **Net income has gone nowhere in ten quarters; the EPS growth is the share count** Line chart of Verisk's GAAP net income by quarter, Q1 2024 through Q2 2026, hovering between roughly 197 and 308 million dollars with no upward trend.*

*GAAP net income by calendar quarter, USD millions, from Verisk's SEC filings, retrieved 5 November 2026. Source: Verisk Analytics quarterly figures, SEC filings. [9]*

CFO [Elizabeth Mann](https://theinference.org/markets/people/elizabeth-mann)'s capital-return desk funded $1.9 billion of repurchases, about 10.5 million shares at an average $185.46, in nine months [1]. [The 10-Q shows the plumbing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1442145/000143774926035083/vrsk20260820_10q.htm): a $750 million draw on the revolving credit line, a facility borrowers draw and repay at will, repaid inside the quarter, plus a $500 million term loan and $999 million of new notes, against a stockholders' equity deficit of $1.11 billion [1][5].

*Chart: **Nine-month buybacks outran free cash flow more than two to one** Grouped columns comparing Verisk's nine-month free cash flow with cash spent on share repurchases: 2025 had $915.8 million of free cash flow and $400.2 million of repurchases; 2026 had $824.3 million of free cash flow and $1,927.1 million of repurchases.*

*Free cash flow, operating cash flow less capital expenditures, versus cash spent on share repurchases, nine months ended September 30, USD millions. Source: Verisk Q3 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1. [1]*

## A $2.35 billion order from Delaware

The AccuLynx bill sits behind all of it. On July 29, 2025 Verisk [agreed to buy ExactLogix, which operates as AccuLynx](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2026/10/28/890472.htm) and sells job-management software to roofing contractors alongside Verisk's own Xactimate estimating tools, for $2.35 billion [5][6]. It terminated on December 26, 2025, after the Federal Trade Commission missed the review deadline, then redeemed the $1.5 billion of deal notes at 101 percent, a $33.9 million loss [5].

## A deadline Verisk missed itself, and a court that would not look away

The missed deadline was self-inflicted, the court found: Verisk told the FTC it had never cut off integration talks with an AccuLynx competitor, and the FTC had evidence it had done exactly that with [ServiceTitan](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/servicetitan) [6]. Judge Bonnie David of Delaware's Court of Chancery entered a final order on August 14 requiring Verisk to keep pursuing FTC clearance and close; [the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed on October 23](https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/still-not-dead-delaware-supreme-court-8120377/) without adding new analysis [5][8]. Verisk says [it will proceed, subject to FTC review, with no guarantee of closing](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/verisk-to-proceed-with-2-35b-acculynx-deal-following-court-order-58672bcf) [6][7].

## What the cash has to cover

Cash on hand is $556.8 million and the undrawn revolving line holds $1,245.1 million [5]. A closing at $2.35 billion implies fresh borrowing on interest expense already guided to $190–200 million for 2026 [1].

The counterpoint belongs to Mann: nine-month free cash flow is down 10 percent, not 40, the drop reflects timing, collections and cash taxes, and subscriptions grew 8.2 percent in constant currency [1]. Watch fourth-quarter cash conversion, the FTC docket and the $700 million of buyback authorization still standing [1]. Each of those dollars now competes with a court-ordered $2.35 billion purchase [5][6][7].

## Takeaway

Verisk's 14 percent adjusted EPS growth rests on a 7.7 percent smaller share count while quarterly free cash flow fell 40.5 percent, and a Delaware court order obliges it to fund a $2.35 billion AccuLynx takeover it tried to abandon.

## Sources

1. [SEC EDGAR, Verisk Analytics Form 8-K with Q3 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), 5 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1442145/000143774926035082/0001437749-26-035082-index.htm)
2. [The Associated Press via WTOP, Verisk: Q3 Earnings Snapshot, 5 November 2026](https://wtop.com/national/2026/11/verisk-q3-earnings-snapshot/)
3. [StockStory via FinancialContent, Verisk (NASDAQ:VRSK) Q3 2026 earnings results: revenue in line with expectations, 5 November 2026](https://markets.financialcontent.com/stocks/article/stockstory-2026-11-5-verisks-nasdaqvrsk-q3-2026-earnings-results-revenue-in-line-with-expectations)
4. [Investing.com UK, Verisk faces earnings test as AccuLynx deal looms, 4 November 2026](https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/verisk-faces-earnings-test-as-acculynx-deal-looms-93CH-4958101)
5. [SEC EDGAR, Verisk Analytics Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026, filed 5 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1442145/000143774926035083/vrsk20260820_10q.htm)
6. [Insurance Journal, Delaware High Court Affirms Order for Verisk to Honor AccuLynx Merger Agreement, 28 October 2026](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2026/10/28/890472.htm)
7. [MarketWatch, Verisk to Proceed With $2.35B AccuLynx Deal Following Court Order, 23 October 2026](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/verisk-to-proceed-with-2-35b-acculynx-deal-following-court-order-58672bcf)
8. [Cooley LLP via JD Supra, Still Not Dead: Delaware Supreme Court Keeps Verisk-AccuLynx Deal Alive, 30 October 2026](https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/still-not-dead-delaware-supreme-court-8120377/)
9. [Verisk Analytics, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 5 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001442145)


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Verisk's buyback-built EPS beat meets a court order to close the $2.35 billion AccuLynx deal — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/verisk-s-buyback-built-eps-beat-meets-a-court-order-to-close-the-2-35-billion-acculynx-deal