MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Andy Wiechmann: Yes. And I think you could see this in the past, and this is the case across most product areas. But as you alluded to, the fourth quarter does tend to be a strong quarter for us. I would underscore that ESG and Climate had a very strong year overall. And when you drill into it, and we’ve alluded to this, climate within there continues to grow at an incredible growth rate and is making a more meaningful contribution to the overall segment. And so that is something that is helping to fuel some momentum. Just to put a finer point on that, $45 million of the $79 million of climate run rate is actually within the ESG and Climate segment, and that is growing at close to 80%. So that’s helping to drive some of the momentum we’ve seen.

As Henry alluded to earlier, there are many layers and dimensions of growth in ESG and climate across a wide range of solutions serving various objectives and a wide range of use cases. And we’re seeing that the thinking around how to integrate ESG continues to evolve. The regulations continue to evolve. And as a result, investors in spots are being more measured in their buying decisions. And so I think there is some element of that. There’s some element of the market backdrop that are helping to contribute to the fact that the pace of sales in ESG and climate is likely to fluctuate up and down based on all those dimensions that I alluded to. Overall, we continue to see very healthy growth and strong demand. But for those reasons, we think the growth rate will be a little bit dynamic and the sales could be a little bit dynamic quarter-to-quarter.

I would highlight that, because you asked about it, some of those sales that we did see slip from the third quarter that we alluded to on the last call, we were successfully able to close a lot of those, and we had particular strength within EMEA. I think that just speaks to some of those dynamics that will fluctuate up and down over time. But overall, we continue to be very, very encouraged about the overall demand for the products. It’s just a very dynamic engagement and discussion with our clients.

Faiza Alwy: Understood. Thank you. And then just a follow-up on, I guess, capital allocation. Are you assuming – I think your interest expense guide is a little bit higher than I was anticipating. And I’m curious if you’re expecting to maybe incur higher debt to buy back shares. Or sort of what’s embedded in your free cash flow guide as it relates to capital allocation?

Andy Wiechmann: Yes. So the interest expense guidance does not assume any incremental financings for the year. One thing that is driving the interest expense slightly higher is our floating rate term loan A. So we have a $350 million term loan A, which is floating rate. And so we do have some expectation of rate increases and higher rates for the year, which factors into that interest expense guidance. So that’s what’s embedded in our guidance. But I’d say, more broadly, no change to our approach to capital allocation. We are mindful of the overall financing market and rate market. And so we will, over time, as our leverage starts to come down, look for opportunities to raise capital. But given where rates are right now, we’re not in a rush to do that. And we think we’re in a strong capital position to continue to be very opportunistic on the MP&A front as well as on the repurchase front if there continues to be volatility in the market.

Faiza Alwy: Great. Thank you so much.

Operator: We have a question from Craig Huber from Huber Research Partners. Craig, please go ahead.

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