At a glance
Morningstar Inc is worth $7.97B, about 24 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 7.5% to $2.45B in fiscal 2025, with 15.3% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 12.0% a year. It pays a 0.93% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $1.35B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −0.4% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −7.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 35.4% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 37.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 4 months and 24 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Morningstar provides investment data, research, ratings, software and money management. Its Morningstar Direct Platform segment licenses fund, stock and bond data and analysis software to asset managers, wealth managers and advisors. Its Advisor Workstation tools reach more than 225 firms and 170,000 advisors in the US and Canada. PitchBook tracks private markets, covering millions of companies, investors, funds, deals and loans. Morningstar Credit issues credit ratings, which judge how likely borrowers are to repay. Morningstar Wealth and Morningstar Retirement manage money for individuals and advisors. Together they managed or advised on about $378.0 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Most revenue comes from licenses. In 2025, license-based fees for data and software made up 65% of the $2.45 billion total. Transaction-based revenue added 15.4%. Asset-based fees, charged as a share of the money managed or advised on, added 11.4%. Morningstar estimated 2025 revenue renewal rates of 101% for Morningstar Data and about 104% for Morningstar Direct. That means existing clients as a group paid more than the year before.
By segment, Morningstar Direct Platform supplied 34% of 2025 revenue, PitchBook 27.5%, Morningstar Credit 14.5%, Morningstar Wealth 10.3% and Morningstar Retirement 5.6%. The United States produced 71.8% of revenue. Europe outside the UK followed at 9%, then the UK at 7.8% and Canada at 6.3%.
Price history
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MORN -0.4% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| License-based | $1.59B | 65% |
| Transaction-based | $377.4M | 15.4% |
| Asset-based | $278.4M | 11.4% |
| Morningstar Sustainalytics | $112.0M | 4.6% |
| Morningstar Indexes | $87.7M | 3.6% |
By business segment
| Morningstar Data and Analytics Segment | $830.6M | 34% |
| PitchBook Segment | $671.8M | 27.5% |
| Morningstar Credit Segment | $354.4M | 14.5% |
| Morningstar Wealth Segment | $251.4M | 10.3% |
| Corporate Segment and Other Operating Segment | $199.7M | 8.2% |
| Morningstar Retirement Segment | $137.6M | 5.6% |
By geography
| United States | $1.75B | 71.8% |
| Europe excluding the United Kingdom | $219.6M | 9% |
| UNITED KINGDOM | $189.8M | 7.8% |
| CANADA | $154.9M | 6.3% |
| AUSTRALIA | $65.3M | 2.7% |
| Asia | $48.0M | 2% |
| Segment, Geographical, Group of Other Countries | $13.0M | 0.5% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $672.1M, up 8.9% from a year earlier, and net income was $115.5M (+26.1%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.45B (+7.5% year over year; +12.0% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 15.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +12.0% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 21.5% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 18.1% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 30.6% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 10.4% good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.39B | $223.6M | $307.6M |
| FY2021 | $1.70B | $193.3M | $348.1M |
| FY2022 | $1.87B | $70.5M | $168.3M |
| FY2023 | $2.04B | $141.1M | $197.3M |
| FY2024 | $2.28B | $369.9M | $448.9M |
| FY2025 | $2.45B | $374.2M | $442.6M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $7.97B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 24.2 |
| Dividend yield | 0.93% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Morningstar’s market value went from $3.17B at the end of 2016 to $7.97B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.5 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 11%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $7.97B | -10.8% |
| 2025 | $8.94B | -38.1% |
| 2024 | $14.44B | +18.2% |
| 2023 | $12.22B | +32.9% |
| 2022 | $9.19B | -37.6% |
| 2021 | $14.74B | +48.6% |
| 2020 | $9.92B | +53.1% |
| 2019 | $6.48B | +38.2% |
| 2018 | $4.69B | +13.6% |
| 2017 | $4.12B | +30.2% |
| 2016 | $3.17B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MORN price data to Oct 28, 2026 | 0.0% | -0.4% | -3.1% | -7.0% | +12.8% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -0.0% |
| 2025 | -35.0% |
| 2024 | +18.5% |
| 2023 | +33.1% |
| 2022 | -36.3% |
| 2021 | +48.3% |
| 2020 | +54.5% |
| 2019 | +38.9% |
| 2018 | +14.3% |
| 2017 | +33.4% |
| 2016 | -7.5% |
| 2015 | +25.6% |
| 2014 | -16.2% |
| 2013 | +24.9% |
| 2012 | +6.6% |
| 2011 | +12.3% |
| 2010 | +9.9% |
| 2009 | +36.2% |
| 2008 | -54.3% |
| 2007 | +72.6% |
| 2006 | +30.1% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 60.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 67.9%, back to its old high 59.1 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 34.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 35.4%, back to its old high 4.3 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 35.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 37.3%, back to its old high 24.4 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 93 sales ($26.2M), 90 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 10, 2026 | Joseph D Mansueto Executive Chairman, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $1.5M |
| Aug 17, 2026 | Joseph D Mansueto Executive Chairman, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $1.2M |
| Aug 12, 2026 | Joseph D Mansueto Executive Chairman, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $980K |
| May 20, 2026 | Joseph D Mansueto Executive Chairman, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $977K |
| May 21, 2026 | Joseph D Mansueto Executive Chairman, Director, 10% owner | sell (plan) | $876K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Joseph D. Mansueto | 39.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Daniel Mansueto | 10% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| BAMCO INC /NY/ | 9.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 4.9% | Sep 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in MORN
| TMFM Motley Fool Mid-Cap Growth ETF | 2.48% |
| CSMD Congress SMid Growth ETF | 2.18% |
| XMLV Invesco S&P MidCap Low Volatility ETF | 1.08% |
| FSCS First Trust SMID Capital Strength ETF | 0.93% |
| PAMC Pacer Lunt MidCap Multi-Factor Alternator ETF | 0.53% |
| VUSE Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF | 0.47% |
| BUYO KraneShares Man Buyout Beta Index ETF | 0.44% |
| TPLC Timothy Plan US Large/Mid Cap Core ETF | 0.38% |
What could go wrong
- Conflicts of interest could hurt its reputation. Morningstar rates funds whose managers often pay to license those ratings. It also runs its own funds, and issuers pay it for credit ratings. Any sign of bias could damage the trust its brand relies on.
- One shareholder controls a large stake. Executive Chairman Joe Mansueto owned 39.2% of the shares as of June 30, 2026. That gives him outsized influence over votes, and his regular planned share sales could weigh on the price.
- AI and faster rivals could erode demand. Rapid change, including artificial intelligence (AI), could make its products less competitive or obsolete. Its AI investments may not pay off, and rivals such as Bloomberg, FactSet, LSEG and S&P Global could innovate faster.
- Errors in data or ratings could bring claims. Clients rely on its research, ratings and data, which partly depend on outside data sources. Mistakes, including errors in its automated advisory tools, could bring lawsuits and lost customers.
- Debt and variable interest costs. As of September 30, 2026, Morningstar had about $1.68 billion of debt against $525 million of cash and investments. Part of the debt carries variable rates, so higher interest rates could raise its costs.
- Market slumps hit clients and fees. Recessions, market swings and interest-rate changes can squeeze budgets at the financial firms it serves. Falling markets also shrink asset-based fees, which made up 11.4% of 2025 revenue.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Morningstar pays a small, growing dividend. It has raised its regular dividend per share for at least nine straight years through 2025, lifting it from $1.22 in 2020 to $1.87 in 2025, about 8.9% a year. The 2025 dividend used 20.6% of earnings and 17.4% of free cash flow (cash left after funding the business). The yield was 0.93% as of October 28, 2026, so income is modest. Buybacks are uneven: $787 million in 2025 versus $11.6 million in 2024. The share count fell 13.6% between February 2022 and October 2026.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. It dropped 67.9% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 59 months to recover. It fell 35.4% in the 2020 COVID crash but recovered in about 4 months. It lost 37.3% in the 2022 bear market and needed about 24 months to recover. It also fell about 35% in calendar 2025. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Morningstar make money?
Mostly by licensing data and software. In 2025, license-based revenue was 65% of Morningstar's $2.45 billion total. Transaction-based revenue was 15.4%, and asset-based fees, tied to money it manages or advises on, were 11.4%. Its largest segments were Morningstar Direct Platform, which provides investment data and analysis tools, at 34% of revenue, and PitchBook, its private-market data business, at 27.5%. Credit ratings, wealth management and retirement services made up most of the rest. About 71.8% of revenue came from the United States.
Does Morningstar raise its dividend every year?
It has so far. Morningstar raised its regular dividend per share for at least nine straight years through 2025, and the streak may be longer. It paid $1.87 per share in 2025, up from $1.22 in 2020. The 2025 dividend took just 20.6% of earnings. But the yield was low, at 0.93% as of October 28, 2026. The company's annual report also says it cannot guarantee future dividends.
Who owns the most Morningstar stock?
Executive Chairman Joe Mansueto was the largest shareholder, with 39.2% of the shares as of June 30, 2026, according to SEC ownership filings. Daniel Mansueto reported 10% as of July 29, 2026, BAMCO 9.2% as of June 30 and BlackRock 4.9% as of September 30. In the year to October 29, 2026, insiders reported at least $26.2 million of share sales and no purchases. Nearly all of those sales were under preset trading plans, which schedule sales in advance.
Does Morningstar own PitchBook?
Yes. PitchBook is one of Morningstar's five reportable segments and its second largest, with $671.8 million, or 27.5%, of 2025 revenue. It provides private-market data, tracking millions of private and public companies, investors, funds, deals, loans and executives. It also offers research and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Professionals who allocate, deploy or advise on capital use the PitchBook platform. They can also take its data through data feeds or APIs, which are connections that let other software pull data automatically.
How has Morningstar stock performed?
Unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had gained about 12.8% a year over 10 years. It had lost about 7% a year over five years and 0.4% over one year. These figures exclude dividends. The stock fell about 35% in calendar 2025. On October 28, 2026, the shares traded at about 24.2 times 2025 earnings per share, a measure called the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. In the quarter ended September 30, 2026, revenue rose 8.9% and net income rose 26.1% from a year earlier.