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Buy Day today: Poor Neutral (49) Good Mixed market breadth · no major macro event

Franklin Resources Inc (BEN)

Financial Services Asset Management
32.20 $
Closing price · As of: 20. Jul 2026
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Read the Full Deep Dive
Franklin Resources Stock: 45 Years of Dividend Raises — and an Anchor Called Western Asset

Franklin Resources (Franklin Templeton) has raised its dividend every year since 1981 — through every crash. The stock sits at rank 3 of the U.S. selection in our in-house Dividend Aristocrats scanner (as of July 18, 2026), with a dividend yield around 5.5 percent. We read the annual reports (10-K) and the quarterly reports (10-Q) through March 31, 2026: a scandal at bond subsidiary Western Asset that drove $141.9 billion out the door in fiscal 2025, two years in which the dividend exceeded reported earnings — and a turnaround that has been in the numbers since October 2025. Not investment advice — just a weigh-in of engine versus anchor chain.

Appears in These Scanners

This stock currently matches 12 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.

Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners

Basics

Market Cap
17.0Mrd. $
Shares Outstanding
520Mio.
Float
58.2%
Beta
1.6

Performance

Perf. 1M
6.30%
Perf. 3M
47.90%
Perf. 6M
41.10%
YTD Performance (%)
43.50%
52-Week-High Distance
-5.1%

Valuation

P/E
25.4
Forward P/E
11.4
PEG
0.4
P/B
1.4
P/S
1.9
EV/EBITDA
16.2
Price/FCF
18.3

Profitability

Gross Margin
37.4%
EBIT Margin
17.2%
Net Margin
8.1%
Return on Equity
6.7%
Return on Assets
2.6%

Balance Sheet & Safety

Equity Ratio
35.5%
Debt/Equity
1.3
Altman Z
5.99
Piotroski
5 von 9

Growth

Sales Growth Last Quarter
8.70%
EPS Growth Last Quarter
87.20%
Sales Growth (Year)
3.45%
Forward Sales Growth
0.77%
Forward EPS Growth
8.40%

Dividend

Dividend Yield
3.87%
Dividend Per Share (TTM)
1.31$
Payout Ratio
51.0%
Years Without a Cut
0Years
Increase Streak
0Years

Quality & Screener

Stage
2
RS Rating
83
EPS Rating
84
Piotroski
5 von 9
Fundamental Rating
B (+11 von 100)
Altman Z
5.99

AI Rating

Uses AI

Der Geschäftsbericht 10-K für das Geschäftsjahr 2025 dokumentiert operativen KI-Einsatz in vielen Geschäftsbereichen mit geplanter Ausweitung („Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in many areas of our business…“) sowie Prozessautomatisierung mit KI. KI ist keine Umsatzquelle, und die Risk-Factor-Passagen betreffen Risiken des eigenen KI-Einsatzes (Regulierung, Fehlinhalte, Cyber-Missbrauch), nicht eine konkrete Bedrohung des Geschäftsmodells durch KI — daher „Nutzt KI“.

View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in many areas of our business and we plan to further incorporate AI into additional areas. The use of AI offers efficiencies, but also introduces significant challenges related to data security, privacy, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, accuracy and bias concerns, and reputational harm, among others."

Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) wird in vielen Bereichen unseres Geschäfts eingesetzt, und wir planen, KI in weitere Bereiche einzubinden. Der Einsatz von KI bietet Effizienzgewinne, bringt aber auch erhebliche Herausforderungen mit sich — unter anderem in Bezug auf Datensicherheit, Datenschutz, geistiges Eigentum, regulatorische Compliance, Bedenken hinsichtlich Genauigkeit und Verzerrung sowie Reputationsschäden.

10-K · 2025-11-10 · View SEC filing
„In addition, developments in our use of process automation and artificial intelligence (“AI”) further heighten our dependency on technology, as such technology may be complex and unpredictable."

Darüber hinaus erhöhen die Entwicklungen bei unserem Einsatz von Prozessautomatisierung und Künstlicher Intelligenz („KI“) unsere Abhängigkeit von Technologie zusätzlich, da diese Technologie komplex und unvorhersehbar sein kann.

10-K · 2025-11-10 · View SEC filing
„Developing regulatory treatment of AI, and failure to adequately address AI-related challenges, creates a risk of reputational harm and an impediment to growth."

Die sich entwickelnde regulatorische Behandlung von KI sowie ein unzureichender Umgang mit KI-bezogenen Herausforderungen begründen ein Risiko von Reputationsschäden und ein Hemmnis für das Wachstum.

10-K · 2025-11-10 · View SEC filing

Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-04-28 · 10-Q 2026-01-30 · 10-Q 2025-08-01 · 10-Q 2025-05-02 · 10-K 2025-11-10 · 10-K 2024-11-12

Rated on July 18, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built

Sales Per Quarter ($M)
2024: Q4 · 2,251.6 Mio. $ Q4 2025: Q1 · 2,111.4 Mio. $ Q1 2025: Q2 · 2,064.0 Mio. $ Q2 2025: Q3 · 2,343.7 Mio. $ Q3 2025: Q4 · 2,327.1 Mio. $ Q4 2026: Q1 · 2,294.9 Mio. $ Q1
Earnings Per Share Per Quarter ($)
2024: Q4 · 0.32 $ Q4 2025: Q1 · 0.29 $ Q1 2025: Q2 · 0.18 $ Q2 2025: Q3 · 0.23 $ Q3 2025: Q4 · 0.49 $ Q4 2026: Q1 · 0.67 $ Q1
Net Margin Per Quarter (%)
2024: Q4 · 7.3 % Q4 2025: Q1 · 7.2 % Q1 2025: Q2 · 4.5 % Q2 2025: Q3 · 5.0 % Q3 2025: Q4 · 11.0 % Q4 2026: Q1 · 15.1 % Q1
Operating Cash Flow Per Quarter ($M)
2024: Q4 · -145.2 Mio. $ Q4 2025: Q1 · -50.1 Mio. $ Q1 2025: Q2 · 1,282.1 Mio. $ Q2 2025: Q3 · -20.7 Mio. $ Q3 2025: Q4 · -255.1 Mio. $ Q4 2026: Q1 · -35.9 Mio. $ Q1
Free Cash Flow Per Quarter ($M)
2024: Q4 · -217.0 Mio. $ Q4 2025: Q1 · -87.6 Mio. $ Q1 2025: Q2 · 1,268.1 Mio. $ Q2 2025: Q3 · -51.9 Mio. $ Q3 2025: Q4 · -255.1 Mio. $ Q4 2026: Q1 · -31.4 Mio. $ Q1
Sales Growth vs. Year-Ago Quarter (%)
2024: Q4 · 13.1 % Q4 2025: Q1 · -1.9 % Q1 2025: Q2 · -2.8 % Q2 2025: Q3 · 6.0 % Q3 2025: Q4 · 3.4 % Q4 2026: Q1 · 8.7 % Q1
EPS Growth vs. Year-Ago Quarter (%)
2024: Q4 · -38.7 % Q4 2025: Q1 · 22.1 % Q1 2025: Q2 · -46.9 % Q2 2025: Q4 · 56.1 % Q4 2026: Q1 · 128.9 % Q1
Price Change in Quarter (%)
2024: Q4 · 2.3 % Q4 2025: Q1 · -3.5 % Q1 2025: Q2 · 25.6 % Q2 2025: Q3 · -1.7 % Q3 2025: Q4 · 4.7 % Q4 2026: Q1 · 0.3 % Q1

Quarterly Figures

Quarterly Figures
Quarter EPS (Earnings Per Share) EPS YoY (%) Sales ($M) Sales YoY (%) Net Margin (%) OCF ($M) FCF ($M)
2024: Q4 0.32 -38.70 2,252 13.10 7.30 -145 -217
2025: Q1 0.29 22.10 2,111 -1.90 7.20 -50 -88
2025: Q2 0.18 -46.90 2,064 -2.80 4.50 1,282 1,268
2025: Q3 0.23 2,344 6.00 5.00 -21 -52
2025: Q4 0.49 56.10 2,327 3.40 11.00 -255 -255
2026: Q1 0.67 128.90 2,295 8.70 15.10 -36 -31
What Do These Terms Mean?
EPS (Earnings Per Share):
Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
YoY (Year over Year):
Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
Sales:
All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
Net Margin:
What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
FCF (Free Cash Flow):
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.

Assessment: Opportunities & Risks

Dividend history & capital returns

Raised every year since 1981 — 45 consecutive years, most recently +3.1 percent to $0.33 per quarter (8-K dated 12/17/2025); a yield around 5.5 percent (mid-July 2026), plus a buyback program topped up to as many as 40 million shares in December 2025.

Dividend coverage

In fiscal 2024 and 2025 the dividend exceeded GAAP net income ($670.1M vs. $464.8M and $688.4M vs. $524.9M) — carried by adjusted earnings (58 percent payout in FY 2025) and the cash pile; in the first half of fiscal 2026, GAAP earnings ($0.95 per share) covered the dividend ($0.66) again.

Flows & AUM turnaround

After −$32.6 billion (FY 2024) and −$97.4 billion (FY 2025, of which WAM −$141.9B), long-term net flows turned to +$44.9 billion in the first half of fiscal 2026; AUM $1,682.1 billion as of 03/31/2026 (+9 percent), alternatives +12 percent (10-K FY 2025, 10-Q as of 03/31/2026).

Western Asset legal risk

CFTC probe closed and the DOJ prepared to resolve without criminal charges against WAM — but the SEC investigation continues, the investor class action (since 07/03/2025) is pending, and the case against former co-CIO Leech is open (10-Q as of 03/31/2026, Note 10).

Margin & fee pressure

Effective fee rate of 40.5 after 41.1 basis points (FY 2025 vs. 2024), adjusted profit down three years in a row ($1,332.2M → $1,276.7M → $1,195.8M), GAAP operating margin of just 6.9 percent in FY 2025 — the mix shift toward alternatives takes time.

Valuation & momentum

Roughly $12.2 billion of market value (mid-July 2026): P/E around 25 on GAAP, around 10 to 11 on fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings, single-digit on analyst estimates — after a good 40 percent share-price run in six months, part of the recovery is already paid for.

Bottom Line

Franklin Resources is the case of a Dividend Aristocrat with an anchor: 45 years of raises and a 5.5 percent yield stand against two fiscal years in which the payout exceeded reported earnings, because the Western Asset scandal cost $141.9 billion of client money and over $600 million in impairments. Since October 2025 the tanker has been turning — net inflows, an earnings jump, the CFTC out, the DOJ easing — yet the SEC investigation and structural fee pressure remain. Whoever invests here buys the raise streak and bets that the turnaround closes the coverage gap for good. Not investment advice.

Worth Noting:
  • BEN made the research list via our in-house Dividend Aristocrats scanner: rank 3 of the U.S. selection as of July 18, 2026; the scanner requires at least 25 consecutive years of dividend raises — Franklin stands at 45 (since 1981).
  • Scanner metrics (P/E around 25, P/B around 1.4, Piotroski 5) use trailing twelve-month GAAP figures; the fiscal 2024/2025 impairments ($389.2M + $226.6M) distort the P/E upward. Franklin's fiscal year ends September 30 — all annual figures carry that offset.
  • Market value and valuation figures (~$12.2 billion) from the fundamental data, as of mid-July 2026; analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument.

About the Company

Franklin Resources, Inc. ist ein börsennotierter Vermögensverwalter.

Employees10,000
HeadquartersSan Mateo, CA
Websitefranklinresources.com
IPO Date7. Sep 1984
Next Earnings7. Aug 2026

Management

Management
Name Title Birth Year
Gregory Eugene Johnson CPA Executive Chairman of the Board & Non-Independent Director 1961
Jennifer M. Johnson CEO & Non-Independent Director 1964
Matthew Nicholls Co-President, CFO & COO 1973
Terrence James Murphy Co-President & Head of Public Market Investments 1968
Daniel Ernesto Gamba CFA Co-President & Chief Commercial Officer 1968
Avinash Deepak Satwalekar CFA President of India
Lindsey Harumi Oshita Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer 1983
Bassel Khatoun Head of Research & Director of Portfolio Management
Anupama Sawhney Chief Administrative Officer & Head of Business Development
Selene Oh Head of Investor Relations

Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.

Chart

Interactive price chart (TradingView).

Data as of: July 20, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)

Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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