Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

• SS&C Technologies delivered a robust Q3 2025, marked by record adjusted revenue of $1.569 billion, a 7% increase, and record adjusted consolidated EBITDA of $619 million, up 9.3%, demonstrating strong operational efficiency and margin expansion.
• The company's strategic focus on AI and intelligent automation, exemplified by its Blue Prism platform and the deployment of AI agents, is driving significant internal cost savings and creating new, high-value revenue opportunities in regulated industries.
• Aggressive and targeted M&A, including the Calastone and Curo Fund Services acquisitions in 2025, alongside major lift-out agreements like Insignia Financial (IFL) in Australia, is expanding SS&C's global footprint and capabilities in high-growth areas such as private markets, ETFs, and superannuation.
• Exceptional cash flow generation, with operating cash flow reaching $1.101 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 (up 22%), underpins a balanced capital allocation strategy prioritizing strategic acquisitions, substantial share repurchases, and consistent dividend increases.
• Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, SS&C is positioned for continued growth, with full-year 2025 revenue guidance raised to $6.21 billion to $6.25 billion, driven by its diversified business model, technological differentiation, and expanding international presence.

The Foundation: A Global Powerhouse in Financial and Healthcare Technology

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc., established in 1986, has evolved into a comprehensive provider of software products and software-enabled services across the global financial services and healthcare industries. The company's expansive reach now spans the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, Canada, and the Americas. This broad geographical footprint and diversified service portfolio, encompassing everything from securities accounting and front-to-back office functions to specialized healthcare solutions, underscore its foundational strength.

SS&C's overarching strategy is built on a dual engine of organic growth, fueled by continuous investment in research and development (R&D) and sales and marketing, complemented by strategic, accretive acquisitions. This approach leverages the company's scale and deep functional expertise to enhance client services, drive internal efficiencies, and respond dynamically to evolving market demands. The company operates in an industry undergoing rapid technological transformation, particularly with the advent of AI and quantum computing, which presents both challenges and significant opportunities for SS&C to solidify its market leadership.

Technological Edge: The AI and Automation Imperative

At the core of SS&C's competitive advantage lies its integrated technology stack, which spans critical functions like trading, portfolio management, accounting, performance measurement, and compliance. This proprietary technology enables seamless automation of complex financial processes, delivering tangible benefits to clients.

A key differentiator is SS&C's aggressive investment in intelligent automation and Artificial Intelligence. The acquisition of Blue Prism, a leading robotic process automation (RPA) platform, for approximately $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion, has been instrumental. Since early 2023, SS&C has deployed several thousand "digital workers" internally, resulting in estimated internal savings approaching $150 million to $200 million. This internal application positions SS&C as "customer zero," allowing it to refine and validate its AI solutions before offering them to clients.

The company's commitment to innovation is evident in its recent developments. In early 2025, SS&C launched its global governance-first AI platform, featuring a unified trust layer designed to help regulated customers adopt advanced technologies with confidence. This platform incorporates embedded guardrails and policy-based execution, addressing a critical need for security and compliance in AI deployment. Furthermore, SS&C introduced 20 new AI agents capable of handling complex, unstructured content, such as vendor contracts and limited partner capital statements. These agents offer significant quantifiable benefits; for instance, an AI agent sold to a U.K.-based healthcare organization automated MRI, CT, and ultrasound request processing, saving over 15,000 radiologist hours annually, reducing manual effort by up to 80%, speeding up processing by three times, and improving accuracy to over 99%. This technological leadership not only enhances SS&C's competitive moat but also drives operational efficiency, creates new revenue streams, and establishes the company as a trusted partner in highly regulated industries.

Strategic Growth Pillars: M&A and Global Expansion

SS&C's growth narrative is significantly shaped by its disciplined yet opportunistic acquisition strategy and its expanding global footprint. The company targets high-quality, accretive businesses that align with its strategic vision.

Recent acquisitions underscore this approach. In October 2025, SS&C completed the acquisition of Calastone Limited for approximately $1.03 billion in cash. Calastone, a global funds network operating in 57 countries, brings additional capabilities in money markets, ETFs, digital assets, and tokenization, with its team integrating into SS&C's Global Investor and Distribution Solutions (GIDS) business. This acquisition is expected to be accretive to revenue growth, EBITDA margin, and EPS within 12 months. Earlier, in September 2025, SS&C acquired Curo Fund Services, a South African fund administration business, to deepen client relationships and establish a local presence in the African market. These deals complement the September 2024 acquisition of Battea-Class Action Services, LLC, which is expected to contribute $100 million to $110 million in revenue in 2025 and has already generated cross-selling success with existing SS&C clients.

Beyond acquisitions, SS&C is actively pursuing large lift-out agreements and expanding geographically. A significant strategic lift-out agreement with Insignia Financial in Australia, announced in December 2024, involves rebadging approximately 1,400 employees around July 1, 2025. This deal is expected to generate $35 million to $70 million in revenue in the second half of 2025 and positions SS&C to capitalize on the Australian superannuation market, where it holds a 5% market share of 22 million accounts. The company is also strengthening its presence in the Middle East, having opened a new office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in March 2025, alongside existing offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. These initiatives collectively expand SS&C's market reach, diversify its revenue streams, and enable it to capture growth in dynamic global segments.

Robust Financial Performance and Operational Excellence

SS&C's financial performance reflects its strategic execution and operational discipline, consistently delivering strong results. For the three months ended September 30, 2025, SS&C reported record adjusted revenue of $1.569 billion, an increase of 7% compared to the prior year. This growth was primarily driven by a 5.2% adjusted organic revenue growth, with notable contributions from the GlobeOp fund administration business, which saw 9.6% revenue growth, and the Global Investor and Distribution Solutions (GIDS) business, which grew 9%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased by 17.2% to $1.57.

Profitability metrics also demonstrated strength, with adjusted consolidated EBITDA reaching a record $619 million, up 9.3%, resulting in a quarterly adjusted consolidated EBITDA margin of 39.5%. This margin expansion of 90 basis points year-over-year highlights the company's focus on cost management and leveraging its scale. Net interest expense decreased by $6 million to $104 million, primarily due to lower average interest rates. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 17.1%, benefiting from releases of uncertain tax positions and windfall tax benefits from stock awards.

SS&C's cash flow generation remains a cornerstone of its financial strength. For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.101 billion, a significant 22% increase over the prior year. This robust cash flow supports a balanced capital allocation strategy. In Q3 2025 alone, the company returned $305 million to shareholders, including $240 million for 2.8 million share repurchases and $65.8 million in common stock dividends. The Board of Directors also authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program in May 2025 and raised the common stock dividend by 8% to $1.08 per share.

As of September 30, 2025, SS&C's net debt stood at $6.2 billion, with a net leverage ratio of 2.59x, indicating a healthy financial position to pursue further strategic growth.

Competitive Landscape and Strategic Positioning

SS&C operates in a highly competitive environment, vying with both specialized fintech providers and large financial institutions offering similar services. Its market positioning is characterized by its comprehensive, integrated software and service offerings, particularly for complex financial and healthcare workflows.

Compared to major competitors like Fiserv, Inc. (FISV), SS&C differentiates itself through its specialized focus on securities accounting, fund administration, and healthcare claims management, while Fiserv often emphasizes broader payment processing and banking solutions. SS&C's end-to-end automation capabilities, often more deeply integrated across front-to-back office functions, can offer greater efficiency in complex financial workflows. SS&C's gross profit margin of 48.56% and EBITDA margin of 34.65% (TTM) demonstrate solid profitability, which compares favorably to peers in specialized segments.

Against Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (BR), SS&C's offerings provide greater flexibility and customization for back-office functions, potentially leading to stronger client retention in bespoke environments, whereas Broadridge excels in standardized communications and regulatory reporting. SS&C's integrated technology stack provides a more holistic approach to client needs. In the asset management software space, SS&C's portfolio management and analytics tools compete with platforms like BlackRock, Inc.'s (BLK) Aladdin. SS&C often provides more cost-effective entry points for mid-sized firms and boasts diversification into healthcare, an area BlackRock lacks. While BlackRock's platform offers advanced AI-driven insights, SS&C is actively closing this gap with its own AI initiatives.

State Street Corporation (STT) is a competitor in asset servicing and fund administration. SS&C's solutions often feature more user-friendly interfaces and a holistic automation approach, while State Street's strength lies in its custodial services and global asset servicing scale. SS&C's competitive advantages, or "moats," include its proprietary integrated technology, which provides superior efficiency and customer loyalty, and its deep, established customer relationships. These strengths help SS&C counter rivals' standardized offerings by providing more tailored solutions and enhancing its pricing power in complex segments.

However, vulnerabilities exist, including the ongoing need for rapid AI integration to avoid technological gaps, and a degree of client dependency, particularly with large lift-out deals, which could introduce revenue volatility. Nevertheless, high barriers to entry in SS&C's industries, such as stringent regulatory compliance requirements and substantial development costs, help protect its market position by limiting new entrants. SS&C's strategic response to competitive forces involves continuous innovation, particularly in AI, and leveraging its global scale and specialized expertise to maintain its competitive edge.

Outlook and Guidance: Sustained Momentum

SS&C's management maintains a positive outlook, anticipating continued momentum into the final quarter of 2025 and beyond. For the fourth quarter of 2025, the company expects revenue to be in the range of $1.59 billion to $1.63 billion, with adjusted organic revenue growth projected at 4.5% at the midpoint. Adjusted net income is guided to be between $394 million and $410 million, with adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $1.56 to $1.62.

For the full year 2025, SS&C has raised its top-line guidance, now expecting revenue between $6.21 billion and $6.25 billion, representing a $37 million increase at the midpoint. The full-year adjusted organic revenue growth is projected at 4.6% at the midpoint. Adjusted net income for the full year is expected to be in the range of $1.522 billion to $1.538 billion, leading to an adjusted diluted EPS of $6.02 to $6.08, an increase of $0.11 at the midpoint. Cash from operating activities for the full year is anticipated to be between $1.515 billion and $1.575 billion.

These projections are based on several key assumptions, including stable client retention rates, short-term interest rates remaining at current levels, an adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 23%, and capital expenditures between 4.2% and 4.6% of revenues. The guidance also incorporates approximately $20 million in revenue from the Calastone acquisition for Q4 2025. Management's confidence stems from strong performance in Q4 2024, a visible pipeline of opportunities, and the expected ramp-up of revenue from already signed deals, such as the Insignia Financial lift-out and Battea's full organic contribution in the second half of 2025.

Risks and Challenges

Despite the positive outlook, SS&C faces several risks inherent in its operating environment. Ongoing macroeconomic conditions, including fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, capital market volatility, global trade issues, and geopolitical tensions, could materially impact financial results. The company's reliance on large, complex deals in segments like healthcare and GIDS can lead to lumpy revenue recognition, making short-term forecasting challenging.

Integration risks associated with recent acquisitions, such as Calastone and Curo Fund Services, are also present, requiring careful execution to realize anticipated synergies. While SS&C is actively investing in AI, the rapid pace of technological change in areas like AI and quantum computing necessitates continuous R&D to maintain a competitive edge. Furthermore, a significant portion of SS&C's debt carries variable interest rates, making it susceptible to increases in interest expense if rates rise. However, the company remains in compliance with all financial covenants.

Conclusion

SS&C Technologies stands as a resilient and cash-generative leader in the financial and healthcare technology sectors, consistently demonstrating its ability to adapt and thrive amidst evolving market dynamics. The company's core investment thesis is underpinned by a powerful combination of strategic acquisitions, relentless technological innovation, particularly in AI and automation, and disciplined operational execution. This synergy allows SS&C to deepen its competitive moat, expand its global footprint, and capture growth in high-value segments like private markets, ETFs, and superannuation.

With a robust financial performance, strong cash flow generation supporting significant capital returns, and a clear strategic roadmap, SS&C is well-positioned for sustained long-term growth. While macroeconomic uncertainties and integration risks warrant monitoring, the company's proven ability to deliver mission-critical solutions, coupled with its commitment to technological leadership and client satisfaction, reinforces its compelling value proposition for discerning investors.