Equifax 2012 Annual Report Download - page 5

to develop value propositions for both marketing and risk man-
agement applications.
In this regard, Equifax is leading the way with our “analytical
sandbox” initiative, which brings a customer’s data and analyt-
ics team together with ours in a research atmosphere to identify
solutions based on combinations of our unique data, the
customer’s proprietary data and third-party sources. This ap-
proach is unique to Equifax.
As customers deal with rapidly evolving, increasingly complex
fraud and identity challenges, Equifax is delivering sophisticated
solutions across all business sectors and geographies.
Our unique data, expertise and technology, reinforced by our
reputation as a trusted information steward, have prepared
the Company well to be a leader in the fraud mitigation and
identity management arenas.
In our International markets, Equifax is positioned for strong
growth not only where we have more mature operations, but
also in newer, emerging markets such as Russia and India.
Like our other businesses, our international success is
based on the ability to provide customers with unique, high-
value decisioning solutions that improve both opportunities for
growth and increased profitability.
An ongoing challenge is operating effectively in a regulated en-
vironment. As a result of the financial market failures and the
impact on consumers over the past four years, we have seen
changes in regulations across our markets. In the U.S., we are
now subject to supervisory regulation and review by the newly
formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As we’ve said
before, this new regulatory environment will increase our
compliance costs, and could increase our operating costs as
we adopt changes to our processes and procedures. However,
in some instances the new regulations create opportunities,
such as the need for lenders to verify a potential borrower's
ability to pay when granting a new loan. Further, the accuracy of
our data is critical to our customers and the industry, and we will
continue to embrace changes that improve it.
One of the hallmarks of our Company is recruiting and devel-
oping our talented executives. We continue to add world-class
talent as we evolve into a more dynamic and strategic global in-
formation solutions provider. At the end of 2012, Kent Mast, our
Chief Legal Officer, retired. Kent worked with and for Equifax for
over 40 years, serving as outside counsel before joining Equifax
full-time. His knowledge, wisdom, insights – and friendship –
have been invaluable to me personally and the Company. We all
wish him well in his retirement. We also welcome another sea-
soned and skilled attorney, John J. Kelley III, as our new Chief
Legal Officer.
Equifax is moving forward with great confidence, in spite of
uncertainty in the overall economic atmosphere. Performance
in 2012 has proven once again that the Equifax business model,
driven by innovation and strong execution, generates growth and
improved profitability across many business cycles. It is led by a
team that is ready and willing to seize opportunities and tackle
any challenge put to it. Our capabilities are expanding rapidly so
that we can continue serving our customers with increasingly
valuable solutions while rewarding our investors with high-value
and solid returns.
Sincerely,
Richard F. Smith
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN (2012)
EFX DJIAS&P
500
42%
16%
10%
REVENUE* AND ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
*Revenue ($ millions), excluding Brazil and Divested Operations
**Compound annual growth rate
$3.00
$2500 $2.50
$2000 $2.00
$1500 $1.50
$1000 $1.00
$500 $0.50
$0 $0.00
2009 2010 2011 2012
$2.17
$2.31 $2.52
$2.97
Adjusted for Continuing Operations Adjusted EPS
CAGR
9%
CAGR**
11%
REVENUE
EPS
3Equifax 2012 Annual Report