MSCI Inc.

MSCI has a solid but leveraged balance sheet. It held roughly $0.41 billion in cash versus $4.51 billion in long-term debt at end-2024). Net debt ($4.1 billion) stands around 2.3× trailing EBITDA, which is moderate but higher than many tech/data peers. The company’s interest coverage is very strong (10×), reflecting high cash flow.

Management has maintained strong liquidity (undrawn revolver, consistent cash flow above $1.5 billion/year) and manageable covenants. In a severe downturn, MSCI’s debt load would force it to reduce buybacks/dividends (or draw credit lines), but it is unlikely to threaten viability given its cash flow base.

We would prefer even less debt for "bulletproof" capital structure, so we dock a few points here. Overall, financial strength is above average but not perfect (no alarm bells, but not zero leverage).