Moody’s sits at the center of the global bond market, getting paid whenever governments and companies raise money, while also building a steadier subscription-style data and software business. The main question is whether new tools like AI weaken its role or end up strengthening it as debt markets and regulation keep growing.Read more
Moody's Corporation is a regulatory-moated oligopoly wrapped in a compounding software business. The MIS ratings franchise holds the most durable structural position in financial services: NRSRO designation is a legal prerequisite for capital adequacy calculations in virtually every major financial market globally, the duopoly with S&P has been unbroken for over four decades, and the proprietary century-old default database cannot be replicated at any cost.Read more
Business Overview Key Metrics Total: 12/17 +2 ✅✅ Projected Operating Margin: 50.34% +0 ⚠️ Projected 5-Year Revenue CAGR: 6.76% +2 ✅✅ Last 5-Year ROIC: 23.50% +1 ✅ Estimated Cost of Capital: 5.86% (lower than ROIC) +1 ✅ Last 5-Year Shares Outstanding CAGR: -1.08% +1 ✅ Projected 5-Year EPS CAGR: 11.47% +1 ✅ Projected 5-Year Dividend CAGR: 10.20% +2 ✅✅ Estimated Debt Rating: Aaa +2 ✅✅ Morningstar Moat: Wide +0 ⚠️ Morningstar Uncertainty: Medium Moody's has established itself as one of the global standards in credit ratings, a status reflected in its wide economic moat and consequently stellar operating margins in the 45–50% range. The company consistently generates returns on invested capital roughly 5x its cost of capital , a strong signal of disciplined and effective capital allocation by management.Read more
Moody’s gets a boost as more lending moves outside traditional banks, pushing investors and lenders to rely on independent risk checks in a fast-growing corner of finance. At the same time, its push into AI-powered tools and new partners could widen its reach—unless tougher oversight and new data-driven rivals start to squeeze its role and pricing.Read more
Proven track record with adequate balance sheet and pays a dividend.
Moody's Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated risk assessment firm in the United States, the rest of the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through two segments, Moody’s Analytics (MA) and Moody’s Investors Service (MIS). The MA segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets. This segment also offers credit research, credit models and analytics, economic data and models, and structured finance solutions; data sets on companies and securities; and cloud-based SaaS subscription solutions supporting banking, insurance, and know-your-customer workflows. The MIS segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations, programs and facilities, and entities that issue such obligations, including corporate, financial institution, and governmental obligations, as well as structured finance securities. It also provides ratings, investment research, compliance and third-party risk, supplier risk, trade credit, business intelligence sales and marketing, financial and regulatory reporting, balance sheet management, capital management, credit portfolio management, and model risk and governance solutions; Maxsight, a unified risk platform; lending suite, origination, and monitoring solutions; and property, casualty, and sustainable insurance underwriting solutions. The company serves the financial, banking, insurance, corporate, public, and asset management sectors. The company was formerly known as Dun and Bradstreet Company and changed its name to Moody's Corporation in September 2000. Moody's Corporation was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
