At a glance
Moodys Corporation is worth $87.24B, about 37 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 8.9% to $7.72B in fiscal 2025, with 31.9% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 7.5% a year. It pays a 0.8% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 8 years, and returned $7.99B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +6.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +6.3% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 42.0% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 37.6% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 4 months and 14 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Moody's makes money in two ways: it rates debt, and it sells data, research and software that banks, insurers, investors, companies and governments use to judge risk. Moody's Investors Service (MIS) has provided credit ratings for more than 115 years. A credit rating is an opinion on how likely a borrower is to repay. MIS rates debt from companies, financial institutions and governments. It also rates structured finance securities, which are pools of loans packaged into bonds. MIS brought in $4.1 billion, or 53.4% of the $7.7 billion in revenue for fiscal 2025.
Moody's Analytics (MA) supplied the other $3.6 billion, or 46.6%. It sells fixed income and economic research. It also sells data from what Moody's calls the world's largest database on companies and credit. Its third line is cloud-based subscription software for banking, insurance and know-your-customer (KYC) checks, which firms use to verify who they deal with. The software is designed to plug into customers' lending, underwriting and compliance work.
Moody's classed 62.7% of fiscal 2025 revenue as relationship revenue and 37.3% as transaction revenue, which is earned deal by deal. The U.S. supplied 54% of revenue; Europe, the Middle East and Africa 30.8%; Asia-Pacific 9.1%; and the rest of the Americas 6.1%. Moody's had about 16,000 employees in more than 40 countries at the end of 2025.
Price history
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MCO +6.3% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Relationship Revenue | $4.84B | 62.7% |
| Transaction Revenue | $2.88B | 37.3% |
By business segment
| MIS | $4.12B | 53.4% |
| MA | $3.60B | 46.6% |
By geography
| U.S. | $4.17B | 54% |
| EMEA | $2.38B | 30.8% |
| Asia-Pacific | $699.0M | 9.1% |
| Americas | $472.0M | 6.1% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $2.02B, up 0.8% from a year earlier, and net income was $734.0M (+13.6%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $7.72B (+8.9% year over year; +7.5% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 31.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +7.5% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 43.4% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 33.4% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 60.7% (lifted by a small equity base, often the result of years of buybacks) good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 15.5% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-5.20B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $5.37B | $1.78B | $2.04B |
| FY2021 | $6.22B | $2.21B | $1.87B |
| FY2022 | $5.47B | $1.37B | $1.19B |
| FY2023 | $5.92B | $1.61B | $1.88B |
| FY2024 | $7.09B | $2.06B | $2.52B |
| FY2025 | $7.72B | $2.46B | $2.58B |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $87.24B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 37 |
| Dividend yield | 0.8% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Moodys’s market value went from $18.02B at the end of 2016 to $87.24B on Nov 2, 2026, about 4.8 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 4%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2026 | $87.24B | -4.3% |
| 2025 | $91.14B | +6.3% |
| 2024 | $85.77B | +20.0% |
| 2023 | $71.47B | +40.0% |
| 2022 | $51.04B | -29.7% |
| 2021 | $72.61B | +33.2% |
| 2020 | $54.51B | +21.6% |
| 2019 | $44.82B | +67.3% |
| 2018 | $26.79B | -5.0% |
| 2017 | $28.21B | +56.5% |
| 2016 | $18.02B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCO price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -0.3% | +6.3% | +16.6% | +6.3% | +19.0% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -0.3% |
| 2025 | +8.7% |
| 2024 | +22.2% |
| 2023 | +41.5% |
| 2022 | -27.8% |
| 2021 | +35.6% |
| 2020 | +23.3% |
| 2019 | +71.3% |
| 2018 | -4.1% |
| 2017 | +58.5% |
| 2016 | -4.6% |
| 2015 | +6.1% |
| 2014 | +23.7% |
| 2013 | +58.2% |
| 2012 | +51.9% |
| 2011 | +29.0% |
| 2010 | +0.8% |
| 2009 | +35.6% |
| 2008 | -43.0% |
| 2007 | -48.0% |
| 2006 | +12.9% |
| 2005 | +41.9% |
| 2004 | +43.8% |
| 2003 | +46.9% |
| 2002 | +3.8% |
| 2001 | +55.6% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 68.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 69.3%, back to its old high 47.2 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 42% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 42%, back to its old high 3.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 37.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 37.6%, back to its old high 14 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 13 sales ($7.5M), 10 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29, 2026 | Michael L West CEO - Moody's Ratings | sell | $3.3M |
| Oct 29, 2026 | Michael L West CEO - Moody's Ratings | sell | $1.4M |
| Sep 1, 2026 | Robert Fauber President and CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $586K |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Robert Fauber President and CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $565K |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Robert Fauber President and CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $532K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| TCI Fund Management Ltd | 8.21% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 6.41% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in MCO
| IAI iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF | 4.5% |
| TOLL Tema Monopolies and Oligopolies ETF | 4.12% |
| CWS AdvisorShares Focused Equity ETF | 3.66% |
| GFGF Guru Favorite Stocks ETF | 2.87% |
| DEMZ Democratic Large Cap Core ETF | 2.5% |
| GGRW Gabelli Growth Innovators ETF | 2.48% |
| BRNY Burney U.S. Factor Rotation ETF | 2.45% |
| GABF Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF | 2.34% |
What could go wrong
- Business rises and falls with debt issuance. Moody's says its economics depend on how much debt is issued. It says rising interest rates and market volatility have cut that volume. The ratings segment supplied 53.4% of fiscal 2025 revenue.
- Heavy, shifting regulation of rating agencies. Regulators in the U.S., EU, U.K. and elsewhere oversee rating agencies. Rules could encourage rivals or alternatives to ratings and change pricing. Serious violations could limit where Moody's can issue ratings.
- Lawsuits and investigations over its ratings. Moody's faces lawsuits, government investigations and competition market studies tied to its rating opinions, analytics services and business practices. U.S. rules may bring more investor lawsuits over losses on rated securities.
- Ratings are only worth something if trusted. Moody's lists damage to its reputation and credibility as a risk. Doubts about its ratings could weaken demand for its ratings and data. That includes doubts about how it builds climate risks into rating methods.
- Competitors, new technology and price pressure. Other companies' products, technologies or services could take business. Moody's also faces pricing pressure from competitors and customers. That could squeeze profits: operating income was 43.4% of revenue in fiscal 2025.
- Cyberattacks and reliance on outside technology. Moody's holds confidential and personal data. Its cloud-based products rely on other companies' software, data centers and networks. A breach or a supplier failure could disrupt service and damage trust.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
For income and retirement investors
Moody's pays a small dividend: the yield was 0.84% as of October 28, 2026. It has raised the dividend 8 years in a row. Regular dividends per share rose from $2.24 in fiscal 2020 to $3.76 in fiscal 2025, about 10.9% a year. In fiscal 2025, dividends took 28.5% of earnings and 27.2% of free cash flow (operating cash left after capital spending). Buybacks are bigger: $5.1 billion from fiscal 2021 to 2025, against $2.9 billion in dividends. The share count fell about 6.9% between January 2022 and September 2026.
The stock has fallen hard in past sell-offs. It lost about 69% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 47 months from its low to regain its peak. It fell 42% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 3.5 months. In the 2022 bear market it fell about 38% and took 14 months to recover. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Moody's make money?
Moody's makes money from credit ratings and from selling data, research and software. In fiscal 2025, its ratings segment, Moody's Investors Service, brought in $4.1 billion, or 53.4% of $7.7 billion in revenue. It rates debt from companies, financial institutions and governments. Moody's Analytics brought in $3.6 billion, or 46.6%. It sells fixed income and economic research, a large database on companies and credit, and cloud-based software for banking, insurance and know-your-customer checks. The U.S. supplied 54% of revenue.
Does Moody's raise its dividend every year?
Moody's has raised its dividend 8 years in a row. Regular dividends per share grew from $2.24 in fiscal 2020 to $3.76 in fiscal 2025, about 10.9% a year. In fiscal 2025, dividends paid equaled about 28.5% of earnings and 27.2% of free cash flow. The yield was 0.84% as of October 28, 2026, which is low for an income investor. Moody's returns more cash through buybacks: $1.6 billion in fiscal 2025, against $701 million in dividends.
Do interest rates affect Moody's?
Yes, mainly through how much debt gets issued. Moody's says its business depends on the volume of debt sold in capital markets. It also says higher interest rates and market volatility have hurt that volume. The ratings segment supplied 53.4% of fiscal 2025 revenue. Total revenue fell from $6.2 billion in fiscal 2021 to $5.5 billion in fiscal 2022, then rose to $7.7 billion by fiscal 2025. Moody's Analytics, which sells research, data and subscription software, supplied the other 46.6%.
How much debt does Moody's have?
Moody's had $6.9 billion of total debt as of September 30, 2026. It held $1.7 billion in cash and investments, leaving net debt of about $5.2 billion. Shareholders' equity was $3.3 billion. For scale, free cash flow was $2.6 billion in fiscal 2025. Buybacks shrink shareholders' equity on the balance sheet. That helps explain a high return on equity (profit as a share of equity) of 60.7% in fiscal 2025.
How has Moody's stock performed over the long run?
It has risen sharply over the long run, with deep drops along the way. In the 10 years to October 28, 2026, the stock returned about 17.9% a year, or about 419% in total. Over 5 years it returned about 4.2% a year, and over 1 year it lost 1.9%. From 2016 to 2025, calendar-year returns ranged from a 71.3% gain in 2019 to a 27.8% loss in 2022. On October 28, 2026, the shares traded at 34.9 times fiscal 2025 earnings.