Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.42 EPS

Key Points

• Moody’s beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $4.68 versus the $4.26 consensus, and revenue of $2.19 billion also came in above estimates.
• The company raised FY 2026 guidance to $16.50–$17.00 EPS, though that range is slightly below Wall Street’s expectations.
• Despite the strong earnings report, Moody’s stock fell 3.2%, while several analysts remained positive, including JPMorgan, which lifted its price target to $600 and reiterated an overweight rating.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Moody's updated its FY 2026 guidance to 16.500-17.000 EPS.

Moody's Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $489.25 on Wednesday. Moody's has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company's 50 day moving average is $462.39 and its 200 day moving average is $465.09. The company has a market cap of $85.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.34.

Key Headlines Impacting Moody's

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody's this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s posted Q2 EPS of $4.68, beating estimates of $4.26, and revenue of $2.19 billion also topped expectations. Article title: Moody's Q2 2026 earnings press release
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Moody’s from $530 to $600 and reiterated an overweight rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Article title: Moody's price target raised by JPMorgan
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have highlighted supportive operating trends, including strong global bond issuance volumes, which could continue to aid Moody’s ratings business and revenue growth. Article title: Strength in Global Bond Issuance Volumes to Aid Moody's Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s FY 2026 guidance was set at $16.50–$17.00 EPS, slightly below the consensus estimate, which may limit near-term upside despite the strong quarter.
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s also warned that Indonesia risks are growing, a reminder that sovereign-credit and macro risk remains an important watch item for the company’s ratings outlook. Article title: Moody's Warns Indonesia Risks Grow Despite 2.85% Deficit Target

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the second quarter worth approximately $267,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 555 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. OpenArc Corporate Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $256,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $245,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody's from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $491.00 to $496.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.58.

Moody's Company Profile

Moody's Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody's is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody's operates primarily through two complementary businesses.

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