Latest news with #Moodys
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Moody's Stock Gains Traction On Confident Outlook
Following its second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, Moody's Corp. (NYSE:MCO) stock saw an uptick. The financial intelligence company reported a strong 4% year-on-year (Y/Y) increase in revenue, reaching $1.90 billion and comfortably exceeding the analyst consensus of $1.82 billion. Moody's also beat profit forecasts, posting adjusted earnings per share of $3.56 compared to the $3.29 Investors Service's (MIS) revenue reached $1.0 billion during the quarter, marking a flat growth rate Y/Y. Moody's Analytics (MA) revenue grew 11% to $888 million. Operating expenses grew 4% compared to the prior-year period, including 2% from restructuring charges and 2% related to M&A. The company's adjusted operating margin was 50.9%, up 130 basis points from the prior-year period. MA's adjusted operating margin rose by 360 basis points to 32.1% reflecting strong revenue growth combined with disciplined cost management. MIS's adjusted operating margin of 64.2% improved 100 basis points. Cash flow from operations was $543 million, and free cash flow was $468 million. View more earnings on MCO On July 22, 2025, the Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of 94 cents per share, an 11% increase from last year's 85 cents. This dividend will be paid on September 5, 2025, to shareholders on record as of August 15, 2025. During the second quarter of 2025, Moody's repurchased 0.6 million shares at an average of $460.76 per share, while issuing 39 thousand net shares through employee stock-based compensation programs (including shares for payroll taxes). As of June 30, 2025, Moody's had 179.4 million shares outstanding and approximately $0.9 billion remaining in its share repurchase authority, with no set expiration. Moody's reported $7.0 billion in outstanding debt and an undrawn $1.25 billion revolving credit facility. The company also held approximately $2.174 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2025. 2025 Outlook Moody's revised the adjusted EPS outlook to $13.50-$14.00 (from $13.25-$14.00) versus the $13.85 analyst consensus estimate. The company still projects revenues to increase in the mid single-digit percent range. Operating expenses are projected to increase in the low to mid-single-digit percentage range in 2025. Price Action: Moody's shares traded higher by 2.40% to $511.12 at last check Wednesday. Photo by Andrius Zemaitis via Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? MOODYS (MCO): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Moody's Stock Gains Traction On Confident Outlook originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CTV News
21 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Moody's reports higher second-quarter profit on analytics unit strength
People walk by the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday morning, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Ratings agency Moody's reported a rise in second quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by robust gains in its data and analytics unit and an increase in government borrowing. Demand for market analytical tools rose in the reported quarter as investors sought health checks on Treasury debt issuance amid trade policy and interest rate uncertainties, boosting companies like Moody's. Revenue from the analytics segment, which chiefly depends on a subscription model, climbed 11 per cent to US$888 million in the second quarter. Moody's results are closely watched by traders as a reliable indicator of market sentiment toward debt, given the agency's broad influence across global fixed-income markets. The company's Investors Service business, which issues credit ratings, generated US$1 billion in revenue, matching last year's figure. Profit attributable to Moody's totalled US$578 million, or US$3.21 per share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with US$552 million, or US$3.02 per share, a year earlier. The company narrowed its annual adjusted earnings per share forecast to a range of US$13.50 to US$14, a slight upgrade from its previous outlook of US$13.25 to US$14 per share. Moody's shares, which have gained nearly five per cent so far in 2025, were down marginally in pre-market trading. --- Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Kenya's debt costs to remain high due to local borrowing, Moody's says
Kenya's cost of servicing its debts is expected to remain stubbornly high, ratings agency Moody's said on Wednesday, as the government leans on the domestic debt market to fund its budget shortfalls. The East African nation has one of the highest debt interest costs to revenue ratio in the world, Moody's said, and spends a third of government revenue on settling interest payments. "Kenya will rely predominantly on the domestic market to meet its fiscal financing needs with approximately two-thirds of its financing, or just under 4% of GDP per year, from domestic sources," the agency said in an issuer report. "This reliance will continue to weigh on debt affordability, a key constraint in Kenya's credit profile." Finance Minister John Mbadi set the government's fiscal deficit for the financial year starting this month at 4.8% of economic output, narrower than the 2024/25 deficit of 5.7%, when he presented the budget to parliament last month. But Moody's said that target could slip as the government confronts acute fiscal pressures. "Kenya's revenue generation capacity remains structurally weak," Moody's said, citing missed revenue collection targets. The government needs to secure a new financing programme with the International Monetary Fund, the ratings agency said, to help it deal with annual external debt repayments that stand at $3.5 billion on average. The government will hold another round of talks with IMF officials in September in a bid to clinch the programme, the central bank chief Kamau Thugge said last month. "A successful IMF programme could anchor investor confidence and reduce external borrowing costs," Moody's said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Slowdown in Leveraged Loan Issuance to Hurt Moody's Q2 Earnings
Moody's MCO is scheduled to announce second-quarter 2025 results on July 23, before the opening bell. The company's Corporate Finance line, the largest revenue contributor at the Moody's Investors Service ('MIS') division, is not expected to have witnessed much revenue the second quarter of 2025, global bond issuance activity was somewhat healthy, but there was a notable slowdown in leveraged loan issuance activity from the previous-year of lower repricing activity and an uptick in corporate debt spreads, leveraged loan issuance weakened notably. Among the other two sub-categories within non-financial corporate bonds, investment-grade loans witnessed lower volumes on a year-over-year basis while high yield issuance performed well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues in the Corporate Finance line of $492 million indicates a 6.3% decline from the prior-year quarter's reported consensus estimate for revenues from the Financial Institutions business line of $198 million suggests a year-over-year increase of 1.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Public, Project and Infrastructure Finance business revenues of $164 million implies a 6.5% issuance volumes for collateral debt obligations were robust in the to-be-reported quarter. However, commercial mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities issuance volumes declined year over year against reasonably tough comps. Hence, Structured Finance revenues are likely to have been negatively impacted. The consensus estimate for the same stands at $123 million, suggesting a 6.1% Zacks Consensus Estimate for MIS division revenues for the to-be-reported quarter of $1.03 billion implies a 3.1% year-over-year decline. Moody's Other Key Factors & Estimates for Q2 Moody's Analytics ('MA') Division: With the demand for analytics rising, revenues from all units at the MA division are expected to have increased in the second quarter. The company's efforts to strengthen the division's profitability through inorganic growth strategies are anticipated to have offered some support. Thus, the division's overall revenues are likely to have risen in the to-be-reported consensus estimate for the MA division's quarterly revenues is pegged at $876 million, indicating an 8.7% increase from the prior-year quarter's Given Moody's inorganic growth efforts, costs related to acquisitions and restructuring are expected to have increased in the to-be-reported quarter, thus resulting in an increase in total expenses. Key Q2 Development for Moody's In June, MCO fully acquired ICR Chile, strengthening its presence in Latin America's domestic credit markets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed and the transaction will not have a material impact on Moody's 2025 financial transaction followed Moody's acquisition of a minority stake in ICR Chile in Fernandez-Romero, managing director of Moody's Local, stated, 'Today's acquisition builds on our successful partnership with ICR and underscores our commitment to Chile's growing debt capital market. Bringing ICR into Moody's Local will enhance our ability to provide high quality credit ratings, research, and analytical services to market participants, while contributing to greater transparency in Latin America.' Earnings Whispers for Moody's According to our proven model, the chances of MCO beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings this time are high. This is because it has the right combination of the two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP ESP: The Earnings ESP for Moody's is +2.41%.Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. Q2 Earnings & Sales Expectations for MCO The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $3.42, which has been unchanged over the past seven days. The figure indicates a 4.3% rise from the year-ago reported number. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.) Moody's Corporation Price and EPS Surprise Moody's Corporation price-eps-surprise | Moody's Corporation Quote The consensus estimate for sales of $1.85 billion suggests a 1.8% rise from the prior-year quarter's actual. Other Finance Stocks Worth a Look Here are a couple of other finance sector stocks that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time:Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. PB is slated to announce second-quarter 2025 results on July 23. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +1.33%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Prosperity Bancshares' quarterly earnings has been unchanged at $1.40 over the past Banc-Corp ASB has an Earnings ESP of +0.81% and it carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. The company is slated to report second-quarter 2025 results on July 24. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks the past seven days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Associated Banc-Corp's quarterly earnings has been unchanged at 62 cents. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Moody's Corporation (MCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (PB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Moody's reports higher second-quarter profit on analytics unit strength
(Reuters) -Ratings agency Moody's reported a rise in second quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by robust gains in its data and analytics unit and an increase in government borrowing. Demand for market analytical tools rose in the reported quarter as investors sought health checks on Treasury debt issuance amid trade policy and interest rate uncertainties, boosting companies like Moody's. Revenue from the analytics segment, which chiefly depends on a subscription model, climbed 11% to $888 million in the second quarter. Moody's results are closely watched by traders as a reliable indicator of market sentiment toward debt, given the agency's broad influence across global fixed-income markets. The company's Investors Service business, which issues credit ratings, generated $1 billion in revenue, matching last year's figure. Profit attributable to Moody's totalled $578 million, or $3.21 per share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with $552 million, or $3.02 per share, a year earlier. The company narrowed its annual adjusted earnings per share forecast to a range of $13.50 to $14, a slight upgrade from its previous outlook of $13.25 to $14 per share. Moody's shares, which have gained nearly 5% so far in 2025, were down marginally in pre-market trading.
