Moody’s Beats Q4 Estimates, Lifts 2026 Outlook

Moody’s Corp. reported higher profit and revenue in the fourth quarter of calendar 2025, with results ahead of Wall Street expectations. Net income rose to $610 million, or $3.41 per share, from $395 million, or $2.17 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at $3.64 per share.

Analyst estimates for adjusted earnings ranged from about $3.34 to $3.45 per share, and Moody’s result exceeded these forecasts by roughly 6%. Multiple data providers cited consensus expectations between $3.34 and $3.45 per share, underscoring the size of the earnings beat.

Revenue climbed 13% year over year to $1.89 billion, up from $1.672 billion in the prior-year period. This was modestly above Wall Street projections, which were generally around $1.86 billion to $1.88 billion, implying a revenue beat of about 1.6%.

Moody’s Investors Service, the company’s credit-ratings arm, generated approximately $946 million of revenue in the quarter, a 17% increase from the prior year. The analytics unit reported about $943 million in revenue, up 9% from a year earlier, contributing to the overall double-digit top-line growth.

On a pre-tax basis, Moody’s reported profit of $687 million, representing a margin of 36.4%. The company said its efforts to scale new technologies, including decision-grade and contextual intelligence across its platforms, third-party systems and AI-enabled interfaces, were helping drive performance.

For full-year 2025, Moody’s reported profit of $2.46 billion, or $13.67 per share, on revenue of $7.72 billion. Over the past five years, revenue has grown at a compounded annual rate of 7.5%, with annualized growth accelerating to 14.2% over the last two years.

Looking ahead, Moody’s issued guidance for fiscal 2026 that was above analyst expectations. The company projected reported earnings per share between $15.00 and $15.60 and adjusted earnings per share between $16.40 and $17.00. One set of estimates placed consensus at $15.26 for reported EPS and $16.47 for adjusted EPS.

Stock-focused commentary noted that Moody’s adjusted EPS guidance for 2026 equated to about $16.70 at the midpoint, characterized as beating analyst estimates by roughly 1.5%. The company also described its 2026 revenue outlook as calling for high-single-digit growth.

Following the earnings release and guidance, Moody’s shares traded higher. Reports cited premarket gains between about 2.8% and 3.21%, with the stock trading around $435 to $436, reflecting a positive initial market reaction to the results and outlook.

Moody’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share in conjunction with the update. The company’s market capitalization was cited at approximately $75.5 billion around the time of the announcement.

Founded in 1900, Moody’s provides credit ratings, risk assessment tools and analytical solutions to support financial risk evaluation and investment decision-making. Management highlighted the firm’s role in high-stakes decision processes as it scales technology and AI-enabled capabilities across its businesses.