FICO(US:FICO) The Motley Fool·2025-05-23 19:19Core Viewpoint - Fair Isaac's shares dropped 21.9% this week following critical comments from FHFA Director Bill Pulte regarding recent price increases for credit scores and a review of credit report practices [1][3]. Group 1: Price Increases and Regulatory Scrutiny - Fair Isaac announced a price increase for credit scores from $3.50 to $4.95 for mortgage applications last November [3]. - Pulte criticized the transparency of price increases for credit reports from the three major credit bureaus, questioning why some reports cost significantly more than during previous administrations [4]. - The FHFA is reviewing the necessity of "tri-merged" scores, which utilize credit scores from all three major bureaus, and considering a shift to "bi-merged" scores that would only use two [4]. Group 2: Impact on Fair Isaac's Business - A potential reduction in the volume of credit scores needed for bi-merged reports could negatively impact Fair Isaac's business [5]. - Despite the cautionary news, Fair Isaac's FICO scores are used across various types of loans, and the company also generates revenue from software and analytics services, which accounted for about 40% of revenue last quarter [6]. - Analyst Surinder Thind from Jefferies suggested that even with the adoption of bi-merged scoring, Fair Isaac's earnings per share might only be impacted by a maximum of 16%, indicating a potential buying opportunity [7].