Core Viewpoint - UBS has lowered its price target on Moody's Corp to $490 from $515 while maintaining a Neutral rating, indicating a cautious outlook despite recent performance improvements [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - Moody's shares have outperformed following a solid quarterly report and constructive fiscal 2026 guidance, with the core ratings business expected to deliver high-single-digit revenue growth [1] - The outlook for Moody's core ratings business is viewed as stronger than that of S&P Global, suggesting potential for upside if capital markets remain supportive [1] Group 2: Segment Analysis - Moody's Analytics has shown mixed results relative to medium-term targets, although the company has undertaken selective divestitures to enhance growth prospects for this segment [2] Group 3: Competitive Positioning - Moody's is considered relatively insulated from artificial intelligence-related disruption risks that have affected parts of the information services sector, positioning it as a high-quality franchise with a favorable growth profile [3] - Despite its strong positioning, Moody's valuation trades at a meaningful premium to peers, which may limit its relative risk-reward attractiveness [3]

There is a wrecking ball bouncing from one stock market industry to the next and folks are calling it the “AI Scare Trade”.Any whiff of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could potentially disrupt an existing business model or service, and stocks plunge lower. We discussed this in last week’s Ethos, “Mixed signals”, as new functionalities on Anthropic AI services impacted the software space generally. This spread to legal and other services.  This past week, the AI wrecking ball visited wealth services, r ...

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Q4 2025 Earnings call February 18, 2026 09:00 AM ET Speaker6Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Moody's Corporation Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 earnings call. At this time, I would like to inform you that this conference is being recorded and that all participants are in a listen-only mode. At the request of the company, we will open the conference up for question and answers following the presentation. The call is scheduled to last approximately one hour. I will now turn the cal ...

New York-based Moody's Corporation (MCO) operates as an integrated risk assessment firm. With a market cap of $76.1 billion, the company provides credit ratings and related research, data and analytical tools, quantitative credit risk measures, risk scoring software, and credit portfolio management solutions and securities pricing software and valuation models. Shares of this credit rating giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. MCO has declined 19.1% over this time frame, while ...

Core Insights - S&P Global Ratings was awarded Ratings Provider of the Year at the 2026 Private Equity Wire European Awards [1] - The award highlights S&P Global Ratings' contribution to enhancing transparency in European private markets [1] - The recognition emphasizes the importance of credit insights in facilitating decision-making within the industry [1]

Group 1 - S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is experiencing stock price pressure attributed to the rise of AI technologies, which are perceived to potentially reduce the need for traditional services offered by the company [1][4] - The company provides essential services such as credit ratings, data benchmarks, and analytical tools across various markets including finance, commodities, and automotive, which are crucial for investors and professionals [3] - Despite the potential of S&P Global as an investment, there are opinions suggesting that other AI stocks may present greater upside potential with less downside risk [4]

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- #creditratingagency--KBRA assigns preliminary ratings to eight classes of notes issued by Pagaya AI Debt Grantor Trust 2026-R1 and Pagaya AI Debt Trust 2026-R1 (collectively "PAID 2026-R1†), an unsecured consumer loan ABS transaction. PAID 2026-R1 has initial hard credit enhancement levels of 47.00% for the Class A Notes to 5.85% for the Class E Notes. Credit enhancement is comprised of overcollateralization, subordination (except for the Class E Notes), cash reserve accounts f ...

Core Insights - Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is recognized as one of the 12 Most Profitable Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2026 [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - Morgan Stanley analyst Toni Kaplan raised the price target for Moody's to $526 from $520, maintaining an Equal Weight rating, following a stronger-than-expected quarterly finish [2] - Solid issuance in December contributed to what was described as a "strong issuance quarter," exceeding earlier expectations [2] Group 2: Business Model and Profitability - Moody's operates a business primarily based on data, analytics, and intangible assets, which drives high profitability [3] - The company benefits from a consistent revenue stream as governments and companies are frequently in the market to borrow [3] Group 3: Shareholder Returns - Moody's has a strong track record of shareholder returns, having paid and increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years [4] - The current dividend payout is conservative, at approximately 25% of estimated 2025 earnings, allowing room for future growth [4] Group 4: Strategic Acquisitions - Moody's has been expanding its capabilities through acquisitions, including the purchase of Numerated Growth Technologies in 2024 to enhance its lending technology tools [5] - The acquisition of CAPE Analytics earlier this year adds geospatial AI for property risk intelligence to Moody's insurance risk modeling platform [5] Group 5: Company Overview - Moody's Corporation operates as a global risk assessment company, providing research, data, analytics, and decision tools to help organizations assess risk and make informed decisions [6]

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KBRA assigns preliminary ratings to 15 classes of notes issued by Pagaya AI Debt Grantor Trust 2026-1 & Pagaya AI Debt Trust 2026-1 (collectively "PAID 2026-1†), an unsecured consumer loan ABS transaction. PAID 2026-1 has initial hard credit enhancement levels of 84.86% for the Class A-1 Notes to 2.33% for the Class F-2 Notes. Credit enhancement is comprised of overcollateralization, subordination (except for the Class F-2 Notes), cash reserve accounts funded at closing, and exc ...

By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings expects Japan's government to continue to keep deficits within manageable levels ​after a lower house election next month as Tokyo faces ‌pressure from the bond market over tax cuts, its sovereign analyst told Reuters on ‌Wednesday. Japan's government bonds tumbled this week, sending the benchmark 10-year bond yield to a 27-year high on Tuesday, after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made an election pledge to suspend a food levy for two ⁠years. F ...