What changed
$MCO — BUY 📊 | 6 MONTHS THESIS
🎯 Q1 2026 | Rev $2.1B | EPS $4.33 vs $4.22 🟢 | Margin 44.4%
💡 Consensus EPS estimates may not fully incorporate the increased buyback pace (~$2.5B vs prior ~$1.5-2B run rate), which can drive high single-digit EPS accretion. Additionally, market-implied expectations for ratings revenue may be cautious, while debt issuance trends remain robust, supporting upside surprises in coming quarters.
📉 Reward/risk: 2.0:1
🏢 Business Quality: 8/10 - Oligopolistic credit ratings franchise with recurring revenue, high operating margins (~44%), strong free cash flow generation, and growing analytics segment, though cyclical exposure to debt markets.
📊 Valuation: Fair to slightly rich relative to history but supported by buybacks. Trailing P/E ~26x, EV/EBITDA ~20x, FCF yield ~4.3%.
📊 Our read: BUY. Full analysis →
https://stockduty.xyz/s/MCO0611