MMarketMath

MCO

StalwartQuality: High (83/100)

Moody's Corporation · Financials · Financial Exchanges & Data

$511.35

52w 402.28 – 546.88

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$88.6B

P/E

35.5

P/FCF

33.9

FCF yield

3.0%

ROE

60.7%

Shldr yield

2.6%

div 0.8% + bb 1.8%

What today's price assumes

At $88.6B, the market is pricing in 14.9% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 8.8% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $227 · $322 · $401 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 17.1× across 19 years, MCO would trade near $287/share (25th–75th percentile: $185–$525); it trades at 30.5× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+12.2%

Rev 5y

+7.5%

Rev 10y

+8.3%

EPS 5y

+7.8%

EPS 10y

+11.4%

FCF 5y

+4.7%

FCF 10y

+8.8%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2007: $2.3B
2008: $1.8B
2009: $1.8B
2010: $2.0B
2011: $2.3B
2012: $2.7B
2013: $3.0B
2014: $3.3B
2015: $3.5B
2016: $3.6B
2017: $4.2B
2018: $4.4B
2019: $4.8B
2020: $5.4B
2021: $6.2B
2022: $5.5B
2023: $5.9B
2024: $7.1B
2025: $7.7B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Net income

2007: $701.5M
2008: $457.6M
2009: $402.0M
2010: $507.8M
2011: $571.4M
2012: $690.0M
2013: $804.5M
2014: $988.7M
2015: $941.3M
2016: $266.6M
2017: $1.0B
2018: $1.3B
2019: $1.4B
2020: $1.8B
2021: $2.2B
2022: $1.4B
2023: $1.6B
2024: $2.1B
2025: $2.5B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Free cash flow

2007: $806.4M
2008: $455.3M
2009: $553.1M
2010: $574.3M
2011: $735.6M
2012: $778.1M
2013: $884.5M
2014: $944.0M
2015: $1.1B
2016: $1.1B
2017: $664.0M
2018: $1.4B
2019: $1.6B
2020: $2.0B
2021: $1.9B
2022: $1.2B
2023: $1.9B
2024: $2.5B
2025: $2.6B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2007: 272.2M
2008: 245.3M
2009: 237.8M
2010: 236.6M
2011: 229.4M
2012: 226.6M
2013: 223.5M
2014: 214.7M
2015: 203.4M
2016: 195.4M
2017: 194.2M
2018: 194.4M
2019: 191.6M
2020: 189.3M
2021: 187.9M
2022: 184.7M
2023: 184.0M
2024: 182.7M
2025: 179.9M
0100.0M200.0M
07
11
15
19
23

Margins

10%20%30%40%07101316192225
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2007: $1.8B
2008: $689.7M
2009: $94.5M
2010: $322.2M
2011: $454.8M
2012: $339.5M
2013: $1.1B
2014: $1.5B
2015: $1.4B
2016: $1.0B
2017: $490.0M
2018: $540.0M
2019: $1.4B
2020: $923.0M
2021: $1.2B
2022: $1.5B
2023: $1.1B
2024: $1.9B
2025: $2.3B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B07101316192225
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q2'23: $1.5B
Q3'23: $1.5B
Q4'23: $1.5B
Q1'24: $1.8B
Q2'24: $1.8B
Q3'24: $1.8B
Q4'24: $1.7B
Q1'25: $1.9B
Q2'25: $1.9B
Q3'25: $2.0B
Q4'25: $1.9B
Q1'26: $2.1B
Q2'26: $2.2B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
23
24
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q2'23: $377.0M
Q3'23: $389.0M
Q4'23: $340.0M
Q1'24: $577.0M
Q2'24: $552.0M
Q3'24: $534.0M
Q4'24: $395.0M
Q1'25: $625.0M
Q2'25: $578.0M
Q3'25: $646.0M
Q4'25: $610.0M
Q1'26: $661.0M
Q2'26: $878.0M
$0$250.0M$500.0M$750.0M
23
24
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q2'26$2.2B+15.1%$878.0M+51.9%5.03$779.0M
Q1'26$2.1B+8.1%$661.0M+5.8%3.73$939.0M
Q4'25 *$1.9B+13.0%$610.0M+54.4%3.40$858.0M
Q3'25$2.0B+10.7%$646.0M+21.0%3.60$743.0M
Q2'25$1.9B+4.5%$578.0M+4.7%3.21$543.0M
Q1'25$1.9B+7.7%$625.0M+8.3%3.46$757.0M
Q4'24 *$1.7B+13.0%$395.0M+16.2%2.16$674.0M
Q3'24$1.8B+23.2%$534.0M+37.3%2.93$703.0M
Q2'24$1.8B+21.6%$552.0M+46.4%3.02$686.0M
Q1'24$1.8B+21.5%$577.0M+15.2%3.15$775.0M
Q4'23 *$1.5B+14.7%$340.0M+38.2%1.85$477.0M
Q3'23$1.5B+15.5%$389.0M+28.4%2.11$462.0M
Q2'23$1.5B+8.2%$377.0M+15.3%2.05$604.0M

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+12.2%+7.5%+8.3%+9.3%
Operating cash flow+25.3%+6.2%+9.2%+10.4%
Free cash flow+29.3%+4.7%+8.8%+10.5%
EPS (diluted)+22.5%+7.8%+11.4%+13.1%
Equity+17.2%+20.9%+23.0%
LT debt−1.8%+1.7%+7.5%+12.3%
Diluted shares−0.9%−1.0%−1.2%−1.8%
Stock price+15.8%+6.9%+17.8%+21.9%

$100, 3 years ago

$155vs $176 in SPY

15.8% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$140vs $181 in SPY

6.9% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$516vs $412 in SPY

17.8% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$1,954vs $813 in SPY

21.9% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$6.45

$44.2B created / $6.8B retained

Last 10 years

$6.96

$76.0B created / $10.9B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

26.3%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

3.2%

MC vs 10× OCF

3.00

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

2.7y

SBC / FCF

9.0%

Owner earnings

$2.3B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

2.7%

Share count 5y

−2.3%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

9.4%

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$0.19

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 28.8% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 23.1% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 6.6% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

18 of 25 checks pass · 72%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

5/7

  • Revenue growth

    7.5% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    7.8% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • FCF growth

    4.7% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Revenue rises consistently

    8 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    pass
  • FCF consistently positive

    10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    6.2% vs 7.5% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

6/6

  • Net margin

    31.9% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    43.4% · ≥ 10%

    pass
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    60.7% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    26.3% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    33.4% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $2.9B vs NI $2.5B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

2/4

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    2.7y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    pass
  • Cash cushion

    34% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    1.73 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    fail
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $4.1B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

4/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    -2.3% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    pass
  • Stock comp restrained

    9% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    90% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

    10 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

1/4

  • FCF yield

    3.0% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    35.5 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    14.9% vs 8.8% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    2.6% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
20257,7183,3512,45913.672,9013262,5757011,6072322,3846,9944,054180
20247,0882,8752,05811.262,8383172,5216201,2922202,4086,7313,565183
20235,9162,1371,6078.732,1512711,8805644901932,1307,0013,318184
20225,4681,8831,3747.441,4742831,1915159831691,7697,3892,519185
20216,2182,8442,21411.782,0051391,8664637501751,8117,4132,727188
20205,3712,3881,7789.392,1461032,0434205031542,5976,4221,569189
20194,8291,9981,4227.421,675691,6063789911361,8325,581612192
20184,4431,8681,3106.741,461911,3703372031301,6855,226459194
20174,2041,8211,0015.15755916642902001231,0725,111-328194
20163,6046512671.361,2591151,144285739982,0523,063-1,225195
20153,4851,4739414.631,198891,1092721,098871,7573,381-565203
20143,3341,4399894.611,019759442361,221801,2202,547-188215
20132,9731,2358053.6092742885197893671,9202,102337224
20122,7301,0776903.0582345778143197651,7551,607385227
20112,2818885712.4980368736121334577601,173-169229
20102,0327735082.156537957499224576601,228-310237
20091,7976884021.696449155395057474746-606238
20081,7557484581.87540844559759363246750-994245
20072,2591,1317022.58988182806851,73890426-772272

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.