Credit rating agency Moody's (NYSE: MCO) reported Q1 CY2026 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 8.1% year on year to $2.08 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $4.33 per share was 2.6% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Moody's (MCO) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $2.08 billion vs analyst estimates of $2.06 billion (8.1% year-on-year growth, 0.9% beat)
- Pre-tax Profit: $870 million (41.8% margin)
- Adjusted EPS: $4.33 vs analyst estimates of $4.22 (2.6% beat)
- Management reiterated its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance of $16.70 at the midpoint
- Market Capitalization: $81.81 billion
Company Overview
Founded in 1900 during America's railroad boom when investors needed reliable information on bond risks, Moody's (NYSE: MCO) provides credit ratings, risk assessment tools, and analytical solutions that help organizations evaluate financial risks and make informed investment decisions.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Regrettably, Moody’s revenue grew at a mediocre 6.7% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This wasn’t a great result compared to the rest of the financials sector, but there are still things to like about Moody's.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. Moody’s annualized revenue growth of 12.4% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand recently accelerated. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, Moody's reported year-on-year revenue growth of 8.1%, and its $2.08 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 0.9%.
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Key Takeaways from Moody’s Q1 Results
It was good to see Moody's narrowly top analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Zooming out, we think this was a decent quarter. The stock traded up 1.4% to $466 immediately following the results.
Is Moody's an attractive investment opportunity at the current price? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
