Moody’s Corporation Q1 2021 Revenue Up 24%

Moody’s Corporation 1Q 2021 revenue of $1.6 billion, up 24% from 1Q 2020
Moody’s Investors Service revenue of $1.0 billion, up 30%;
Moody’s Analytics revenue of $564 million, up 14%, excluding acquisitions up 10%
1Q 2021 diluted EPS of $3.90, up 52% from 1Q 2020; adjusted diluted EPS of $4.06, up 49%¹
FY 2021 diluted EPS and adjusted diluted EPS guidance ranges raised to $10.40 to $10.70 and $11.00 to $11.30¹, respectively

“Moody’s performance this quarter demonstrates the increased demand for our integrated risk assessment solutions and insights,” said Rob Fauber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s. “Strong execution and robust activity, particularly in the leveraged loan and speculative grade bond markets, drove Moody’s Investors Service’s top-line growth. Moody’s Analytics’ performance reflects its strong position in high-growth risk markets, further supported by elevated retention rates, renewable products and an expanding solutions suite. Following our strong results in the first quarter, we are increasing our revenue outlook to high-single-digit percent growth, and raising and narrowing our full year 2021 adjusted diluted EPS guidance range to $11.00 to $11.30.”

Capital Returned to Stockholders

During the first quarter of 2021, Moody’s repurchased approximately 0.5 million shares at a total cost of $132 million, or an average cost of $289.92 per share, and issued net 0.6 million shares as part of its employee stock-based compensation programs. The net amount includes shares withheld for employee payroll taxes. Moody’s returned $116 million to its stockholders via dividend payments during the first quarter of 2021.

On April 27, 2021, the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share of MCO Common Stock. The dividend will be payable on June 10, 2021 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 20, 2021.

Outstanding shares as of March 31, 2021 totaled 187.2 million, approximately flat as compared to March 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021, Moody’s had approximately $1.7 billion of share repurchase authority remaining.

Sources of Capital and Cash Flow Generation

At quarter-end, Moody’s had $6.3 billion of outstanding debt and an undrawn $1.0 billion revolving credit facility. Total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at quarter-end were $2.9 billion, up from $2.7 billion on December 31, 2020.

Cash flow from operations for the first three months of 2021 was $676 million and free cash flow was $662 million¹.