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Mar 31, 2021

Moody's Q1 2021 Earnings Report

Moody's demonstrated increased demand for its risk assessment solutions and insights, driven by strong execution and robust activity.

Key Takeaways

Moody's Corporation reported a strong first quarter in 2021, with revenue up 24% year-over-year to $1.6 billion and diluted EPS up 52% to $3.90. The company is increasing its revenue outlook to high-single-digit percent growth, and raising and narrowing its full year 2021 adjusted diluted EPS guidance range to $11.00 to $11.30.

Moody's Corporation's 1Q 2021 revenue reached $1.6 billion, a 24% increase from 1Q 2020.

Moody's Investors Service (MIS) revenue grew by 30% to $1.0 billion.

Moody’s Analytics (MA) revenue increased by 14% to $564 million.

Diluted EPS for 1Q 2021 was $3.90, a 52% increase from 1Q 2020, while adjusted diluted EPS was $4.06, up by 49%.

Total Revenue
$1.6B
Previous year: $1.29B
+24.0%
EPS
$4.06
Previous year: $2.73
+48.7%
Adjusted Operating Margin
57.1%
Previous year: 50.3%
+13.5%
Gross Profit
$1.21B
Previous year: $950M
+27.1%
Cash and Equivalents
$2.77B
Previous year: $2.14B
+29.3%
Free Cash Flow
$662M
Previous year: $324M
+104.3%
Total Assets
$12.5B
Previous year: $11.3B
+10.6%

Moody's

Moody's

Moody's Revenue by Segment

Moody's Revenue by Geographic Location

Forward Guidance

Moody's updated outlook for 2021 reflects numerous assumptions about factors that could affect its business, including the impact of COVID-19, government and regulator responses, and effects on interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, and capital markets activity.

Positive Outlook

  • Full year 2021 U.S. and Euro area GDPs expanding approximately 6% - 7% and 3.5% - 4.5%, respectively
  • U.S. high yield interest rate spreads below an average of approximately 450 bps
  • U.S. unemployment to decline to approximately 5% - 6%
  • The global high yield default rate falling to a range of 3% - 4% by the end of 2021
  • Full year 2021 guidance includes share repurchases of approximately $1.5 billion

Challenges Ahead

  • MIS's full year global rated issuance decreases in the low-single-digit percent range.
  • The duration and severity of the COVID-19 crisis are unknown.
  • The implications of COVID-19 or other situations or developments could affect these and many other factors that also could cause actual results to differ materially from Moody’s outlook.
  • These assumptions are subject to uncertainty, and actual full year results for 2021 could differ materially from Moody’s current outlook.
  • Moody’s guidance assumes foreign currency translation at end-of-quarter exchange rates.

Revenue & Expenses

Visualization of income flow from segment revenue to net income