Moody's 1Q Net Up, Company Backs 2026 Adjusted EPS, Revenue Growth Views

By Rob Curran

Moody's logged a first-quarter earnings increase and reiterated its 2026 growth forecasts as the boom in artificial-intelligence data-center development generated robust demand for its credit-ratings services.

The New York credit-ratings and research company posted earnings of $661 million, or $3.73 a share, up from $625 million, or $3.46 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, earnings were $4.33 a share, handily beating the average Wall Street peg of $4.22 a share, as tallied by FactSet.

Revenue rose 8% to $2.08 billion, edging the average analyst estimate of $2.07 billion.

Moody's Investors Service, the credit-ratings agency, generated revenue of $1.15 billion, up 8% from the prior year. Demand for credit ratings came from growing issuance of investment-grade bonds, many linked to the financing of AI infrastructure projects.

The firm's analytics unit notched revenue of $926 million, also up 8% from a year earlier, as growth in recurring revenue offset a decline in transactional revenue. That reflected Moody's shift toward a subscription model for analytics products.

For 2026, Moody's boosted its raw earnings forecast to a range between $16 and $16.60 a share from a prior forecast between $15 and $15.60 a share.

The New York research and ratings firm reffirmed its prior projection for adjusted earnings between $16.40 and $17 a share. Moody's continues to expect 2026 revenue to rise in the high single-digit percentage range from 2025 levels of $7.72 billion.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2026 07:40 ET (11:40 GMT)