Moodyâs Q2 2026: Reading the Quarter
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I. Introduction
Moodyâs Corporation reported second-quarter 2026 results on July 22:
Revenue, adjusted EPS and margins all came in well above consensus expectations. Revenue of $2.19 billion beat the Street estimate of roughly $2.08 billion by about 5%, and adjusted diluted EPS of $4.68 was approximately a 10% beat versus consensus of $4.25.
A second consecutive quarter with more than $2 trillion of rated debt (issuance up 33% year-over-year, 20% year-to-date), driven by an unusually broad set of funding âdeep currentsâ â refinancing, AI-related investment, private credit, digital finance, energy transition and emerging markets.
Continued momentum in Moodyâs Analytics, with ARR up nearly 9%, retention at 95%, and recurring revenue now 99% of the segment. Like a Swiss watch, this segment keeps delivering predictable results.
Substantial margin expansion and higher capital returns, with the buyback raised to up to $3.0 billion and the company on track to return more than 130% of free cash flow to shareholders this year.
Rob Fauber summed it up as âa quarter that demonstrated the power of the Moodyâs model, a franchise thatâs capable of capitalizing on strong issuance activity, durable recurring revenue growth in analytics, and disciplined execution across the company.â This post walks through what Moodyâs actually reported, what management said in the prepared remarks and the Q&A, how guidance moved, and how the company is positioned against the broader ratings and risk-analytics industry.
The market reaction was modestly positive: the stock traded up around 2% following the release, and several analysts raised their price targets in the following days.
