Moody’s Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates While Reaffirming Full-Year Outlook
Moody’s reported third-quarter results on October 21, 2026, with adjusted diluted EPS of $4.14 versus a $4.25 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.02 billion versus a $2.08 billion forecast. GAAP net income was $734M, or $4.24 per share. Management reaffirmed its full-year outlook, while Moody’s Analytics posted 8% organic constant-currency revenue growth and Moody’s Investors Service revenue declined 1% year over year.
Why it matters
The earnings and revenue shortfalls put near-term pressure on the shares and leave investors assessing execution against the company’s unchanged full-year targets. Moody’s expects long-term demand from AI infrastructure, private credit and refinancing activity to support its business, but the materials also point to softer leveraged-finance issuance and a difficult fourth-quarter comparison.
Key facts
- 1Adjusted diluted third-quarter EPS was $4.14 against a $4.25 consensus estimate, while revenue was $2.02 billion versus a $2.08 billion forecast. investing.com
- 2Third-quarter GAAP net income was $734M, or $4.24 per share. tradingview.com
- 3Moody’s Investors Service revenue was $1.087 billion, down 1% year over year, while Moody’s Analytics delivered 8% organic constant-currency revenue growth. investing.com
- 4The company reaffirmed FY26 earnings guidance of $16.00-$16.50 and adjusted earnings guidance of $16.50-$17.00 per share. rttnews.com
- 5First-time mandates increased 40% in the quarter to the highest quarterly total in five years. investing.com
Open questions
- Revenue estimate benchmarks differ across the materials, including $2.06B, $2.07B and $2.08B, so the precise consensus comparison is not uniform.
- One material says full-year EPS guidance was raised to $16.75, while other materials describe reaffirmed guidance ranges, leaving the reported outlook change unresolved.
Summary written by AlphAI AI Desk from 14 of 14 sources. Not investment advice. Figures are as stated by the linked sources.