NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year 2020, and provided its outlook for full year 2021.

"MIS had another strong quarter with a favorable issuance mix from leveraged loans and infrequent bank issuers. Our MA team delivered growth by staying close to the customer, driving subscription sales and high retention,” said Robert Fauber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s. “As managing risk becomes more complex, the demand for our insights and solutions has never been greater. In 2021, we will help our customers navigate the changing environment by continuing to enhance our products, bringing new capabilities to the market and building on the strengths of our core businesses. We project 2021 revenue growth in the mid-single-digit percent range with strong growth in Moody’s Analytics offsetting expectations for a modest decline in global debt issuance."

FOURTH QUARTER REVENUE UP 5%

Moody's Corporation reported revenue of $1.3 billion for the three months ended December 31, 2020, up 5% from the prior-year period. Foreign currency translation favorably impacted Moody's revenue by 2%.

Moody's Investors Service (MIS) Fourth Quarter Revenue Up 2%

Revenue for MIS for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $735 million, up 2% from the prior-year period. Foreign currency translation favorably impacted MIS revenue by 2%. The MIS adjusted operating margin was 48.3%.

Corporate finance revenue was $371 million, up 2% from the prior-year period, largely driven by strong contributions from U.S. bank loans and speculative grade bonds. Growth was partially offset by a decline in global investment grade issuance.

Financial institutions revenue was $129 million, up 12% from the prior-year period. This was the result of a favorable mix of infrequent U.S. bank issuers continuing to take advantage of a receptive market environment.

Public, project and infrastructure finance revenue was $121 million, down 3% from the prior-year period due to a decrease in U.S. public finance issuance, given many funding needs had been addressed ahead of potential election-related volatility.

Structured finance revenue was $97 million, down 11% from the prior-year period. This was primarily due to a decline in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) activity driven by COVID-19’s effects on the commercial real estate market, as well as a lighter residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) pipeline at year-end. Collateralized loan obligation (CLO) revenue growth was approximately flat.

Moody's Analytics (MA) Fourth Quarter Revenue Up 8%

Revenue for MA for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $555 million, up 8% from the prior-year period. Organic MA revenue1 was $538 million, up 7% and excluded the impact of the divestiture of Moody's Analytics Knowledge Services (MAKS) and acquisitions completed in the past twelve months. Foreign currency translation favorably impacted total MA revenue by 2%. The MA adjusted operating margin was 28.4%.

Research, Data and Analytics (RD&A) revenue was $404 million, up 21% from the prior-year period. Organic RD&A revenue1 was $371 million, up 11% and excluded revenue from the reclassification of Moody’s Analytics Learning Solutions (MALS), as well as the acquisitions of Acquire Media and Regulatory DataCorp. RD&A’s robust growth primarily reflected continued demand for know-your-customer (KYC) and compliance solutions, as well as strong customer retention rates and new sales of research subscriptions and data feeds.

Enterprise Risk Solutions (ERS) revenue was $151 million, up 1% from the prior-year period. The increase was driven by low-double-digit subscription growth from IFRS 17 and other insurance products, offset by a contraction of non-recurring software revenue and services, which were particularly strong in the prior-year period.

FOURTH QUARTER OPERATING EXPENSES AND OPERATING INCOME

Fourth quarter 2020 operating expenses for Moody's Corporation totaled $846 million, up 16% from the prior-year period. Eleven percentage points of this increase were attributable to severance and restructuring charges associated with the exit of certain real estate and a strategic reorganization of MA, incentive compensation and sales commissions, as well as M&A related activity. The residual expense growth was driven by ongoing merit and hiring costs and investment in strategic initiatives. Foreign currency translation unfavorably impacted operating expenses by 1%.

Operating income of $444 million was down 12% from the fourth quarter of 2019. Adjusted operating income of $531 million was down 5% from the prior-year period, and excluded the restructuring charge, as well as depreciation and amortization. Foreign currency translation favorably impacted both operating income and adjusted operating income by 3%. Moody's operating margin was 34.4% and the adjusted operating margin was 41.2%.

Moody’s effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 21.5%, up from 20.1% in the prior-year period. This increase was primarily due to higher taxes on non-U.S. income.

FULL YEAR REVENUE UP 11%

Moody’s Corporation reported revenue of $5.4 billion for full year 2020, up 11% from the prior-year period. The impact of foreign currency translation was negligible.

MIS revenue totaled $3.3 billion, up 15% from the prior-year period. The impact of foreign currency translation was negligible. The MIS adjusted operating margin was 59.7%.

MA revenue totaled $2.1 billion, up 6% from the prior-year period. Organic MA revenue1 was $2.0 billion, up 8% and excluded the impact of the divestiture of MAKS and acquisitions completed in the past twelve months. The impact of foreign currency translation was negligible. The MA adjusted operating margin was 29.4%.

FULL YEAR OPERATING EXPENSES UP 5%

Full year 2020 operating expenses for Moody’s Corporation totaled $3.0 billion, up 5% from the prior-year period. Four percentage points of this increase were attributable to merit and hiring costs, incentive compensation and sales commissions, as well as M&A related activity. The impact of foreign currency translation was negligible.

Operating income totaled $2.4 billion, up 20% from the prior-year period. Adjusted operating income totaled $2.7 billion, up 16% from the prior-year period. Foreign currency translation favorably impacted both operating income and adjusted operating income by 1%. Moody’s operating margin was 44.5% and the adjusted operating margin was 49.7%.

The effective tax rate for full year 2020 was 20.3%, down from the prior-year period effective tax rate of 21.0%, primarily due to the reorganization of certain non-U.S. businesses and the divestiture of MAKS.

Full year 2020 diluted EPS of $9.39 was up 27% from full year 2019. Adjusted diluted EPS of $10.15 was up 22%. Both full year 2020 diluted EPS and adjusted diluted EPS included a $0.31 per share tax benefit related to employee share-based compensation, compared to a $0.23 per share tax benefit in full year 2019.

CAPITAL ALLOCATION AND LIQUIDITY

Capital Returned to Shareholders

During the fourth quarter of 2020, Moody's repurchased 0.9 million shares at a total cost of $250 million, or an average cost of $278.40 per share, and issued net 0.2 million shares as part of its employee stock-based compensation programs. The net amount includes shares withheld for employee payroll taxes. Moody's returned $105 million to its shareholders via dividend payments during the fourth quarter of 2020.

For full year 2020, Moody's repurchased 2.0 million shares at a total cost of $503 million, or an average cost of $255.72 per share, and issued net 1.4 million shares as part of its employee stock-based compensation programs.

Moody's returned $420 million to its shareholders via dividend payments during 2020 and on February 9, 2021, the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share of MCO Common Stock, an 11% increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share. The dividend will be payable on March 18, 2021 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 25, 2021.

Outstanding shares as of December 31, 2020 totaled 187.1 million, approximately flat compared to December 31, 2019. As of December 31, 2020, Moody's had approximately $0.8 billion of share repurchase authority remaining and on February 9, 2021, the Board of Directors approved an additional $1.0 billion of share repurchase authority for a total of approximately $1.8 billion remaining as of February 12, 2021.

Sources of Capital and Cash Flow Generation

At quarter-end, Moody's had $6.4 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 $2.7 billion, up from $1.9 billion on December 31, 2019.

Cash flow from operations for full year 2020 was $2.1 billion and free cash flow was $2.0 billion.

ASSUMPTIONS AND OUTLOOK FOR FULL YEAR 2021

Moody’s updated outlook for 2021 reflects numerous assumptions about many factors that could affect its business based on information reviewed by management through and as of today’s date, including observations and assumptions regarding the impact of COVID-19, the responses to the pandemic by governments, regulators, businesses and individuals, as well as the effects on interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, capital markets’ liquidity and activity in different sectors of the debt markets. The outlook also reflects assumptions about both general economic conditions and GDP growth in the U.S. and Euro area, and the company’s own operations and personnel. The outlook as of February 12, 2021 incorporates numerous macroeconomic assumptions including: (a) full year 2021 U.S. and Euro area GDPs expanding approximately 4% - 5% and 3.5% - 4.5%, respectively; (b) U.S. high yield interest rate spreads below an average of approximately 450 bps; (c) U.S. unemployment to decline to approximately 5% - 6%; and (d) the global high yield default rate falling below 5% by the end of 2021.

Moody's ratings revenue guidance assumes MIS's full year global rated issuance decreases in the high-single-digit percent range.

While the duration and severity of the COVID-19 crisis are unknown, the company has operated effectively to date and Moody’s outlook assumes that the company continues to not experience any material negative impact on its ability to conduct its operations as a result of COVID-19. 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. In addition, Moody’s guidance assumes foreign currency translation at end-of-quarter exchange rates. Specifically, our forecast reflects exchange rates for the British pound (£) of $1.37 to £1 and for the euro (€) of $1.22 to €1.

Full year 2021 guidance includes share repurchases of approximately $1.5 billion, subject to available cash, market conditions and other ongoing capital allocation decisions.

Full year 2021 diluted EPS is expected to be $9.70 to $10.10. The company expects full year 2021 adjusted diluted EPS to be $10.30 to $10.70.

A full summary of Moody's guidance as of February 12, 2021, is included in Table 12 - 2021 Outlook table at the end of this press release.

ABOUT MOODY'S CORPORATION

Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) is a global risk assessment firm that empowers organizations to make better decisions. Its data, analytical solutions and insights help decision-makers identify opportunities and manage the risks of doing business with others. We believe that greater transparency, more informed decisions, and fair access to information open the door to shared progress. With over 11,400 employees in more than 40 countries, Moody’s combines international presence with local expertise and over a century of experience in financial markets. Learn more at moodys.com/about.