Moody’s Reports Strong Q1 2025 Results with 8% Revenue Growth Across Divisions

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, posting solid growth across all business segments and raising expectations for the full year.

The company reported total revenue of $1.9 billion for the quarter, marking an 8% year-over-year increase. Both major divisions contributed equally to the growth: Moody’s Analytics (MA) generated $859 million in revenue, and Moody’s Investors Service (MIS) brought in $1.1 billion, with each unit up 8% from the same period last year.

Diluted earnings per share (EPS) rose to $3.46, up 10% from Q1 2024. Adjusted diluted EPS grew even more, climbing 14% to $3.83.

Looking ahead, Moody’s reaffirmed and slightly refined its full-year 2025 guidance. The company now expects diluted EPS in the range of $12.00 to $12.75 and adjusted diluted EPS between $13.25 and $14.00.

The strong performance highlights Moody’s ongoing momentum in both its analytics and credit rating businesses amid a dynamic market landscape.

MSCI and Moody’s Unveil New Risk Assessment Tool to Bring Transparency to Private Credit Market

In a landmark move aimed at boosting transparency in the rapidly growing private credit sector, MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) and Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) announced today a strategic partnership to launch an independent risk assessment solution for private credit investments.

The joint initiative will deliver a first-of-its-kind, scalable framework to evaluate credit risk across private credit portfolios, offering investors company- and facility-level risk insights using transparent and quantitative metrics. The tool is designed to help institutional investors assess, benchmark, and monitor the financial strength of their private credit holdings.

MSCI will provide the foundation with its extensive dataset comprising more than 2,800 private credit funds and over 14,000 underlying companies, sourced from original documentation. Moody’s will integrate its EDF-X credit risk modeling platform, which generates early warning signals and credit quality assessments for public and private companies globally.

“As the private credit market evolves, investors are looking for trusted, independent assessments to benchmark credit risk and inform investments,” said Rob Fauber, President and CEO of Moody’s. “This partnership will play a critical role in delivering those insights.”

Henry A. Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of MSCI, emphasized the importance of the collaboration: “Private credit is reshaping the investment landscape, but with that comes the need for consistency and transparency. Our alliance with Moody’s addresses that directly.”

The new risk assessment service is distinct from Moody’s traditional credit ratings and is aimed at enhancing portfolio-level decision-making without serving as a formal issuer rating.

Moody’s Shareholders Back Executive Pay, Re-Elect Board; Reject Severance Oversight Proposal

Moody’s Corporation reported the results of its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, revealing strong shareholder support for the company’s leadership and executive compensation policies, while a stockholder proposal seeking oversight on executive severance arrangements was decisively voted down.

All nine nominated directors were re-elected to one-year terms. CEO Robert Fauber received among the highest support with over 152 million votes in favor. Other returning board members include Jorge A. Bermudez, Thérèse Esperdy, Vincent A. Forlenza, Lloyd W. Howell Jr., Jose M. Minaya, Leslie F. Seidman, Zig Serafin, and Bruce Van Saun.

Shareholders also approved the advisory resolution on executive compensation and ratified KPMG LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the upcoming year.

A shareholder proposal requesting that stockholders be granted the right to ratify certain executive severance arrangements failed to gain traction, receiving just over 14 million votes in favor and more than 138 million votes against.

Moody’s continues to maintain high levels of shareholder confidence across core governance and compensation matters, as reflected in the broad approval margins.

Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) will release its first quarter 2025 results before the start of NYSE trading on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. A copy of the earnings release and supplemental presentation slides will be posted on Moody's Investor Relations website, ir.moodys.com.

Moody's Corporation invites you to participate in a teleconference with Rob Fauber, President and Chief Executive Officer and Noémie Heuland, Chief Financial Officer, to discuss its first quarter 2025 results. Following the prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session.

Earnings Release: Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Key Development – Chief Accounting Officer Transition
1. Departure of Caroline Sullivan (Effective April 1, 2025)
Moody’s Corporation announced that Caroline Sullivan (age 56), Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller, will step down from her role on April 1, 2025. She is expected to remain with the company for a transitional period.

???? Tenure: Ms. Sullivan has served as Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller since December 2018.
???? Reason for Departure: Mutual agreement between Ms. Sullivan and the company.

2. Appointment of Jason Phillips as Chief Accounting Officer (Effective April 1, 2025)
Jason Phillips (age 48) will succeed Ms. Sullivan as Chief Accounting Officer and Controller.

???? Background & Experience:

Joined Moody’s in 2003
Held various leadership roles in the Controllership, General Accounting, External Reporting, and Accounting Policy teams
Recent roles:
Managing Director, Assistant Controller (August 2022 – March 2025)
Managing Director, Financial Reporting, Accounting Research & Policy, Consolidations (April 2020 – August 2022)
Education & Certifications:
B.S. in Accounting – The Pennsylvania State University
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) – New York
Industry Involvement:
Active member of Financial Executives International’s (FEI) Financial Accounting and Reporting Roundtable
Active member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
???? Key Notes:

No related party transactions between Mr. Phillips and Moody’s (as per Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K).
No family relationships between Mr. Phillips and Moody’s directors or executive officers.
Not appointed through any external arrangement or understanding.
Implications & Key Takeaways
✅ Smooth Transition Plan: Moody’s has ensured a seamless leadership transition in its accounting division.
✅ Experienced Successor: Jason Phillips has over 20 years at Moody’s, strong industry expertise, and deep familiarity with its financial operations.
✅ Continued Compliance & Stability: His background in financial reporting, accounting research, and policy ensures continuity in Moody’s regulatory and financial governance.