Shares of Moody’s Corp.
MCO,
+0.00%
gained 0.5% in premarket trading Friday, after the risk assessment company reported a fourth-quarter profit that missed expectations, but revenue that rose above forecasts while providing an upbeat outlook. Net income fell to $314 million, or $1.66 a share, from $359 million, or $1.88 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share declined 5% to $1.91, below the FactSet consensus of $1.95. Revenue increased 4.6% to $1.29 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.22 billion. MIS revenue rose 2% to $735 million, above the FactSet consensus of $687.5 million, and Moody’s Analytics revenue grew 8% to $555 million to top expectations of $540.5 million. For 2021, the company expects adjusted EPS of $10.30 to $10.70, compared with expectations of $10.34. “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,” said Chief Executive Robert Fauber. The current FactSet revenue consensus of $5.41 billion implies 0.8% growth from 2020 revenue of $5.37 billion. The stock has gained 0.8% over the past three months through Thursday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.47%
has advanced 10.7%.