Moody's (MCO) Q3 FY2021 earnings: revenue $1.5 billion, up 12.5% on the year

Moody's Corp. (MCO) reported revenue of $1.5 billion for Q3 FY2021, the quarter ended 30 September 2021, up 12.5% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $474 million, up 1.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $2.53. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-Q it filed with the SEC on 29 October 2021.

Revenue

$1.5 billion

+12.5% on the year · -1.7% on the quarter

Q4 FY2019Q3 FY2021

Operating margin

44.3%

47.3% a year earlier

Q4 FY2019Q3 FY2021

Net income

$474 million

+1.5% on the year · -17.9% on the quarter

Q4 FY2019Q3 FY2021

Diluted EPS

$2.53

+2.4% on the year · -17.6% on the quarter

Q4 FY2019Q3 FY2021

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ million	Q3 FY2021	Q2 FY2021	Q3 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Revenue	1,526	1,553	1,356	-1.7%	+12.5%
Cost of revenue	394	365	364	+7.9%	+8.2%
Gross profit	1,132	1,188	992	-4.7%	+14.1%
Gross margin	74.2%	76.5%	73.2%
Selling, general and administrative	395	327	271	+20.8%	+45.8%
Operating income	676	801	642	-15.6%	+5.3%
Operating margin	44.3%	51.6%	47.3%
Pre-tax income	619	758	599	-18.3%	+3.3%
Income tax	145	181	132	-19.9%	+9.8%
Effective tax rate	23.4%	23.9%	22.0%
Net income	474	577	467	-17.9%	+1.5%
Net margin	31.1%	37.2%	34.4%
Diluted EPS	$2.53	$3.07	$2.47	-17.6%	+2.4%

$ million except per share.

Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ million	Q3 FY2021	Q2 FY2021	Q3 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Operating cash flow	436	594	511	-26.6%	-14.7%
Capital expenditure	33.0	30.0	21.0	+10.0%	+57.1%
Free cash flow	403	564	490	-28.5%	-17.8%
Free cash flow margin	26.4%	36.3%	36.1%
Cash from investing	-1,910	-57.0	-30.0
Cash from financing	927	-502	-120
Depreciation and amortisation	61.0	60.0	56.0	+1.7%	+8.9%
Share-based compensation	41.0	41.0	38.0	0.0%	+7.9%
Buybacks	125	371	0.0	-66.3%
Dividends paid	115	116	105	-0.9%	+9.5%
Dividend per share	$0.62	$0.62	$0.56	0.0%	+10.7%
Diluted shares, weighted	187m	188m	189m	-0.3%	-1.1%
Shares outstanding at period end	186m	186m	188m	-0.2%	-1.0%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ million	Q3 FY2021	Q2 FY2021	Q3 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Shareholders' equity	2,430	2,186	1,497	+11.2%	+62.3%
Non-controlling interest	189	194	191	-2.6%	-1.0%
Redeemable equity	n/a	n/a	5.0
Debt	7,476	6,355	6,363	+17.6%	+17.5%
Operating lease liabilities	470	386	439	+21.8%	+7.1%
Other liabilities	3,849	3,431	3,177	+12.2%	+21.2%
Total liabilities and equity	14,414	12,552	11,672	+14.8%	+23.5%
Fixed assets	301	282	282	+6.7%	+6.7%
Goodwill	5,898	4,590	4,282	+28.5%	+37.7%
Intangible assets	2,510	1,784	1,717	+40.7%	+46.2%
Investments	171	171	150	0.0%	+14.0%
Cash and equivalents	2,239	2,809	2,492	-20.3%	-10.2%
Receivables	1,589	1,458	1,360	+9.0%	+16.8%
Other assets	1,706	1,458	1,389	+17.0%	+22.8%
Total assets	14,414	12,552	11,672	+14.8%	+23.5%

Questions

What was Moody's' revenue in Q3 FY2021?

Moody's (MCO) reported revenue of $1.5 billion for Q3 FY2021, the quarter ended 30 September 2021, up 12.5% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Moody's earn in Q3 FY2021?

Net income for Q3 FY2021 was $474 million, up 1.5% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $2.53.

When did Moody's report Q3 FY2021 results?

Moody's filed its 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2021 with the SEC on 29 October 2021.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q4 FY2021 *	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022 *	Q1 FY2023	Q2 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2023 *	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024 *	Q1 FY2025	Q2 FY2025	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025 *	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	1,539	1,522	1,381	1,275	1,290	1,470	1,494	1,472	1,480	1,786	1,817	1,813	1,672	1,924	1,898	2,007	1,889	2,079	2,185	2,023
Cost of revenue	485	417	393	393	410	428	426	412	421	467	469	512	497	491	489	492	501	531	518	524
Gross profit	1,054	1,105	988	882	880	1,042	1,068	1,060	1,059	1,319	1,348	1,301	1,175	1,433	1,409	1,515	1,388	1,548	1,667	1,499
Gross margin	68%	73%	72%	69%	68%	71%	71%	72%	72%	74%	74%	72%	70%	74%	74%	75%	73%	74%	76%	74%
SG&A	465	371	368	385	403	386	415	403	428	413	446	434	442	439	443	453	468	477	463	442
Operating income	514	656	508	413	306	554	550	535	498	801	775	738	561	846	818	917	770	922	1,046	906
Operating margin	33%	43%	37%	32%	24%	38%	37%	36%	34%	45%	43%	41%	34%	44%	43%	46%	41%	44%	48%	45%
Pre-tax income	516	609	443	381	327	506	492	487	450	752	719	703	525	804	772	867	687	870	1,171	968
Tax rate	17%	18%	26%	20%	25%	1%	23%	20%	24%	23%	23%	24%	25%	22%	25%	25%	11%	24%	25%	24%
Net income	427	498	327	303	246	501	377	389	340	577	552	534	395	625	578	646	610	661	878	734
Net margin	28%	33%	24%	24%	19%	34%	25%	26%	23%	32%	30%	29%	24%	32%	30%	32%	32%	32%	40%	36%
Diluted EPS	$2.28	$2.68	$1.77	$1.65	$1.34	$2.72	$2.05	$2.11	$1.85	$3.15	$3.02	$2.93	$2.17	$3.46	$3.21	$3.60	$3.41	$3.73	$5.03	$4.24
Operating cash flow	299	470	291	336	377	608	604	462	477	775	686	703	674	757	543	743	858	939	779	753
Capital expenditure	62.0	59.0	74.0	71.0	79.0	73.0	54.0	71.0	73.0	78.0	93.0	72.0	74.0	85.0	75.0	85.0	81.0	95.0	91.0	85.0
Free cash flow	237	411	217	265	298	535	550	391	404	697	593	631	600	672	468	658	777	844	688	668
Buybacks	122	560	311	112	0.0	41.0	67.0	170	212	120	264	428	480	373	284	513	437	1,471	694	388
Dividends paid	116	130	129	128	128	141	142	141	140	155	154	156	155	195	171	168	167	185	180	178
Shares outstanding	185m	184m	184m	183m	183m	184m	184m	183m	182m	183m	182m	181m	180m	180m	179m	178m	177m	175m	173m	172m
Filing	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-Q for the period ended 30 September 2021, filed 29 October 2021: the filing.