FICO's data moat should widen against VantageScore as it leverages AI, making it an easy decision. Fair Isaac holds about 130 AI patents, per its earnings report. @VJNCapital argues the thesis rests on pricing: a few dollars for a score matter little against a $300k-$500k mortgage, and what counts is how accurately each model predicts default risk; decades of model iterations should be hard to compete against. x.com  x.com 

FICO looks fairly cheap given how sticky its scores are: lenders have little reason to switch to VantageScore over something they have history with, since the score's cost is tiny relative to bad debt on a loan. A replying post counters that FICO must fight the VantageScore adoption trend after pricing-power abuse drew the administration's ire, leaving open where earnings power settles. x.com  x.com 

Fair Isaac's scoring moat is eroding after the FHFA said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will move to a unified mortgage pricing grid that places VantageScore alongside Classic FICO. VantageScore borrowers will reach the top pricing tier at 780+, the same threshold as FICO, eliminating their previous 20-point disadvantage. As @oguzerkan notes, even after a 60% drop this year the stock still trades at 19x earnings, a reminder never to overpay for quality. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

FICO's competitive position looks safer because the GSEs' pricing grid neutralizes VantageScore's automatic pricing edge. VantageScore 4.0 has its own loan-level pricing grid that adjusts thresholds so a VantageScore is treated roughly like a Classic FICO score minus about 20 points, matching VantageScore's typical uplift. That avoids a setup that would have more heavily favored VantageScore over FICO. x.com 

Fair Isaac looks insanely cheap at its lowest P/E in well over a decade, with fundamentals that still look beautiful. Per @stock_analysisx, the derating follows the US government's move to end FICO's mortgage scoring monopoly, leaving the stock at its lowest P/E since 2013. x.com  x.com 

FICO is being disrupted, though not dying, and its moat is more fragile than it looks. Most banks' own scoring models are equal to or better than FICO's and are used alongside it. FICO's real moat is the level playing field its score gives the institutional and resale mortgage markets, so it is truly over for FICO if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac switch to VantageScore. x.com  x.com  x.com 

S&P Global's moat may be weaker than its ratings pricing power suggests, and its gross profit dollars are likely to come under pressure as AI does more of the work, even if margins rise. FICO and the credit bureaus once looked just as required and oligopolistic until Vantage, with regulatory help, built a better product and upended pricing. The market is skeptical of historical data resale, as with CoStar and Verisk; the index business looks durable. x.com 

FICO is trading at its lowest valuation of the decade, about 13x forward earnings for what is essentially a duopoly, which is attractive. @thejmkane counters that it is no longer really a monopoly, but a duopoly at 13x is not so bad. x.com  x.com 

Fair Isaac's moat has shrunk to a puddle after one pricing-grid change. Per @wallstengine, FHFA said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will move to one mortgage pricing grid that puts VantageScore alongside Classic FICO, with VantageScore borrowers reaching the top band at 780+, the same as FICO, giving lenders a cheaper alternative on the same framework. The shares fell 18%. x.com 

The shift to bi-merge credit reports may not shrink Fair Isaac's profit pool: it makes pulling both scores more economical for lenders, and credit-file gaming could shift more economics to FICO as it moves to alternative pricing. FICO can earn the same whether its score is used upfront or later in origination; what matters is how many funded loans avoid FICO entirely and what it earns on retained usage. x.com  x.com