Broken Moats
Family-Office Long/Short Research, Variant Perception
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.comÂ
Moody's and S&P Global could de-rate from high starting multiples if generalist portfolio managers come to see them as FICO 2.0. Their industry structures differ, but parallels in standards, pricing power and regulatory exposure could build a narrative that their pricing power is tapped out after the FICO case study, compressing multiples further. So far their de-rating has come from macro and AI pressure, not such fears. x.com x.com x.comÂ
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.comÂ
S&P Global's ratings and indices could form an exceptionally profitable, wide-moat standalone business. Without its other units, their implied operating margin would be around 68%, among the market's top five; that makes further spinoffs sensible, though the separation is hypothetical. x.com x.comÂ
Moody's is one of the world's most beautiful businesses because trusted ratings take decades to establish, protecting its duopoly with S&P and its pricing power. Operating margins exceed 45%, and Moody's Analytics subscriptions make revenue quite resilient when companies issue less debt. Decades of credit-risk data are a huge AI product opportunity; fast-growing private credit also needs ratings. x.comÂ
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.comÂ
S&P Global and Moody's collect a toll on AI capex either way: if data-center returns are bond-like, the buildout gets funded with bonds, each needing a rating at issue and surveillance while outstanding. Low returns plus heavy capex keep the issuance calendar full while equity holders eat thin returns. New issuance may stay quiet given a 2028-weighted refinancing wall and wider spreads, but surveillance and index revenue bill off outstanding debt. Both traded well under 25x in past droughts. … Show more
Fair Isaac's moat has narrowed but not disappeared, so the selloff over VantageScore may be an opportunity. FHFA Director Bill Pulte let all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lenders use VantageScore 4.0, ending FICO's effective mortgage monopoly, and floated a cheaper bi-merge model. That brings a lower-cost rival and threatens pricing power. But FICO is deeply embedded in lender systems, underwriting, securitizations and decades of data. It works only if valuation leaves a margin of safety. x.comÂ
Fair Isaac's moat is eroding as mortgage lenders gain a cheaper alternative on equal terms. Per Wall St Engine, FHFA said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will move to one pricing grid that puts VantageScore alongside Classic FICO, removing VantageScore's 20-point disadvantage so its borrowers also reach the top band at 780+. VantageScore costs about $0.99 per score versus roughly $10 for FICO. x.comÂ
S&P Global and Moody's have intellectual-property moats the market underappreciates in its AI disruption fears. Those fears assume that if AI can technically replicate a product, the business can be disrupted, but that presumes the necessary inputs are freely available, which often isn't the case. Ratings are also deeply embedded in industry workflows and institutional mandates, so switching is a procurement decision, not just a technical one. x.comÂ
FICO now offers a negatively skewed payoff, with bounded upside and open-ended downside, despite exceptional business economics. Debt-funded buybacks in Q2'26 added fragility, and mortgage scores increasingly dominate operating income amid rising competition and possible adverse regulation of GSE-mandated scores. Unscathed, it could re-rate toward its prior multiple, arguably lower; if VantageScore gains traction, new pricing fails or regulators impair pricing power, it could fall significantly. … Show more
