Quality Equities
Quality Equity Investor, Concentrated Portfolios
Fair Isaac's mortgage-score moat is under attack, though moats like this usually erode over years rather than quarters, if at all. FHFA Director Bill Pulte told Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve all lenders to use VantageScore, up from about 50, saying "FICO has enjoyed a monopoly. No more." The question is whether lender workflows and securitization conventions migrate. FICO posted 26% revenue growth and raised guidance but fell 17% on VantageScore traction; it needs close watching. x.com x.comÂ
FICO's moat is starting to get disrupted, and the premium multiple holders once defended has not held up. Two years ago the stock traded at 80x EPS on the argument that a high-quality compounder with a moat deserved it; that multiple has since compressed by about 80%. FICO would need to rise 280% to regain its all-time high, and there is a good chance it never does. x.com x.com x.comÂ
FICO's management may think the stock is undervalued, but it needs to rein in its debt soon. x.comÂ
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.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
Fair Isaac still looks far too expensive at 90x free cash flow, even after a 75% fall in a monopoly. Even if FCF doubled, the price would equal 45 years of cash flow, and doubling at FICO's size is much less plausible after it raised prices 17 times and angered customers. The test is whether the company can earn the price paid within an investor's lifetime under generous growth assumptions. x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
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.comÂ
Fair Isaac looks more reasonable after a price reset but is now a slower compounder, still not a buy. FHFA has opened the door to VantageScore, which will chip away some share and end easy 10-15% annual price hikes, cutting earnings growth to the mid-teens from the twenties. The main concern remains management funding buybacks with debt at record multiples, reducing flexibility. If it slows the leverage, shareholders could still do fine, though more grinding than explosive. x.comÂ
Fair Isaac is losing its monopoly status after this morning's announcement, and sector dominance and moat matter more than fundamentals that look sound on paper. x.comÂ
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 is terminally a sub-20 P/E business now that its mortgage monopoly faces a price war. Per @qualityequities, regulators cleared the cheaper VantageScore for mortgages, and the credit bureaus are aggressively discounting it to take share, undercutting the pricing power investors valued FICO for. x.comÂ