Moody's Corporation

Moody's Corporation is a globally recognized American business and financial services company headquartered in New York City, operating as an integrated risk assessment firm across more than 40 countries. Founded by John Moody in 1900, the company has evolved from publishing the first Moody's Manual into one of the world's most influential providers of credit ratings, analytics, and financial intelligence. The company operates through two primary segments: Moody's Ratings (previously known as Moody's Investors Service until March 2024), which provides credit ratings and research for bonds issued by commercial and government entities, and Moody's Analytics (rebranded to just "Moody's" in March 2024), which offers financial analysis software, economic research, and risk management solutions.

Moody's pioneering role in the financial services industry began when John Moody published the first issue of Moody's Manual in 1900, marking the first time that publicly available ratings were assigned to securities. By 1914, the company had expanded its ratings to include industrial companies and utilities, establishing the foundation for modern credit rating practices. In 1909, Moody founded the business to produce comprehensive manuals of statistics related to stocks and bonds. The company was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet in 1962, representing a significant corporate milestone. In 2000, Dun & Bradstreet spun off Moody's Corporation as a separate publicly-traded company listed on the NYSE under ticker symbol MCO. The company further refined its organizational structure in 2007 by splitting into two operating divisions: Moody's Investors Service (the rating agency) and Moody's Analytics (containing all other products and services).

Today, Moody's stands as one of the "Big Three" credit rating agencies alongside Standard & Poor's and Fitch Group, with the distinction of rating approximately 90% of the world's public debt—over $74 trillion in total. The company's global influence extends to rating more than $6 trillion of debt annually through its Moody's Investors Service division. In fiscal year 2024, Moody's Corporation generated revenue of $7.09 billion and reported net income of $2.06 billion, demonstrating robust financial performance and market leadership. The company employs thousands of analysts, researchers, and technology professionals who provide critical financial intelligence to governments, corporations, institutional investors, and financial institutions worldwide.

Moody's Ratings division serves as the cornerstone of the company's operations, providing international financial research and credit ratings across multiple bond market segments including government, municipal and corporate bonds, managed investments such as money market funds and fixed-income funds, financial institutions including banks and non-bank finance companies, and various asset classes in structured finance. The Moody's Analytics division (now rebranded as "Moody's") performs economic research related to credit analysis, performance management, financial modeling, structured analysis and financial risk management, while offering software and consulting services including proprietary economic models, software tools, and professional training for the financial services sector. The company's flagship solution, Moody's CreditView, incorporates credit ratings, research and data from Moody's Investors Service combined with research, data and content from Moody's Analytics, providing comprehensive intelligence for global capital markets participants.

The company's commitment to innovation has positioned it at the forefront of integrating advanced technologies into traditional financial services. Moody's actively invests in emerging technologies, green finance initiatives, and artificial intelligence to enhance its digital capabilities and maintain competitive advantage in an evolving industry landscape. This strategic focus on technology integration reflects broader industry trends, with the global AI in finance market expected to reach $22.6 billion by 2025 with a compound annual growth rate of 23.1%. Moody's serves a diverse global client base including sovereign governments, multinational corporations, financial institutions, pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers, and individual investors who rely on the company's independent credit opinions and analytical insights to make informed investment and risk management decisions.