Moody's Report 2Q EPS In Line With Expectations, Reiterates Full Year Guidance

Moody's Corporation MCO announced 2.4 percent drop in net income attributable to the shareholders for the second quarter. However, its earnings were in line with the Street analysts' expectations. Its revenue, which advanced 1.2 percent, exceeded the Street predictions. The company also reiterated its full year earnings forecast, but expects to achieve towards the lower end of it. Moody's reported net income of $255.5 million, down 2.4 percent from $261.7 million while earnings rose 1.6 percent to $1.30 a share from $1.28 a share in the year-ago quarter. This matched with the Street analysts' estimations of $1.28 a share. The rating company's revenue rose modestly by 1.2 percent to $928.9 million from $918.1 million in the previous year quarter. Analysts expected the company to generate $909.08 million revenue for the June quarter. Its President and CEO, Raymond McDaniel, commented, "Moody's achieved year-on-year revenue growth in the second quarter due to the strong performance of Moody's Analytics and the recovery in bond issuance from the weak start to the year." Moving ahead, Moody's reiterated its full year earnings outlook of $4.55 - $4.65 a share while expecting revenue to grow in the low-single-digit percentage. The company indicated that it expects its earnings to be towards the lower end of its range. Street analysts are looking for earnings of $4.58 a share on revenue growth of 1.4 percent. The stock edged up by 0.08 percent on Thursday.