Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTRicardo PillaiFri, July 3, 2026 at 8:27 PM GMT+2 3 min readIs MCO a good stock to buy? We came across a bullish thesis on Moody's Corporation on StockCompass's Substack. In this article, we will summarize the bulls' thesis on MCO. Moody's Corporation's share was trading at $468.38 as of July 1st. MCO's trailing and forward P/E were 32.49 and 27.40 respectively according to Yahoo Finance. TaLaNoVa/Shutterstock.comMoody's Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated risk assessment firm in the United States and internationally. MCO is positioned as one of the highest-quality businesses in global financial infrastructure, operating alongside S&P Global in a legally protected credit ratings duopoly that controls roughly 80% of the global ratings market.Read More: 15 AI Stocks That Are Quietly Making Investors RichRead More: Undervalued AI Stock Poised For Massive Gains: 10000% Upside PotentialIts status as an SEC-designated Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) creates formidable barriers to entry, making its credit ratings indispensable for debt issuance and allowing the company to consistently implement annual fee increases while maintaining strong pricing power.Moody's is entering a favorable structural growth phase driven by accelerating AI infrastructure investments and the rapid expansion of private credit markets. As governments and corporations finance AI data centers through increased debt issuance, Moody's benefits directly by collecting high-margin fees on new credit ratings. This trend was evident in the first quarter of 2026, when Moody's Investors Service rated more than $2 trillion of debt issuance, including over $100 billion tied to AI-related financings, while private credit revenue grew by more than 80% year over year.The company complements these durable growth drivers with an exceptionally efficient, capital-light business model that generates free cash flow margins exceeding 33% and a return on equity of 62.1%. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which owns a 13.5% stake, further reinforces confidence in the company's long-term competitive advantages and cash-generating ability.Although Moody's trades at a forward P/E of 26.8x and remains exposed to periodic fluctuations in credit market activity, its regulatory moat, resilient recurring economics, and structural growth opportunities support continued long-term compounding. A $2.5 billion share repurchase program further enhances per-share value creation, making the stock an attractive dollar-cost averaging opportunity for long-term investors seeking Buffett-style compounding, despite the article not specifying a numerical upside target.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info