Earnings Prepared Remarks

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025

ROB FAUBER, NOÉMIE HEULAND, AND SHIVANI KAK

SHIVANI KAK

Thank you. Good morning and thank you for joining us today. I'm Shivani Kak, Head of Investor

Relations.

This morning, Moody's released its results for the third quarter of 2025 and updated guidance for select metrics. The earnings press release and the presentation to accompany this teleconference are both available on our website at ir.moodys.com.

During this call, we will also be presenting non-GAAP or adjusted figures. Please refer to the tables at the end of our earnings press release filed this morning for reconciliations between all adjusted measures referenced during this call and US GAAP. I call your attention to the Safe Harbor language, which can be found towards the end of our earnings release.

Today's remarks may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private

Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In accordance with the Act, I also direct your attention to the Management's Discussion and Analysis section and the risk factors discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and in other SEC filings made by the company, which are available on our website and on the SEC's website.

These, together with the Safe Harbor statement, set forth important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any such forward-looking statements. I would also like to point out that members of the media may be on the call this morning in a listen-only mode.

Rob, over to you.

ROB FAUBER

Thanks, Shivani, and thanks, everybody for joining today’s call. This morning, I’m going to start with the highlights from Moody’s strong third quarter results and I’m going to provide some insights from our latest refunding wall studies, as well as examples of how we’re winning in the deep currents that we’re operating in. But let me give you the punchline.

We delivered record quarterly revenue. We’re raising our full year guidance across almost all metrics and we continue to drive significant innovation throughout the firm all at the same time.

Now, following our prepared remarks, Noémie and I, as always, will be glad to take your questions.

So, with that, let’s get to the results.

We finished the third quarter on a high note. Markets closed with the busiest September on record and Moody’s notched a new record of our own. We exceeded $2 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever in our history, and that was up 11% from the third quarter last year. Moody’s Adjusted

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Operating Margin was almost 53% in the third quarter, up over 500 basis points from a year ago, demonstrating the tremendous operating leverage that we’ve created in our business.

We delivered Adjusted Diluted EPS of $3.92 in the third quarter. That was up 22% from last year, and that’s particularly impressive given the tough comp in the third quarter of 2024, when we posted 32% year-over-year growth, on top of the 31% growth in the third quarter 2023.

To put this in perspective, we have more than doubled Adjusted Diluted EPS from the same quarter just three years ago, consistently strengthening the earnings power of the firm year after year after year. All of this while investing to harness the immense opportunities in the deep currents that we have talked about over the past several years.

Now, on to the highlights for our Ratings business. MIS delivered 12% revenue growth for the quarter and surpassed $1 billion of quarterly revenue for the third consecutive quarter, setting an all-time record. Our position as the Agency of Choice enabled us to capitalize on a healthy issuance environment and record tight spreads. The strategic investments we’ve made in technology, analytical tools and talent are equipping us to meet surges in issuance volume and capital markets innovation.

Now, looking forward, the issuance pipeline is robust. Demand is solid, with spreads hovering around near record lows, and the refi walls continue to build. Additionally, demand for debt financing remains strong in areas that we've consistently spotlighted over the past year or two.

That includes private credit, AI-powered data center expansion, infrastructure development, and transition finance. You can see this coming through in some of the marquee deals that we rated in the quarter.

First, we were the sole rating agency on a first-of-its-kind emerging market CLO in APAC for the

International Finance Corporation, which is a member of the World Bank Group. That was a very innovative financing vehicle for frontier markets. Second, our Corporate ABS team rated a more than $1 billion dollar data center securitization, also the first transaction of its kind, which is backed by three high quality, newly constructed data centers and their related leases. And third, we rated the largest Asian corporate bond ever issued, at almost $18 billion, with much of the proceeds being used for data center investment. All of these are notable examples of deep currents driving demand for debt financing.

While those deep currents are driving new issuance, refunding needs continue to grow as well. Our most recently published refunding study shows that refunding needs over the next four years are projected to surpass $5 trillion. That represents a compound annual growth rate of 10% from 2018 to 2025. That number is approximately double the dollar volume seen in 2018, and this gives us some real confidence in the medium-term growth trajectory for MIS. Now, there is typically a lot of interest in these reports on this call so let me just share a few key findings with you.

First, non-financial corporate refinancing walls in both the U.S. and EMEA grew 6% over the upcoming four-year maturity horizon. Overall, investment-grade maturities are up 5%, while speculative grade maturities are up 7%. Notably, within spec grade, U.S. bond maturities have increased by more than 20%. In EMEA, spec grade bonds and loans each rose by approximately

20%. All this points to a favorable backdrop for future issuance and the mix is especially encouraging given that spec grade issuance tends to be more accretive to our revenue profile. So, for those interested in exploring the full reports, they’re available on moodys.com or through our

Investor Relations team.

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Now, beyond the refunding walls, we remain well positioned to meet the evolving market needs in

Private Credit. That’s a theme we've consistently highlighted on prior calls. Private Credit continues to be a growth driver for Ratings. In the third quarter, the number of Private Credit-related deals grew almost 70%.

Notably, direct lending remains the smallest portion of our Private Credit-related activity, while fund finance and securitization are leading the way in both deal counts and issuance volumes.

Revenue tied to private credit grew over 60% in the third quarter across multiple MIS business lines, albeit off a relatively small but expanding base.

We’re also seeing a growing number of private deals returning to the public debt markets for refinancing. According to Bloomberg’s LevFin Insights, issuers are realizing material savings on average something like 200 basis points, but in some cases, as much as 400 basis points when compared to private market rates.

As I’ve mentioned before, this dynamic effectively acts as a deferred maturity wall as we see unrated private direct lending deals refi into the rated BSL market. As this market continues to grow, we continue to invest in experienced analytical teams and methodological rigor to ensure ratings quality.

Now, turning to Moody’s Analytics, we delivered strong results again this quarter. Revenue growth was 9% year-over-year, including 11% in Decision Solutions. ARR is now nearly $3.4 billion, that’s up 8% versus last year and we are delivering margin improvement ahead of our plans from just earlier this year.

Our cross-MA initiatives are yielding results, delivering a 34.3% adjusted operating margin, up 400 basis points versus last year. As a result, we are increasing our full-year margin outlook for MA to approximately 33% and we believe this puts us solidly on track to meet our medium-term margin commitments.

Now, we’re continuing to invest in scalable solutions across high-growth end-markets while at the same time simplifying the product suite and optimizing our organizational structure. So, one

REFORM ACT OF 1995

Certain statements contained in this document are forward-looking statements and are based on future expectations, plans and prospects for Moody’s business and operations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such statements involve estimates, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those contemplated, expressed, projected, anticipated or implied in the forward- looking statements. The forward-looking statements and other information in this document are made as of the date hereof, and Moody’s undertakes no obligation (nor does it intend) to publicly supplement, update or revise such statements on a going-forward basis, whether as a result of subsequent developments, changed expectations or otherwise, except as required by applicable law or regulation. In connection with the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation

Reform Act of 1995, Moody’s is identifying certain factors that could cause actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Those factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the uncertain effects of U.S. and foreign government actions affecting international trade and economic policy, including changes and volatility in tariffs and trade policies and retaliatory actions, on credit markets, customers and customer retention, and demand for our products and services; the impact of general economic conditions (including significant government debt and deficit levels, and inflation or recessions and related monetary policy actions by governments in response thereto) on worldwide credit markets and on economic activity, including on the level of merger and acquisition activity, and their effects on the volume of debt and other securities issued in domestic and/or global capital markets; the uncertain effects of U.S. and foreign government initiatives and monetary policy to respond to the current economic climate, including instability of financial institutions, credit quality concerns, and other potential impacts of volatility in financial and credit markets; the impact of geopolitical events and actions, such as the Russia-Ukraine military conflict, military conflicts in the Middle East, and tensions between India and Pakistan, and of tensions and disputes in political and global relations, on volatility in world financial markets, on general economic conditions and GDP in the U.S. and worldwide and on Moody’s own operations and personnel; other matters that could affect the volume of debt and other securities issued in domestic and/or global capital markets, including regulation, increased utilization of technologies that have the potential to intensify competition and accelerate disruption and disintermediation in the financial services industry, as well as the number of issuances of securities without ratings or securities which are rated or evaluated by non-traditional parties; the level of merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. and abroad; the impact of MIS’s withdrawal of its credit ratings on countries or entities within countries and of Moody’s no longer conducting commercial operations in countries where political instability warrants such actions; concerns in the marketplace affecting our credibility or otherwise affecting market perceptions of the integrity or utility of independent credit agency ratings; the introduction or development of competing and/or emerging technologies and products; pricing pressure from competitors and/or customers; the level of success of new product development and global expansion; the impact of regulation as an NRSRO, the potential for new U.S., state and local legislation and regulations; the potential for increased competition and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including the EU; exposure to litigation related to our rating opinions, as well as any other litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries to which Moody’s may be subject from time to time; provisions in U.S. legislation modifying the pleading standards and EU regulations modifying the liability standards applicable to CRAs in a manner adverse to CRAs; provisions of EU regulations

10 imposing additional procedural and substantive requirements on the pricing of services and the expansion of supervisory remit to include non-EU ratings used for regulatory purposes; uncertainty regarding the future relationship between the U.S. and China; the possible loss of key employees and the impact of the global labor environment; failures or malfunctions of our operations and infrastructure; any vulnerabilities to cyber threats or other cybersecurity concerns; the timing and effectiveness of our restructuring programs; currency and foreign exchange volatility; the outcome of any review by tax authorities of Moody’s global tax planning initiatives; exposure to potential criminal sanctions or civil remedies if Moody’s fails to comply with foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that are applicable in the jurisdictions in which Moody’s operates, including data protection and privacy laws, sanctions laws, anti-corruption laws, and local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials; the impact of mergers, acquisitions, or other business combinations and the ability of Moody’s to successfully integrate acquired businesses; the level of future cash flows; the levels of capital investments; and a decline in the demand for credit risk management tools by financial institutions, corporate or government entities. These factors, risks and uncertainties as well as other risks and uncertainties that could cause Moody’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated, expressed, projected, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements are described in greater detail under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of Moody’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and in other filings made by the Company from time to time with the SEC or in materials incorporated herein or therein.

Stockholders and investors are cautioned that the occurrence of any of these factors, risks and uncertainties may cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated, expressed, projected, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements, which could have a material and adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition. New factors may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the

Company to predict new factors, nor can the Company assess the potential effect of any new factors on it. Forward-looking and other statements in this document may also address our corporate responsibility progress, plans, and goals (including sustainability and environmental matters), and the inclusion of such statements is not an indication that these contents are necessarily material to investors or required to be disclosed in the Company’s filings with the

Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, historical, current, and forward-looking sustainability-related statements may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions that are subject to change in the future.

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