Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) Barclays 18th Annual Americas Select Conference summary

Capital allocation and share repurchase strategy

• Consistent share buybacks have reduced outstanding shares from 74 million to 23 million over time, funded by cash flow and managed leverage in the 2–3x range.

• Capital allocation focuses on maximizing shareholder value through disciplined buybacks and leveraging cash flow growth.

Business evolution and pricing strategy

• Transitioned from a consulting and proprietary scorecard business to a scalable software and decisioning platform, now primarily cloud-based.

• Introduced generic, bureau-agnostic FICO Scores, making them the industry standard for lenders, regulators, and investors.

• Began annual price increases for scores about a decade ago, after decades of fixed pricing, with mortgage score prices rising from $0.05 to $10.

• Recently introduced a $0.99 pricing model for mortgage scores in response to regulatory scrutiny and affordability concerns.

Mortgage market dynamics and regulatory environment

• Stock volatility attributed to political scrutiny over mortgage pricing and competition from VantageScore.

• New pricing models, including a $0.99 option, address regulatory concerns and are expected to launch soon, pending GSE certification.

• FICO Score 10T is positioned as more predictive and qualifying than VantageScore 4, with independent studies supporting its superiority.

• Market share loss to VantageScore is considered unlikely due to entrenched industry reliance on FICO and limited addressable market for alternatives.