FICO improves key product

Article Excerpt

FAIR ISAAC CORP. $85.25 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415-472-2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 31.1 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; Dividend yield: 0.1%) spends around 12% of its revenue on research, which lets it keep ahead of the competition. For example, it recently incorporated new data into its software. Previously, FICO Scores didn’t distinguish between people who carry balances on their credit cards (higher credit risk) and those who’ve never had a credit card but pay their cable, cellphone, electric, water and other bills every month (lower risk). In addition, the company plans to add information people publicly share on social media websites like Facebook. Both moves should make FICO Scores more accurate. Fair Isaac is still a hold. hold. …