Sales drive FICO’s profit

Article Excerpt

FAIR ISAAC CORP. $163.72 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415-472- 2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 30.1 million; Market cap: $4.8 billion; No dividends paid) reports that in its first quarter ended December 31, 2017, revenue rose 7.2%, to $235.3 million from $219.6 million a year earlier. The company earned $41.1 million, or $1.30 a share, in the latest quarter. That’s a 22.9% jump from $33.5 million, or $1.03 a share, a year earlier. The stock trades at 30.8 times its forecast 2018 earnings of $5.32 a share. That multiple is somewhat high considering banks supply 75% of the company’s revenue and further interest rate increases could reduce their mortgage applications. That kind of falloff for the banks would also hurt sales for Fair Isaac’s credit scoring software. Fair Isaac is a hold. hold…