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Valued at around $57.3 billion by market cap, Montana-based Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) has been transforming global decision-making since 1956, leveraging predictive analytics and data science to drive profitability, customer satisfaction, and growth across industries like financial services, healthcare, and retail. With over 200 patents, FICO solutions empower businesses in 80+ countries to combat fraud on four billion payment cards, enhance supply chain resiliency, and promote financial inclusion.
The company’s iconic FICO® Score, trusted by 90% of top U.S. lenders and adopted in 40+ countries, sets the gold standard for credit risk assessment, fostering transparency and expanding credit access worldwide. Shares of this technology company have delivered stunning gains of 120.7% over the past year, dwarfing the broader S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 31.8% return over the same time frame.
The stock has also staged quite a remarkable performance in 2024, delivering a return of 103.9%, far outpacing SPX’s 26.1% YTD growth. Zooming in further, FICO’s outperformance becomes even more pronounced when compared to the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLK) 25.7% return over the past 52 weeks and 20.7% gains on a YTD basis.
Fair Isaac’s impressive price action is fueled by its strong brand recognition, robust financial foundation, and disciplined cost management. At the heart of its success is, of course, its iconic FICO® Score, a game-changing product that continues to be a cornerstone of the company’s growth story. Moreover, following the company’s better-than-expected top and bottom-line performance in its Q4 earnings release on Nov. 6, shares of Fair Isaac climbed more than 4% in the next trading session.
For the current fiscal year, ending in September 2025, analysts expect FICO’s EPS to increase a notable 40.1% year over year to $24.91. The company’s earnings surprise history is somewhat mixed. It surpassed the consensus estimates in two of the last four quarters while missing on two other occasions.
Among the 13 analysts covering the stock, the consensus view is a “Moderate Buy,” which is based on seven “Strong Buy,” two “Moderate Buy,” and four “Hold” ratings. In fact, the mood on Wall Street is now slightly more bullish than it was three months ago when six analysts advocated a “Strong Buy.”
On Nov. 7, Wells Fargo raised its price target for FICO from $2,200 to $2,400 and maintained an “Overweight” rating on the stock. This raised target suggests a slight potential upside to FICO’s current price levels.
Although the stock is trading flat to its average analyst price target of $2,242.23, the Street-high price target of $2,500 suggests that FICO could still climb as much as 5.3% from here.
