Why Moody's Gained 69.5% in 2019

Shares of Moody's (NYSE: MCO) surged 69.5% in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Moody's has a strong competitive moat, as one of only three major global debt ratings agencies, along with Fitch Ratings and S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). Collectively, these agencies have a 90% market share of global credit ratings.

At the end of 2018, as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, debt issuance fell, harming the ratings agencies. However, as the Federal Reserve changed its tune in 2019 and began cutting rates, more companies felt the confidence to issue more debt. That, combined with continued growth in the smaller but significant analytics software segment, helped shares more than double the market's total returns this year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Source Fool.com