Owen Lau

Owen Lau from Clear Street questioned the drivers behind Moody's Investors Service's (MIS) stronger-than-expected 2026 margin guidance, which exceeds the medium-term outlook, and sought insights into the future medium-term margin expectations.

Answer

Noémie Heuland, CFO of Moody's Corporation, attributed the strong MIS adjusted operating margin guide (65%) to robust revenue and transaction revenue growth, coupled with significant technology investments over the past few years. These investments have enabled automation tools for ratings analysts, driving increased operating leverage and efficiency while still allowing for strategic investments in analytical staff, private credit, commercial efforts, and technology.

Owen Lau inquired about the drivers behind the better-than-expected MIS margin guide for 2026, which exceeds medium-term guidance, and how this impacts future margin expectations.

Answer

CFO Noémie Heuland attributed the strong MIS margin guide (65%) to robust revenue and transaction growth, coupled with significant technology investments and automation tools for analysts. These investments enhance efficiency and operating leverage, allowing for margin expansion even while continuing to invest in analytical staff and commercial efforts.

Owen Lau asked about the drivers behind the strength in the Research and Insights segment, particularly the role of the Research Assistant product, and questioned if AI adoption is accelerating across the client base.

Answer

CFO Noémie Heuland confirmed that Research Assistant was a key driver for the segment's growth, leading to higher client NPS and relationship expansion. CEO Robert Fauber added that AI adoption patterns vary by client tier: large banks integrate Moody's tools into their own platforms, while smaller banks consume AI through embedded features in solutions like CreditLens, which provides an opportunity to price for added value at renewal.

Owen Lau from Clear Street inquired about Coinbase's strategy regarding larger scale buybacks and M&A opportunities, considering the recent decline in sector valuations across tokens and equities.

Answer

CFO Alesia Haas affirmed Coinbase's strong financial position with over $11 billion in cash and cash equivalents, highlighting their focus on buybacks, having deployed $1.7 billion to repurchase 8.2 million shares through February 10. She noted 2025 as a significant year for M&A with 10 acquisitions/acqui-hires, including Deribit, and confirmed continued investment in Bitcoin purchases. Haas emphasized their commitment to dynamically managing capital allocation with a focus on ROI, supported by 12 consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA.

Owen Lau at Clear Street asked about Coinbase's strategy regarding larger-scale buybacks and M&A opportunities, given the recent downturn in sector valuations for tokens and equities.

Answer

CFO Alesia Haas detailed Coinbase's strong financial position, including over $11 billion in cash and cash equivalents. She highlighted the deployment of $1.7 billion for share repurchases, the completion of 10 acquisitions/acqui-hires in 2025 (including Deribit), and the doubling of Bitcoin native units in their investment portfolio. Haas affirmed the company's commitment to continued Bitcoin purchases, opportunistic M&A, and dynamic capital allocation to maximize ROI.

Owen Lau from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. inquired about the SEC's newly announced 'Project Crypto,' asking for details on the potential for a single super-app license in the U.S. and why Coinbase believes its Base App is positioned to succeed under such a framework.

Answer

Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal described the SEC announcement as 'remarkable,' signaling a significantly improved regulatory environment. He stated that a single license would reduce compliance and operational costs associated with managing multiple licenses. Grewal also highlighted that this move indicates a commitment from the SEC to implement the President's Working Group recommendations through formal rulemaking, creating optimism for the industry.

Owen Lau from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. inquired about the SEC's 'Project Crypto' and the potential for a single license for a super app in the U.S., asking why the BaseApp is well-positioned to capitalize on this development.

Answer

Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal described the SEC's announcement as a reason for great optimism. He stated that a single license would significantly limit compliance and operational costs. Grewal emphasized that the SEC's commitment to formal rulemaking signals a major positive shift in the U.S. regulatory environment for crypto.

Owen Lau of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked about Coinbase's ability to gain market share against lower-cost competitors and spot ETFs, and what differentiates the platform.

Answer

CEO Brian Armstrong attributed market share gains to the trust customers place in the Coinbase brand and emphasized the company's focus on growing the entire crypto ecosystem, not just competing for existing share. CFO Alesia Haas added that ongoing investments in asset additions, user experience, platform stability, and effective marketing are key to their long-term strategy for durable share growth.

Owen Lau requested more color on the priorities for S&P Global's private market solutions in 2026 and the initiatives expected to drive or accelerate growth in this area.

Answer

Martina Cheung, President and Chief Executive Officer, expressed excitement for private markets in 2026, citing strong performance in private market ratings in 2025 and continued investor appetite. She highlighted new index opportunities, accelerated innovation in MI using With Intelligence and Cambridge-Mercer data, and early cross-sell momentum from the With Intelligence integration. Positive feedback was received on the Cambridge-Mercer beta and the private markets taxonomy.

Owen Lau requested more color on S&P Global's priorities for private market solutions in 2026 and the initiatives expected to drive or accelerate growth in this area.

Answer

Martina Cheung, President and CEO, expressed excitement for private market opportunities in 2026. In Ratings, strong performance in private market ratings is expected to continue, with no reduction in investor appetite. The Index division saw several private market launches in 2025 and is exploring new index opportunities, collaborating with Market Intelligence using data from With Intelligence and Cambridge-Mercer. For Market Intelligence, the early closure of the With Intelligence deal and the EDO team's capabilities (Kensho Link) have generated early cross-sell momentum. Positive feedback was received for the Cambridge Mercer beta in Q4 and the private markets taxonomy for standardized reporting.

Owen Lau asked about the Mobility division's revenue guidance, which implies a slight slowdown in the second half, and questioned if a pull-forward of auto activity was the primary reason.

Answer

President & CEO Martina Cheung acknowledged some potential pull-forward ahead of tariffs but emphasized that the strong performance was primarily driven by the core CARFAX business and its continued customer adoption. For the second half, she pointed to hesitancy in the manufacturing segment and a very tough year-over-year comparison as the main factors contributing to the moderated growth outlook.

Owen Lau asked about the Mobility division's performance, questioning if the strong first half was driven by a pull-forward of activity and why guidance implies slower growth in the second half.

Answer

President & CEO Martina Cheung clarified that the strength was broad-based, particularly in the dealer and financials businesses like CARFAX, and not primarily due to pull-forward. She explained that the outlook for slower growth in the second half is influenced by very tough year-over-year comparisons and some continued hesitancy in the manufacturing segment related to tariff uncertainty.

Owen Lau asked for more detail on the company's sustainability products, including the outlook and plans for new launches.

Answer

Incoming President and CEO Martina Cheung announced a strategic change: the Sustainable1 business will be combined with the energy transition assets within the Commodity Insights division. She described this as an exciting move that will leverage unique measurement capabilities and allow the company to bring high-value, forward-looking transition products to a broader client base, including financial services.

Owen Lau asked about the key assumptions and variables influencing Bullish's 2026 SS&O revenue guidance, specifically what factors could lead to the high versus low end of the projected range.

Answer

CFO David Bonanno explained that potential upsides include the swift passage of an infrastructure bill in the United States, which would accelerate the SS&O pipeline. He noted that macro headwinds are already factored into the guidance, and the range reflects a conservative mix of expected outcomes from regulatory and market perspectives for 2026.

Owen Lau asked about the key assumptions driving Bullish's 2026 SS&O revenue guidance and the variables that could lead to the high versus low end of the projected range.

Answer

David Bonanno, CFO of Bullish, explained that potential upsides for SS&O revenue include the swift passage of a U.S. infrastructure bill, which would accelerate their pipeline. He noted that macro headwinds are already factored into the guidance, which reflects a conservative mix of expected outcomes from regulatory and market perspectives.

Owen Lau asked about the tokenization topic, specifically the risk of splitting liquidity between on-chain and traditional markets, and the competition between tokenized equities and the issuance of blockchain native tokens, including technical considerations.

Answer

Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO, emphasized Nasdaq's mandate to bring liquidity together, drive transparency, and maintain market integrity. She stressed the importance of investors having a complete view of trading and understanding risks. Friedman also noted that current technology is not yet capable of supporting blockchain native trading of equities at the scale required for Nasdaq's markets, and highlighted the importance of capital efficiency.

Owen Lau asked for an updated view on Nasdaq's SEC filing to trade tokenized equities, specifically on the incremental opportunity of using blockchain in a liquid market and the demand from U.S. and non-U.S. investors.

Answer

Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO of Nasdaq, reiterated the goal of offering investors choice to hold shares in tokenized or traditional form, without disrupting the highly efficient U.S. equities markets. She emphasized tokenization as a technology for streamlined payments and post-trade efficiency, with the first stage focusing on core equity tokenization, not derivatives, and working with infrastructure providers like DTCC.

Owen Lau asked for an updated view on Nasdaq's tokenization filing with the SEC, specifically regarding the incremental opportunity of using blockchain in an already liquid market and the demand for tokenized equities from U.S. and non-U.S. investors.

Answer

Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO, reiterated that U.S. equities markets are highly liquid and efficient, and Nasdaq aims to enhance, not disrupt, these benefits. The incremental opportunity lies in offering investors the choice to hold shares in tokenized or traditional form, providing greater flexibility. She noted a general trend towards tokenization for streamlined payments and post-trade efficiency. The first stage involves introducing tokenization at the core equity security level, with Nasdaq partnering with DTCC to create more post-trade efficiency.

Owen Lau of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked about tokenization, questioning if it supports or disintermediates Nasdaq Private Market and inquiring about the competitive dynamics for 24/7 trading of public equities.

Answer

Chair & CEO Adena Friedman positioned tokenization as a technology, not a threat, explaining it often serves the same purpose as SPVs, which Nasdaq Private Market already facilitates with its corporate clients. Regarding public markets, she emphasized Nasdaq's focus on improving the public company experience and engaging with the SEC to support a vibrant IPO market.

Owen Lau asked for an update on the IPO environment and whether recent trade tensions were causing foreign companies to prefer listing on non-U.S. exchanges.

Answer

CEO Adena Friedman reported that while Q1 IPOs doubled year-over-year, larger deals are currently on hold as companies wait for market volatility to subside. She stated that conversations with global companies have not changed, as they continue to recognize the long-term value of accessing deep U.S. capital markets and retail investors. Friedman also highlighted strong listing demand in Nasdaq's Nordic markets, emphasizing that different exchanges offer unique value propositions.

Owen Lau asked why Financial Crime Management Technology's 20% growth was below the mid-20% medium-term outlook and inquired about the near-term prospects for the Verafin business.

Answer

CEO Adena Friedman explained the variance was primarily due to the timing of professional services fees as Nasdaq signs larger Tier 1 and Tier 2 clients, which have more complex implementations. She reaffirmed confidence in the mid-20% medium-term revenue outlook, citing a strong customer pipeline and continued momentum.

Owen Lau asked about the potential impact on FICO if President Trump's proposed 10% credit card interest rate cap policy is implemented, specifically if consumers would shift to other loan types still requiring FICO scores. He also inquired about the size of FICO's credit card exposure and the recurrence frequency of above-average sized multi-use case platform deals.

Answer

CEO Will Lansing speculated that if the cap leads to fewer cards for subprime borrowers, consumers might seek alternate credit, which would still involve FICO scores. VP of Investor Relations Dave Singleton noted that FICO does not break out credit card originations revenue. Will Lansing and CFO Steve Weber confirmed that above-average sized multi-use case platform deals are becoming more frequent, indicating a trend of increasing deal size and momentum.

Owen Lau from Clear Street asked about the potential impact on FICO if President Trump's proposed 10% credit card interest rate cap policy were implemented, including whether consumers might shift to other loan types that still use FICO Scores, and the size of FICO's credit card exposure. He also inquired if the recent above-average multi-use case platform deal was a one-off or indicative of more frequent similar deals.

Answer

Will Lansing, CEO, speculated that if the cap were implemented, consumers might seek alternate credit, increasing pressure on lenders to deeply understand subprime credits using FICO Scores, and FICO would likely benefit from shifts to other lending types like BNPL. Dave Singleton, VP of Investor Relations, stated FICO does not disclose the size of its credit card originations revenue. Regarding the platform deal, Mr. Lansing confirmed it's indicative of a trend, with deal sizes, frequency, and amounts increasing. Steve Weber, CFO, added that FY 2026 ACV bookings are expected to be significantly higher than FY 2025, driven by momentum and larger deals.

Owen Lau asked for more details on the multi-year agreement with Zactus, specifically regarding the pricing arrangement and FICO's flexibility to raise prices over the longer term.

Answer

CEO Will Lansing clarified that the published pricing is for 2026, and while the agreement is multi-year, FICO adjusts its prices annually, and this practice will continue.

Owen Lau asked for more color on the pricing arrangement for the multi-year agreement with Zactus, specifically whether the pricing is locked in or if FICO retains flexibility to raise prices.

Answer

CEO Will Lansing clarified that the published pricing for the Zactus agreement is for 2026. He stated that while it's a multi-year agreement to work together, FICO adjusts its prices every year, and that practice will continue.

Owen Lau from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked if VantageScore is gaining traction in non-mortgage markets like credit cards and auto loans, and how long it would take for a lender to switch scores.

Answer

CEO Will Lansing stated that FICO has not seen any significant market share loss to VantageScore in non-mortgage areas, attributing this to FICO's superior score and industry-standard status. He noted that the question of switching time is unanswerable as it hasn't happened.

Asked about the outlook for ACV bookings following a strong quarter and the expected trajectory of operating expenses for the rest of the year, particularly regarding the FICO World event.

Answer

The bookings pipeline is strong but will remain volatile due to the nature of large, infrequent deals. Expenses are expected to increase modestly, in line with guidance, with a notable $5-6 million cost for the FICO World event in Q3, but no other material step-ups are anticipated.

Owen Lau from Clear Street asked about the impact of the tokenization trend on MSCI's private asset opportunities, and whether it's a significant factor at this point.

Answer

Andy Wiechmann, CFO of MSCI, stated that tokenization hasn't been significant yet but could be a big catalyst. He believes it will streamline ownership transitions and necessitate tools like evaluated prices, credit risk, and portfolio tools, which MSCI is investing in. He sees it as a potential accelerant for both private markets generally and MSCI's offerings, as investors seek deeper understanding of their private portfolios.

Owen Lau asked about the impact of tokenization on MSCI's private assets business and whether it's a significant factor at this point.

Answer

Andy Wiechmann, CFO of MSCI, stated that tokenization hasn't been significant yet but holds potential as a major catalyst. He believes it could accelerate demand for tools like evaluated prices, credit risk, and portfolio management solutions, which MSCI is actively developing, by streamlining ownership transitions and secondary markets for private assets.

Owen Lau asked about the potential negative impact of AI on the sector, specifically how MSCI gains confidence that its AI investments will maintain or accelerate revenue growth while simultaneously driving margin expansion, given concerns about AI investment compressing margins.

Answer

Henry Fernandez, Chairman and CEO, MSCI, asserted that AI will dramatically increase margins by enabling more new products, faster scaling, and significant cost reductions through AI agents for systematic tasks. He highlighted that MSCI benefits from applying AI to its proprietary data and models without incurring the high costs of building large language models or massive data centers. He stated that the required investments are not significant and will not reduce margins, but rather free up resources for further business investment to achieve higher growth.

Owen Lau asked about MSCI's confidence in AI investments to maintain or accelerate revenue growth while driving margin expansion, addressing concerns about AI compressing margins.

Answer

Henry Fernandez (Chairman and CEO, MSCI) asserted that AI will dramatically increase margins by enabling more new products, faster scaling, and significant cost reduction through AI agents for systematic tasks. He clarified that MSCI doesn't incur large language model development or massive data center costs, focusing on applying AI to its data and models. He aims to use AI-driven margin expansion to reinvest in the business for faster growth, not to reduce current margins.

Owen Lau requested more details on the sales environment in the second quarter and the outlook, noting that sales were down year-over-year against a tough comparison from a one-off item in Q2 2024.

Answer

CFO Andrew Wiechmann confirmed that Q2 2024 included a meaningful contribution from the Moody's ESG partnership, creating a difficult comparison. He characterized the current sales environment as fairly consistent with recent quarters, despite market volatility in Q2. He added that sustained favorable market dynamics could be constructive for future sales.

Owen Lau asked for clarification on the strong performance in Analytics despite tight budgets, questioning if it was driven by implementation revenue, and also asked about a discrepancy in the run rate calculation.

Answer

CFO Andrew Wiechmann attributed the strong Analytics demand to risk models, fixed income offerings, and efficiency tools. He confirmed that revenue growth was elevated due to a large implementation coming online earlier than expected, and that revenue growth should normalize closer to run rate growth going forward. He explained the run rate calculation difference was due to technical items like foreign exchange movements.

Owen Lau of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked about the adoption of USDC in the remittance market, how Circle competes with firms creating their own stablecoins, and for details on the partnership with the OKX exchange.

Answer

Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder Jeremy Allaire highlighted growing remittance demand, citing partnerships with Remitly and MoneyGram, and noted CPN's primary use case is remittances. He stressed Circle's competitive advantage is its deep, global liquidity network. Regarding OKX, he described the partnership as an expansion where OKX will adopt Circle's wallet technology and integrate with Circle Mint to enhance liquidity and promote USDC to its large user base.

Owen Lau from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked for more details on conversations with university clients regarding budget cuts and the outlook for subscription renewals for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, given that 75% of 2025 subscriptions are already renewed.

Answer

CEO Matti Shem Tov stated that the Academia & Government (A&G) segment is performing well despite budget concerns, citing a 96% renewal rate and 93% of segment revenue now being recurring. He stressed that products like Web of Science are mission-critical for universities and that the strategic shift from one-time sales to subscription models is being well-received, bolstering confidence in future renewals.

Owen Lau from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked for more details on conversations with university clients about budget cuts and the renewal outlook for the rest of 2025 and into 2026.

Answer

CEO Matti Shem Tov reported that the Academia & Government (A&G) segment is performing well, with 93% of revenue now recurring and a 96% renewal rate. He noted that mission-critical products like Web of Science and the strategic shift from transactional to subscription models have been well-received, giving the company confidence in future renewals despite budget pressures.

Owen Lau asked about the strategic trade-off of the VCP, where near-term revenue and free cash flow are reduced in 2025 to achieve a higher recurring revenue mix, and whether this positions the company for growth in 2026 and beyond.

Answer

CEO Matti Shem Tov stated that the onetime transactional businesses were a significant drain on resources with low margins. He emphasized that the VCP is not just about disposal but about transitioning these product lines to subscription-based models. Management has a high degree of conviction that this shift will lead to more predictable, higher-margin growth, increasing the recurring revenue mix from 80% to 87%.

Owen Lau asked for characterization of the sales cycle in segments beyond Private Banking, the drivers of strong sales in the Investment Managers (IMS) segment, and SEI's long-term plans for capital return and leverage following the Stratos deal.

Answer

CEO Ryan Hicke and EVP Phil McCabe attributed strong IMS sales to macro trends like the growing appetite for outsourcing among large, first-time alternative asset managers. EVP Michael Lane added that asset management flows have significantly improved year-over-year. On capital, EVP & CFO, COO Sean Denham confirmed SEI will fund Stratos's future M&A with 'tens of millions' and plans to use free cash flow for buybacks and dividends while reducing overall cash levels.

Owen Lau of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked about the macroeconomic outlook for the second half of 2025 and the key drivers that could sustain CME's strong trading volumes.

Answer

Terrence Duffy, Chairman & CEO, responded that while volumes are difficult to predict, significant global risks persist. He cited record government debt in the U.S. and Europe, ongoing geopolitical unrest in Ukraine and the Middle East, and trade policy uncertainties as fundamental factors that create a continued need for risk management, which underpins demand for CME's products.

Owen Lau of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked about the macroeconomic outlook for the second half of 2025 and the key drivers that could sustain CME's strong trading volumes and hedging activity.

Answer

Chairman & CEO Terrence Duffy responded that while predicting volumes is difficult, significant global risks persist that necessitate risk management. He cited record government debt in the U.S. and Europe, ongoing geopolitical unrest in Ukraine and the Middle East, and tariff policies as fundamental drivers. Duffy concluded that these factors create a continued need for clients to manage and mitigate risk, though he refrained from forecasting specific volume levels.

Owen Lau inquired about the long-term strategic goal for VantageScore and asked for more details on the drivers and sustainability of the strong 19% growth in the consumer lending business.

Answer

CEO Mark Begor explained that VantageScore has been a long-standing offering and Equifax will continue to promote it, but acknowledged that displacing the deeply embedded FICO score is a long-term effort. He and CFO John Gamble attributed the consumer lending strength to increased penetration, new products, and strong record growth in The Work Number, particularly for personal loans.

Owen Lau from Oppenheimer asked for more color on the strong double-digit growth in the insurance and commercial verticals. He also requested an update on the expected top-line revenue contribution from the cloud migration in 2025 and 2026.

Answer

CEO Mark Begor and CFO John Gamble attributed the commercial vertical's strength to a return to form after prior execution issues, driven by unique data assets like PayNet. The insurance growth was due to higher online transaction volumes. Regarding cloud benefits, Begor pointed to the rising Vitality Index as a direct result of cloud investments. He expects this innovation, along with market share gains, to help USIS deliver solidly within its 6-8% long-term growth framework.

Owen Lau of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. questioned the implied Q4 adjusted operating margin decline needed to meet guidance, asking about specific Q4 expenses.

Answer

Chief Financial Officer Helen Shan confirmed the investment pace has increased as planned for the second half of the year. She specified that higher Q4 spending is allocated to GenAI expertise, integration costs for recent acquisitions, and increased technology expenses, reaffirming confidence in the full-year margin guidance.

Owen Lau asked about a 'landmark 7-figure win' away from an incumbent, inquiring about the key reasons for the win and whether more such wins are expected.

Answer

CEO Frederick Snow attributed the win with an outsourced CIO to the quality of FactSet's technology, analytics, multi-asset class capabilities, and partnership approach. Chief Financial Officer Helen Shan added that the inclusion of managed services and the flexibility of FactSet's open platform were also key differentiators that helped secure the deal.

Owen Lau from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. inquired about the key reasons behind the landmark 7-figure win from an incumbent, asking whether it was driven by pricing or product, and if similar wins are anticipated.

Answer

CEO Frederick Snow attributed the win to the quality of FactSet's technology, analytics solutions, multi-asset class capabilities, and partnership approach. CFO Helen Shan added that the ability to provide managed services and the flexibility of their open platform were also critical factors in securing the deal with the outsourced CIO.