FICO: A High Score Business - [Business Breakdowns, EP.111]

This is Zack Fuss, an investor at Irenic Capital, and today we’re breaking down Fair Isaac Corporation, commonly known as FICO. FICO is best known for its consumer credit scores product, which has become a common language across the world of consumer loans and banking. Less well known, but a major piece of the business, is FICO’s software offering that helps financial businesses with fraud detection, CRM, and loan origination. Between these two offerings – scores and software – FICO earned $1.3 billion last year.

To break down the business, I’m joined by Dev Kantesaria, managing partner at Valley Forge Capital Management. In going through its history and business units, Dev explains why it would be tough to design a better business model than FICO. Please enjoy this breakdown of FICO.

 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. 

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Show Notes

(00:02:40) - (First question) - What attracted him to FICO as a business

(00:03:31) - An overview of their key products and the value they provide

(00:06:01) - How FICO collaborates and competes with credit bureaus

(00:11:23) - Their ability to sustain steady growth in a cyclical environment

(00:12:48) - How FICO's software offerings complement their credit score business

(00:14:13) - Who their competitors are

(00:23:16) - The potential competitive risks of emerging A.I. technology

(00:25:57) - Why the push for VantageScore in the mortgage industry created more competition for credit bureaus 

(00:27:58) - The differences between their B2C and scores businesses 

(00:30:38) - A breakdown of the software side of the business and its significance

(00:34:26) - All about FICO’s Falcon Fraud Manager and Triad Customer Manager 

(00:39:20) - FICO’s capital-light business model in detail

(00:41:59) - The aspects of the business that investors often overlook or underestimate

(00:45:18) - Lessons learned from studying FICO