---
title: "FICO borrowed $1.5 billion for a buyback at about $1,422 a share; the stock closed at $728.85"
description: "A June 8 filing shows how the buyback was funded: a $1.5 billion floating-rate term loan that now amortizes $75 million a quarter, against a stock that closed at $728.85 on November 8."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Economy"
published: 2026-11-12T16:47:28.880Z
modified: 2026-11-12T16:47:28.880Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/fico-borrowed-1-5-billion-for-a-buyback-at-about-1-422-a-share-the-stock-closed-at-728-85
language: en
keywords: "Fair Isaac, FICO, Credit Scores, Mortgages, Share Buybacks"
---

# FICO borrowed $1.5 billion for a buyback at about $1,422 a share; the stock closed at $728.85

> A June 8 filing shows how the buyback was funded: a $1.5 billion floating-rate term loan that now amortizes $75 million a quarter, against a stock that closed at $728.85 on November 8.

## The loan that did the buying

[Fair Isaac](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/fair-isaac-fico) borrowed the full $1.5 billion of a new unsecured term loan on June 5, maturing May 15, 2028, and priced at SOFR plus 1.50% to 2.25% [1]. Three days later it paid the entire amount to [Wells Fargo](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/wells-fargo) Securities under an accelerated share repurchase, taking initial delivery of about 1,055,100 shares, roughly $1,422 each; the final count settles on the stock's average price over the deal's term [1]. About $500 million stayed unspent under the new $2.0 billion authorization [1]. FICO closed at $728.85 on November 8, 49% below that first tranche [2].

## Borrowed at the old monopoly prices

On September 29, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte put VantageScore, the score owned jointly by [Equifax](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/equifax), Experian and [TransUnion](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/transunion), on the same mortgage pricing grid as Classic FICO [3][4]. The stock fell 26.5%, its worst day since 1989 [3]. Rocket Mortgage [began defaulting eligible loans to VantageScore 4.0](https://theinference.org/article/fair-isaac-froze-its-10-mortgage-score-with-no-2027-guide-as-rocket-mortgage-picked-vantagescore-at-99-cents), which TransUnion sells at 99 cents through December 2028 against FICO's $10 pull [3][4].

![Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, in a blue suit and tie](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/27e7614ca1ec3a10.jpg)

*FHFA Director Bill Pulte, whose September 29 decision put VantageScore on the same mortgage pricing grid as Classic FICO. (https://x.com/SecretaryTurner/status/1894085596311855186/photo/1)*

## Frozen at $10 with $3.05 billion already spent

Fair Isaac [froze the $10 wholesale price for 2027](https://theinference.org/article/fico-freezes-its-10-mortgage-price-for-a-year-equifax-sells-the-1-rival-through-2028) on October 23 and lost another 16% [5]. The balance sheet was built at the old prices: total debt of $5.26 billion at September 30 versus $3.06 billion a year earlier, book equity of minus $3.87 billion, and $3.05 billion of stock retired in fiscal 2026, about a tenth of the company, against $1.03 billion of free cash flow [6].

March had already added [$1.0 billion of 6.25% notes due 2034](https://flashfinanceusa.com/stock/FICO/8-k-filings/0001193125-26-117936/) to retire $400 million of 5.25% paper due 2026: longer maturity, higher coupon [7]. The term loan now amortizes the cost of a monopoly Fair Isaac no longer has.

*Chart: **Debt climbed to $5.28 billion while cash sat at $218 million** Line chart of Fair Isaac's total debt and cash at quarter end from December 2023 to September 2026: debt rises from about $2.0 billion to $5.3 billion while cash stays near $200 million, with the March 2026 notes and June 2026 term loan annotated.*

*Total debt and cash and equivalents at calendar quarter end, USD billions, per Fair Isaac's SEC filings, December 2023 through September 2026. Two 2026 borrowings, $1.0 billion of notes and a $1.5 billion term loan, account for most of the increase in debt. [11]*

## The margin print leaves out two charges

The quarter looked strong: revenue up 27% to $657 million, Scores up 33% on a higher price per mortgage score [6]. But the 61% non-GAAP operating margin excludes a $65 million antitrust settlement accrual and a $27 million charge for cutting about 15% of the workforce; on GAAP terms the operating margin was 40.6% [6][8][4].

*Chart: **The September quarter's 40.6% margin gave back the year's gains** Column chart of Fair Isaac's GAAP operating margin by quarter from December 2023 to September 2026; it reached 58.2% in the March 2026 quarter and fell to 40.6% in the September 2026 quarter.*

*GAAP operating margin by fiscal quarter, percent of revenue, per Fair Isaac's SEC filings, December 2023 through September 2026. The $65 million antitrust settlement accrual and the $27 million restructuring charge are both inside the September 2026 figure. [12]*

Chief Financial Officer Steven Weber put net leverage at 3.29 times EBITDA and called the buyback pause temporary [8]. The offsets are real: platform recurring revenue rose 72% to $453 million, direct licenses cover about 73% of mortgage reseller volume, and the FHA accepts Score 10T starting January 2027 [8].

## December reprices both sides of the ledger

All 101 economists in [a November 10 poll](https://www.reuters.com/business/poll-fed-raise-rates-once-more-december-inflation-risks-stay-high-2026-11-10/) expect a quarter-point Fed hike in December [9]. The loan floats: after the September 30 payment it stands at $1.425 billion, and a quarter point is about $3.6 million of interest a year [6]. The same move squeezes the originations FICO scores, a risk the company itself cited in [withholding fiscal 2027 guidance](https://theinference.org/article/fair-isaac-fico-pulled-2027-guidance-as-six-banks-cut-price-targets-from-650-to-925) [6].

Management will not say whether average 2027 pricing lands above or below 2026 [8]. RBC Capital Markets' [November 11 downgrade to Sector Perform, target $770](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/fair-isaac-stock-posts-strong-quarter-but-withholds-fy27-outlook/70494695), says less than the calendar [10]: whether the last $500 million is spent before the bespoke 2027 contracts take effect, with the amortization stepping up to $112.5 million a quarter after June 30 [1].

## Takeaway

Fair Isaac added $2.5 billion of debt in 2026, most of it to retire stock near $1,422 a share, just as the mortgage score price war cut the pricing that debt was sized on. The stock closed at $728.85.

## Sources

1. [Fair Isaac Corporation Form 8-K (term loan and accelerated share repurchase), SEC EDGAR, June 8, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/814547/000119312526260817/d140061d8k.htm)
2. [Kalkine Media, Can Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO) Build On Its Latest Update?, November 8, 2026](https://kalkinemedia.com/us/stocks/technical-analysis/can-fair-isaac-nysefico-build-on-its-latest-update)
3. [Forbes, FICO Stock Crashed 27%: A Mortgage Price War Could Send It Lower, September 30, 2026](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2026/09/30/fico-stock-crashed-27-a-mortgage-price-war-could-send-it-lower/)
4. [24/7 Wall St, FICO Is Cutting 15% of Its Workforce After Losing More Than Half Its Value, October 7, 2026](https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/10/07/fico-is-cutting-15-of-its-workforce-after-losing-more-than-half-its-value/)
5. [Yahoo Finance, FICO Sinks 16% as It Holds Mortgage Score Price at $10 With Flat Year-Over-Year Pricing, October 26, 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/fico-sinks-16-holds-mortgage-171747908.html)
6. [Fair Isaac Corporation Q4 FY2026 earnings release, Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, SEC EDGAR, November 4, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/814547/000081454726000037/exhibit991erq42026.htm)
7. [Flash Finance US, Fair Isaac closes $1.0 billion 6.250% senior notes offering due 2034 (FICO 8-K), March 20, 2026](https://flashfinanceusa.com/stock/FICO/8-k-filings/0001193125-26-117936/)
8. [Zacks via TradingView, FICO Q4'26 Earnings Call Highlights Pricing Uncertainty for FY27, November 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/zacks:70cd72dd7094b:0-fico-q4-26-earnings-call-highlights-pricing-uncertainty-for-fy27/)
9. [Reuters, Fed to raise rates once more in December as inflation risks stay high: Reuters poll, November 10, 2026](https://www.reuters.com/business/poll-fed-raise-rates-once-more-december-inflation-risks-stay-high-2026-11-10/)
10. [ad-hoc-news.de, Fair Isaac stock posts strong quarter but withholds FY27 outlook, November 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/fair-isaac-stock-posts-strong-quarter-but-withholds-fy27-outlook/70494695)
11. [Fair Isaac (FICO), quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved November 12, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000814547)
12. [Fair Isaac (FICO), quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 12 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000814547)


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FICO borrowed $1.5 billion for a buyback at about $1,422 a share; the stock closed at $728.85 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/fico-borrowed-1-5-billion-for-a-buyback-at-about-1-422-a-share-the-stock-closed-at-728-85