FICO calls UWM a win; UWM's software picks VantageScore a quarter of the time
Fair Isaac billed United Wholesale Mortgage's pledge to keep pulling its scores as a moat hold. The same week, UWM's platform began auto-picking the higher of FICO and VantageScore 4.0, and the bureaus that co-own the rival score locked $1-class pricing through 2028.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
FICO announced a loyalty; UWM automated the choice
Fair Isaac spent October 6 celebrating United Wholesale Mortgage, announcing UWM's "reaffirmation commitment" to obtain FICO scores on all credit pulls across its broker lending operations 1. UWM had already moved the other piece: its platform now automatically selects the higher qualifying score between Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0 on every product, a choice brokers used to make 2. "No one should have to worry about which credit model wins," UWM chief executive Mat Ishbia said. "We handle that automatically." 2
In the same rollout, UWM dropped its minimum-score overlays on agency loans, so eligibility now runs through agency underwriting systems instead of UWM's own credit floor 2. UWM is the biggest US originator by dollar volume, about $164.3 billion in 2025 3.
On every pull, but not on every loan
FICO keeps a fee on each pull. What it ceded is the pick. UWM's own data put about 25% of its borrowers getting a more advantageous result under VantageScore 4.0, a share it said could reach 40% by the end of September 4. Whether that share arrived has not been reported.
The regulator set that table on September 29, when FHFA director Bill Pulte moved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac onto a single pricing grid for both scores and removed the 20-point downward adjustment VantageScore results had carried 4.
The distributors own the rival score
VantageScore is owned jointly by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three bureaus that also distribute FICO scores, and it sells at a fraction of FICO's price 5. Equifax said nearly 2,000 lenders took its free VantageScore 4.0 alongside paid legacy scores from April to September, and that mortgage pulls of the score rose 230% from April to August 6. More than 165 lenders now run it exclusively at $1 on certain loans, a price Equifax has locked through the end of 2028 6.
TransUnion holds $0.99 through 2028 and includes VantageScore free with any purchased FICO score 7. PennyMac finished deploying the score across its production channels on October 5 8. Rocket made it the preferred model after testing 1.4 million credit reports; borrowers who saved averaged $1,600 at closing 4.
FICO's revenue accelerated straight into the scoring rule change
Data
| Quarterly revenue | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '24 | $453.81M |
| Q4 '24 | $439.97M |
| Q1 '25 | $498.74M |
| Q2 '25 | $536.42M |
| Q3 '25 | $515.75M |
| Q4 '25 | $511.96M |
| Q1 '26 | $691.68M |
| Q2 '26 | $674.19M |
The fourth quarter prices the damage
FICO's engine is still running: revenue of $674.2 million last quarter, up 25.7% from a year earlier, at a 53.8% operating margin 9. Its counters, FICO 10T delivered free alongside Classic 1 and a 15% workforce cut carrying about $27 million of charges into the fiscal fourth quarter 10, defend volume, not price.
Operating margin climbed into 2026 and held above 53%
Data
| Operating margin | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '24 | 43.4% |
| Q4 '24 | 40.8% |
| Q1 '25 | 49.3% |
| Q2 '25 | 48.9% |
| Q3 '25 | 46% |
| Q4 '25 | 45.7% |
| Q1 '26 | 58.2% |
| Q2 '26 | 53.8% |
Shares closed October 9 at $667.58, down 60.5% since January 1. FICO is now paid to be present at a decision it no longer controls.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
