Two market leaders with room to grow

Article Excerpt

FAIR ISAAC CORP. $52.77 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415-472-2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 34.9 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) makes FICO Scores, the computer program that dominates the market for software that businesses use to evaluate customer creditworthiness. The company is also profiting by selling software that helps credit card issuers control fraud and analyze cardholders’ spending patterns. In its fiscal 2014 first quarter, which ended December 31, 2013, Fair Isaac’s earnings per share before one-time items fell 17.0% from a year ago, to $0.73 from $0.88. Revenue fell 3.0%, to $184.3 million from $190.0 million. The declines mostly resulted from a strong yearearlier quarter that included a big order from a major customer. Fair Isaac continues to spend around 9% of its revenue on research. That lets it keep producing innovative products that help it stay ahead of its competitors. The company’s balance sheet is sound: it holds cash of $96.0 million, or $2.75…