Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is FICO undervalued?

FICO closed at 769.93 on 16 Oct 2026 against a GLS average fair value of 844.92 - 8.9% below fair value, which our screens read as "fairly priced". 4 of 7 models are above the current price. There is no discount to lean on here, so the margin of safety is not the reason to look at the stock.

There is a wide gap between Lynch (292.45) and Payback Time (1,472.04). When the models are this far apart the "fair value" is really a range, and the margin of safety above should be read with that range in mind.

The nightly engine files FICO under High Growth: revenue and earnings growing fast enough that the growth-based models carry the valuation.

Nine valuation models for FICO

Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.

Quality and financial health

Fair Isaac Corporation scores 8 of 9 on the Piotroski F-score, the nine yes/no tests of profitability, leverage and efficiency on the latest annual accounts - a strong reading that passes the Sunday Scan's "6 or more" rule with room to spare. A GLS Moat score of 7.8/10 puts FICO among the more durable businesses we track: over ten years the metrics the score watches (revenue, EPS, book value, margins, cash flow, ROIC) have mostly moved the right way, year after year.

Returns on capital are high - ROIC 49.1%, ROE -37.3%, ROA 34.9% - with debt at -1.76 times equity and a free-cash-flow yield of 6.0%.

Fair Isaac Corporation pays no dividend, so the DDM model does not apply and a covered-call holder earns only the premium and any price gain. Revenue comes mainly from Scores 68%, Applications 32% (quarter Q3 FY2026).

Institutional ownership scores 10/10, insider activity 5/10 and Congressional trading 1/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 81: Prime

With a Wheel Score of 81, Fair Isaac Corporation sits in the Prime band - price, quality and premium all line up for the wheel strategy. The parts: Value 16/25, Health 18/20, Moat 12/15, Premium 18/20, Stability 17/20. A high score is a ranking, not a signal: it says nothing about timing, the earnings date or your position size.

Implied volatility is 67% on the near-the-money contracts 20-60 days out - above the 60% ceiling of the sweet spot. Premiums are large, but the Wheel Score tapers the Premium points (18 of 20) because volatility this high usually comes with a reason. Chain open interest is 29,862 contracts across all expiries - enough for the wheel at normal size.

Volume runs at 773k shares a day on a market cap of $16.6B, with a beta of 1.34 - a high beta, so the stock tends to move more than the market and a strike can be gapped through; the Stability part of the Wheel Score gives that 17 of 20.

The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls; it is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. The walkthrough lesson shows how the score fits into a trade, start to finish.

Upcoming events

The next earnings report is due on 4 Nov 2026 (after the close), 19 days away; a 30-45-day put sold today would expire after it, which is worth weighing against the premium.

Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.

Similar stocks in Software - Application

The 12 companies below are the closest to Fair Isaac Corporation by market cap within the Software - Application industry, each with its own fact sheet; the Compare page puts up to eight of them side by side.

⚖ Compare FICO with 7 of them   All Technology stocks →