FICO · Q3 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Fair Isaac

Reported July 29, 2026

30-second summary

Q3 revenue of $674M grew 25.7% YoY and non-GAAP EPS of $12.18 beat consensus of $11.78 by 3.4%, with Platform ARR accelerating to +62% and Scores +41.6% continuing to do the heavy lifting. Management raised the FY26 guide again — revenue $2.45B → $2.53B (+3.3%), non-GAAP EPS $40.45 → $42.43 (+4.9%) — the second consecutive raise this fiscal year (Q1 reaffirm → Q2 +4.3% revenue raise → Q3 +3.3% raise), and the magnitude is shrinking. The platform re-rating (Platform ARR +62%, NRR 148%) and continued Scores strength keep the print solidly bullish.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q3 FY2026

$12.18

3.4% vs est.

Revenue

Q3 FY2026

$0.67B

+25.7% YoY

-0.4% vs est.

Gross margin

Q3 FY2026

87.1%

Free cash flow

Q3 FY2026

$0.37B

Operating margin

Q3 FY2026

53.8%

Key financials

Q3 FY2026

Metric	Q3 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	YoY	Q2 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$0.67B	$0.54B	+25.8%	$0.69B	-2.5%
EPS	$12.18	$8.57	+42.1%	$12.50	-2.6%
Gross margin	87.1%	83.7%	+340bps	86.8%	+30bps
Operating margin	53.8%	49.0%	+480bps	58.2%	-440bps
Free cash flow	$0.37B	$0.28B	+34.2%	$0.21B	+72.8%

Guidance

Company raised full-year FY2026 guidance across revenue (+$80M to $2.53B), GAAP EPS (+$1.26 to $36.86), and Non-GAAP EPS (+$1.98 to $42.43), reflecting strong Q3 results with 25.7% YoY revenue growth and robust Platform ARR growth of 62% YoY.

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Revenue	FY2026	$2.45 billion	$2.53 billion	+$0.08 billion (+3.3%)	Raised
GAAP EPS	FY2026	$35.60	$36.86	+$1.26 (+3.5%)	Raised
Non-GAAP EPS	FY2026	$40.45	$42.43	+$1.98 (+4.9%)	Raised
GAAP Net Income	FY2026	$825 million	$850 million	+$25 million (+3.0%)	Raised
Non-GAAP Net Income	FY2026	$946 million	$979 million	+$33 million (+3.5%)	Raised

Segment performance

Q3 FY2026

Segment	Q3 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	YoY
Scores	$0.459B	$0.324B	+41.6%
Software	$0.215B	$0.212B	+1.6%
B2B Scores Revenue Growth	Up 49% YoY	42%	—
B2C Scores Revenue Growth	Up 5% YoY	6%	—

Platform metrics

Q3 FY2026

Segment	Q3 FY2026	Q3 FY2025	YoY
Software ARR	Up 10% YoY	Up 4% YoY	—
Platform ARR	Up 62% YoY	—	—
Non-Platform ARR	Down 17% YoY	—	—
Software Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate	109%	103%	—
Platform Software Net Retention Rate	148%	—	—
Non-Platform Software Net Retention Rate	82%	—	—

Management tone

Narrative arc: Q4 FY25 Direct License Program offense → Q1 FY26 platform ARR re-acceleration → Q2 FY26 categorical VantageScore dismissal → Q3 FY26 platform business at scale.

No transcript was available for this quarter; tone analysis below is inferred from press-release disclosures and cross-quarter guidance behavior, and is necessarily thinner than usual.

Three quarters ago Platform ARR was decelerating (Q4 FY25: +16%) and management's "20%+ aspiration" read as wishful. This quarter Platform ARR is +62% with NRR at 148%. The Q1 framing ("acceleration starting Q1") has now compounded through four quarters into a structural re-rating — the platform business is no longer being positioned as a growth aspiration but as the dominant expansion vector, with existing customers spending nearly 1.5x more year-over-year on average.

The FY26 guide raise cadence tells its own story. Q1 reaffirmed with "well positioned to exceed" language; Q2 delivered a +4.3% revenue raise; Q3 delivered +3.3%. Management is compounding raises but the magnitude is shrinking, consistent with either genuine H2 deceleration or the historical pattern of front-loading conservatism releases. Without transcript commentary this quarter, the read on which is operative is degraded — the Q4 print will settle it.

The Non-Platform deterioration (-8% ARR → -17% ARR; NRR 90% → 82% in one quarter) is a step-change that would ordinarily draw prepared-remarks commentary. In the absence of transcript, this is the disclosure most in need of management framing next quarter: is the acceleration in legacy runoff a customer-migration artifact (i.e. accounts moving to platform contracts), or genuine attrition?

Answers to last quarter's watch list

H2 FY2026 pacing vs. the $2.45B FY guide. Q3 revenue of $674M was slightly below Q2's $692M, tracking H2 at ~$1.34B against the prior $1.25B implied H2 — running ~$90M ahead of the prior implied trajectory, which is what enabled the +$80M FY raise to $2.53B. The conservatism reset from Q2 is partially real but not fully — another raise came, just smaller than Q2's.

Resolved positively

Direct License reseller go-live disclosure. The press release did not disclose reseller go-live dates. No concrete date has now been withheld for three consecutive quarters. With no transcript this quarter, the FHFA gating question remains open.

Not resolved

Mortgage scores revenue if rates reverse. The press release did not decompose Scores growth into volume vs. price, and did not disclose current-quarter mortgage origination revenue as a percentage of Scores. B2B Scores at +49% (down from +72% in Q2) is consistent with mortgage cycle normalization but the specific volume/price split is undisclosed.

Continue monitoring

Platform ARR sustaining above 40% with NRR at 136%. Platform ARR accelerated to +62% (from +49%) and NRR expanded to 148% (from 136%). Both metrics decisively cleared the threshold. This is the cleanest positive resolution in the print.

Resolved positively

FY2027 revenue/EPS framing on the Q3 or Q4 FY2026 print. No FY2027 commentary in the press release. With no transcript, the initial FY27 framing question rolls to Q4.

Not resolved

What to watch into next quarter

Q4 FY2026 revenue vs. implied $720M in the FY guide. The $2.53B FY guide implies Q4 revenue of ~$720M, roughly flat sequentially from Q3. If Q4 prints meaningfully above ~$720M, the raise conservatism pattern extends; if Q4 tracks the implied number, H2 deceleration is genuine and the +62% Platform ARR / +41.6% Scores print is closer to peak than baseline.

Non-Platform ARR at -17% and NRR at 82% — stabilization or continued deterioration. The one-quarter step-change from -8% to -17% ARR needs framing. If Non-Platform ARR deteriorates further in Q4 without a customer-migration explanation, blended software ARR growth (currently +10%) will start contracting again.

Initial FY2027 revenue/EPS framing. FICO historically issues FY guidance at the Q4 print. Whether Direct License contribution gets quantified separately, and whether the FY27 revenue growth rate can hold above +20% on the newly-raised $2.53B base, will set the bar for a third consecutive year of accelerating growth.

Direct License reseller go-live dates or first 10-T-specific revenue disclosure. Three consecutive quarters without concrete dates now looks like inability rather than discretion. A Q4 go-live disclosure would materially change the FY26 → FY27 bridge.

B2B Scores growth normalization. B2B Scores has now moved +36% (Q1) → +72% (Q2) → +49% (Q3). The Q4 print will reveal whether B2B Scores stabilizes in the 40-50% range or reverts closer to Q1's 36% — the latter would suggest the Q2 spike was a one-quarter mortgage cycle peak.

Sources

FICO Q3 FY2026 press release, filed 2026-07-29 (SEC EDGAR exhibit 99.1)
FICO Q2 FY2026, Q1 FY2026, and Q4 FY2025 briefs and watch lists (Tapebrief internal)

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