Shares of Fair Isaac Corporation plunged to $1,014.86, down 4.6% in early Tuesday trading and extending a brutal week that has erased nearly 16% of shareholder value since March 17. The selloff accelerated after Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) disclosed a formal investigation into FICO's pricing practices for mortgage market services. For a company whose entire business model depends on charging a toll every time a lender checks a borrower's credit, the threat is existential.
• FICO Doubled Its Price and Drew a Senate Bullseye
For 2026 alone, FICO doubled its per-score price from $4.95 to $10.00, a move Hawley says could raise mortgage credit score costs across the industry by approximately $500 million.
Hawley cited an 88% operating margin and a 100% compound annual growth rate in per-score pricing over five years as evidence this is not a competitive market.
He also urged the FTC to open its own investigation. With both Congress and a federal agency now circling, the risk of forced price caps or regulatory intervention is no longer theoretical.
• A $1 Rival Is Already at the Door
Credit bureaus have begun offering VantageScore 4.0 at reportedly as low as $1.00 per mortgage pull to undercut FICO's $10.00 price.
The FHFA officially transitioned to a "Lender Choice" model in late 2025, allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to accept VantageScore as an alternative to the FICO score that had been mandatory for decades. FICO's scoring business — high-margin and low-effort — now faces a 10-to-1 price disadvantage against a government-endorsed competitor.
• The Stock Has Lost a Third of Its Value This Year
Shares are down 37% year-to-date in 2026.
UBS slashed its price target from $1,500 to $1,350 earlier this month , and the Hawley probe adds a new layer of political risk that analysts had not fully priced in. The company's market cap has shrunk to roughly $25 billion — a far cry from its November 2024 peak near $2,400 a share.
• FICO's Defense Rings Hollow Against the Numbers
FICO has argued its score represents a tiny fraction of closing costs. Hawley's response: "The relevant question is not whether the charge is small relative to other fees" but "whether the charge is justified by competitive market forces or is instead an exercise of monopoly pricing power."
The challenge for FICO will be whether it can grow its software revenue fast enough to offset potential decline in its scoring business.
The bottom line: FICO built a fortune on being unavoidable. Now Washington and a cheaper rival are giving lenders a way out.