Investing Daily: Investing in America’s Credit Addiction — Breaking Down FICO

Summary

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Earn Your Leisure Podcast

Episode: Investing Daily: Investing in America’s Credit Addiction — Breaking Down FICO
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings
Date: November 14, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the world of credit, focusing on the pivotal role of the FICO score in the American financial landscape. The hosts break down what FICO is, how it's become intrinsic to nearly every avenue of economic life, and how the company behind it has quietly grown into one of the market's best-performing and least-discussed giants. The lens here is both practical (how FICO affects everyday life) and investment-focused (analyzing FICO as a stock and a business model).

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is FICO?

• Adult Transcript Analogy
  Rashad explains FICO as the adult version of a transcript:

  “I feel like FICO is your transcript as an adult... As a child, you have a transcript in high school... but as an adult... what does matter is your credit score.”
  (02:36)

• Real-Life Repercussions
  The FICO score is now central to securing basics—housing, jobs, cars, and even determining how much you pay:

  “…they're seeing if you're a responsible person or not. And how they're determining your responsibility is based off of your FICO score.”
  (03:44)

2. How FICO Makes Money

• Licensing the Algorithm
  FICO doesn’t sell scores directly. Instead:

  “They actually license the algorithm for the credit scores...they get to sell that over and over again.”
  (04:26)

• Cyclical Profit
  The business spikes when interest rates are low and people are refinancing:

  “When interest rates are low, when people are refinancing, you should watch FICO’s chart. That’s one of those tidbits that most people don’t think about but everybody has to use..."
  (04:29)

3. FICO as a Stock and Investment

• A Quiet Monopoly
  The co-host calls out FICO’s unique position:

  “One of the best performing stocks in the last 10 years and on top of that, they have a quiet monopoly that most people don’t think of. I’ve always been told to think of your FICO score as your financial trust score...”
  (05:37)

• Insane Compounding Growth
  FICO went public in 1987 at $1.40. As of the episode, it trades at $1,700+:

  “It IPO’d in 1987...at $1.40...It’s currently trading at $1700.30...That stock is up 85,000%.”
  (09:38, 11:03)

• Post-Recession Explosion
  A massive ramp-up began post-2010, outlining bigger trends in American financialization:

  “It really started to go crazy around 2014...if you look at how the world was shaped in 1988, your credit score was a completely different metric...now, you can’t even really live without a credit score.”
  (09:38–10:26)

• Long-Term Play

  “Power of long-term holder.”
  (11:11)

• Unmatched Intellectual Property

  “And the importance of intellectual property that others cannot easily recreate.”
  (11:17)

• Defensive Investment

  “Until America changes the credit system...this is a company that’s not going anywhere.”
  (11:49)

4. Cultural Shift to a Credit Economy

• From Cash Rules to Credit Rules Rashad quips on cultural evolution:

  “Once again, Wu Tang when they said in [19]96, cash rules everything around me...Credit rules everything around me. And you’ve seen it happen in real time...”
  (11:55–12:05)

• Music & Money
  Parallels are drawn between music, hustle, and financial literacy—referencing the Clipse’s track “Fico”:

  “The best teacher has always been music, especially for us. Like, we grew up just listening to music and trying to learn things.”
  (14:07)

5. The Clipse Analogy & Relevance

• Keeping Up with the Times
  Success, whether in business or music, demands adaptation and sharpness:

  “Hustling is not just a matter of hustling on a street corner…you gotta actually have a sharp mind. So even for them to like, you know, that ‘Fico’, you talk about the stock Fico, like, you got to understand what’s going on right now...”
  (13:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On FICO’s crucial role:
  “You can’t even really live without a credit score right now. It says a lot about the times that we're in.”
  – Rashad, (10:26–11:03)

• On FICO’s compounding investment:
  “To put it in perspective, the stock is up 85,000%.”
  – Rashad, (11:03)

• On Monopoly Power:
  “One of the best performing stocks…and on top of that, they have a quiet monopoly that most people don’t think of.”
  – Co-host, (05:37)

• On cultural and financial adaptation:
  “The world is moving so quickly that if you pay attention to trends, you could make money.”
  – Host, (13:27)

• On the influence of music for financial literacy:
  “The best teacher has always been music, especially for us.”
  – Co-host, (14:07)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Building Block Corner—“What is FICO?” (02:36–04:07)
• How FICO Makes Money & Market Dynamics (04:07–05:37)
• FICO as a Monopoly & Investment (05:37–06:08)
• FICO Stock Performance & Historical Context (09:38–11:14)
• Why FICO Isn’t Going Anywhere (11:39–11:55)
• From Cash-Driven to Credit-Driven Society (11:55–12:05)
• Music, Hustling, & Financial Literacy (13:27–14:07)

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Tone & Style

The episode combines streetwise analogy, real talk, and actionable finance knowledge. The hosts deliver information in a relatable, energetic manner, linking pop culture (like Wu-Tang and Clipse) with financial education:

“Credit rules everything around me…and you’ve seen it happen in real time right now how the monetary system has changed to become a pretty much cashless society at this point in time. And everything is run on credit.”
(11:55–12:05)

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Takeaways

• FICO is not just a "score"—it’s at the center of American economic life, affecting opportunities, costs, and even investment returns.
• As a stock and business, FICO illustrates the power of intellectual property, recurring revenue, and being indispensable in financial infrastructure.
• Understanding and leveraging credit—including the workings of FICO—are essential survival and wealth-building skills today.

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Transcript

[Host]

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[Host]

So let's start with Building Block Corner. Maybe we can start that like a new segment of like, you know, things that you just need to know whether you're just starting out on your financial journey, rebuilding or just trying to figure out. And it's something that my Son had asked me a while ago, as far as, like, credit, like, what is fico? And I thought that, you know, what I described it a while back was that I feel like FICO is your transcript as an adult. So, like, you know, as a child, you have a transcript in high school, right? And that transcript is vitally important because what that transcript says pretty much determines where you're gonna go to college, right? So they're making decisions based off of your grades, your nine times out of ten extracurricular activities, stuff like that. But they're making decisions based off of your grades and your report card for four years to determine what type of student you're going to be. Sometimes they're wrong, sometimes they're right, but that's what they're going to do, right? As an adult, your report card doesn't really matter. But what does matter is your credit score.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Yeah.

[Host]

So your credit score, they're making a bank is going to make a decision whether you're worthy enough to get a loan to buy a home, whether you can live in this apartment sometimes, whether you can get a job, whether you can get. You can't get a car, whether you're going to pay an extra 200amonth for the car. Because they're seeing if you're a responsible person or not. And how they're determining your responsibility is based off of your FICO score.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Yeah. The interesting thing about FICO is, like, most people hear about it, they don't even know it's a publicly traded company.

And one of the best in the market. One of my favorites.

If you look at his charts over the past five years, you've seen how crazy it's going. But most people realize when it's too late, right? They'll figure out, I got to figure out my credit score.

[Host]

Who.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Who is fico? And so the idea of bureaus coming together to give you a score that are really pretty much going to determine, like you said that transcript of how trustworthy you're going to be, Right. Like, can we loan to you whether that's for a car, whether it's for a home, or whether that's for trying to get a job, like, that score is so important. And so when I'm looking at them, like, how do they actually make money? Right? So they don't actually sell credit scores. They actually license the algorithm for the credit scores. And if you're in any financial institution, people are going to track your credit score. So they get to sell that over and over again. When do they make the Most money? Well, when you see people actually trying to buy homes. And so when interest rates are low, when people are refinancing, you should watch FICO Shard. That's one of those tidbits that most people don't think about but everybody has to use, especially if you're in America, Right. If you're trying to invest, especially in real estate or like I said, trying to get a vehicle, you're going to need that score. And once they know you need it and interest rates drop and money becomes more affordable to people, they're like, all right, well, this is a time that we should be watching. This company, it actually reported last week. So these are those little tidbits that people don't talk about in finance that you should know.

One of the best performing stocks in the last 10 years and on top of that, they have a quiet monopoly that most people don't think of. I've always been told to think of your FICO scores, your financial trust score. And I think you, you guys both touched on it. But it's a lot of people who have been turned away from amazing careers because that score wasn't high. So it's really important. Kudos to Edwin, that one. Broadcast it all the time. So about it. It's 850, so.

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[Co-host / Financial Expert]

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[Host]

And, and I think the last thing that is interesting about this is like, you know, fico, as you said, is a traded stock on on the stock market, right? So what happened is that when it it IPO'd in 19, it IPO'd in 1987 1.40 1947 1.40. It's currently trading at 1700.30. Yeah, but if you really look at the chart, it really starts to go crazy. It really started to go crazy around 2014.

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2012.

[Host]

20. Let's just say 2010. 20. After 2010, it started to take off tremendously, right? If you look at the financial markets, right? Especially after the Great Recession, Dodd Frank and all this, and it says a lot about the economy that we're in right now, the importance of credit scores. If you look at how the world was shaped in 1988, your credit score was a completely different metric of meaning as far as your life importance than it is in 2025. You, you can't even really live without credit score right now.

[Ad Voice (BambooHR, Pandora, LifeLock)]

No.

[Host]

It says a lot about the times that we're in. But to put it in perspective, the stock is up 85,000%.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Power of long term holder. Yep.

Insane.

[Host]

It's up 85, 000%.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

And the importance of intellectual property that others cannot easily recreate.

Yeah. I mean you're talking about a stock that was up at $2,400. And so you look at that peak. Look at, look at that pandemic run, right? From like 2019 where it's trading under 630 to that 2400 run. That's, that's an incredible run. And now it's pulled back a little bit. Right. There's some uncertainty.

Right.

We've seen it over the past three years. We saw the market pull back in 2023. And so there's still some uncertainty. But here's one thing that's gonna. Until America changes the credit system.

Right.

This is a company that's not going anywhere. And this is one of those companies. And you're gonna need. Yeah, you're absolutely gonna need.

[Host]

I mean it's like, you know, once again, Wu Tang when they said in 96, cash rules everything around me. And then we actually made that T shirt when we first started that cream.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Yeah.

[Host]

Credit rules everything around me. And you've seen it happen in real time right now how the monetary system has changed to become a pretty much cashless society at this point in time. And everything is run on credit. So understanding the credit, credit, credit rules. It's like the clip song fico.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Host]

Shout out to them.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Shout out to them, man. Grammy nominated. I know that they talked about how important the Grammys were to them and Gwynne to one. They got nominated for five Grammys. I see them winning at least three or four of them. I definitely got it.

And honestly, one of the greatest campaigns of the last 10 years. Just like one long rollout of quality and video music and fashion. Oh my God.

[Host]

Marketing standpoint, they had the best rollout that I've seen in years nation, their whole team. Because I've never seen somebody that man, they was on. They would think that there was Michael Jackson as far as how many articles that they had written about them and then, you know, interview. They've performed the Vatican. That's 100. And just good people, man, like, you know, malice somebody that's been highly respected for a very long period of time. See him step away and then step back like he never left. Push a T. Somebody that we've run into a few times at our spot in Paris. Yeah, yeah, we interviewed him. Liabilities, you know, I mean, he's a super smart dude as far as getting money from. On the medical side.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Yes.

[Host]

With medical transportation companies. And he got a bunch of stuff from the McDonald's licensing deal. He talked about that before. So, you know, these, these guys are not just successful for no reason. Like, they're really smart. Like, I think hustling because they are. The last thing I say about this is I think the clips. Dave solidified hustling. Right. But hustling is not just a matter of, you know, just hustling on a street corner. Like, you really got to stay up to the times. You got to be in tune with what's going on and you gotta actually have a sharp mind. So even for them to like, you know, that Fico, you talking about the stock Fico, like, that's like, you know, you got to be understand what's going on right now because the world is moving so quickly that if you pay attention to trends, you could, you could make money.

[Co-host / Financial Expert]

Yeah.

And the best teacher has always been music, Especially for us. Like, we grew up just listening to music and trying to learn things. So when I looked at the track list, I said, fico, I said, all right, this is something we gotta tap into, man.

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