By Allison Prang

Moody's Corp. on Friday guided for both its revenue and operating expenses to rise in mid-single-digit percentage ranges this year, based on expectations of U.S. and Euro-area economic growth.

The company is guiding for 2021 earnings of between $9.70 a share and $10.10 a share. It expects adjusted earnings of between $10.30 a share and $10.70 a share. According to FactSet, analysts are expecting adjusted earnings to be $10.34 a share.

In 2020, earnings were $9.39 a share, Moody's said Friday. The company's adjusted earnings were $10.15 a share.

The company expects about $1.5 billion in share buybacks for 2021, it said.

Moody's expects 2021 operating cash flow to be between $2 billion and $2.2 billion and for adjusted free cash flow to be between $1.9 billion and $2.1 billion, it said.

Moody's expects U.S. economic growth of 4% to 5% this year, while the Euro area's GDP is likely to expand 3.5% to 4.5%. It also estimates the U.S. jobless rate at 5% to 6%, while U.S. high-yield interest rate spreads would be below an average of 450 basis points and the global high-yield default rate would fall below 5% by the end of 2021.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-12-21 0846ET