Finance · Profile from Finance Research Companion
S&P Global Inc.
The largest US credit rating agency inside a broader financial-data company. S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), headquartered at 55 Water Street in New York, owns S&P Global Ratings, the biggest of the "Big Three" agencies; S&P Dow Jones Indices, which calculates the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and licenses them to trillions of dollars of index funds and futures (73% owned, with CME Group holding 27%); Market Intelligence, a data and analytics business that grew with SNL, Capital IQ and IHS Markit; and Energy (formerly Commodity Insights, including Platts). It descends from Henry Varnum Poor's 1860 railroad history and from Standard Statistics (1906), which merged in 1941; McGraw-Hill owned it from 1966, and the group renamed itself S&P Global in 2016 after selling the textbook business. Like Moody's, it gave AAA ratings to mortgage securities that collapsed in 2007–08 and paid $1.375bn to the Justice Department, 19 states and the District of Columbia in February 2015. It downgraded the United States from AAA in August 2011, merged with IHS Markit in an all-stock deal valued at ~$44bn in February 2022, and spun off its Mobility division (CARFAX) as Mobility Global Inc. on July 1, 2026. In 2025 it reported revenue of ~$15.3bn and net income of ~$4.5bn.
At a glance
- Founded
- Roots in Henry Varnum Poor's History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States (1860) and Standard Statistics Bureau (1906, Luther Lee Blake); Standard & Poor's formed by merger in 1941 (company history)
- Headquarters
- 55 Water Street, New York
- Ownership / structure
- Listed on the NYSE (SPGI). Formerly The McGraw-Hill Companies (owner of S&P from 1966), renamed McGraw Hill Financial (2013) and S&P Global (2016). Widely held; largest holders are index-fund managers (reported)
- Leadership
- Martina Cheung, President and CEO since November 1, 2024 (previously president of S&P Global Ratings); Douglas Peterson was CEO 2013–2024 (company)
- Segment
- Data and ratings: credit ratings (NRSRO), indices, financial and energy data, analytics and workflow software
- Scale
- Ratings on ~1m+ securities and entities (reported, verify); S&P DJI indices benchmark ~$16tn of indexed assets with ~$4tn+ passively tracking the S&P 500 alone (S&P DJI annual survey, reported, verify latest)
- Financials (2025)
- Revenue $15.34bn (+8%): Market Intelligence $4.92bn, Ratings $4.72bn, Energy $2.30bn, Indices $1.85bn, Mobility $1.75bn (before the 2026 spin); net income ~$4.47bn; diluted EPS $14.66, adjusted $17.83; adjusted operating margin 50.4%; $6.2bn returned to shareholders (Q4 2025 release, February 10, 2026)
- Market share
- With Moody's, roughly 80% of US ratings revenue; S&P is the largest agency by ratings outstanding (SEC Office of Credit Ratings, reported, verify)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Standard & Poor's merger (1941); S&P 500 (1957); McGraw-Hill purchase (1966); the structured-finance boom and crisis (2004–08); US downgrade (2011); S&P Dow Jones Indices JV (2012); $1.375bn DOJ/states settlement (2015); portfolio reshaping and rename (2013–16); IHS Markit (2022); Mobility Global spin-off (2026)
10 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1941
Standard and Poors Merger
Merger
1957
SP 500 Launch
Launch
1966
McGraw Hill Acquisition
Acquisition (S&P as target)
2006
Structured Finance Ratings and the Crisis
Failure
2011
US Sovereign Downgrade
Rating action (a product decision with political consequences)
2012
SP Dow Jones Indices Joint Venture
Partnership / joint venture
2015
DOJ and States 1 375bn Settlement
Regulatory settlement
2016
Portfolio Reshaping and SP Global Rename
Divestiture / restructuring
2022
IHS Markit Merger
Merger
2026
Mobility Global Spin Off
Spin-off