How Does S&P Global Make its Money?
S&P Global is one of the world’s most important financial infrastructure companies, providing credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data that underpin how global capital markets function. The company is best known for the S&P 500 index (the most widely followed stock market benchmark on earth), S&P credit ratings (which determine borrowing costs for corporations and governments), and its data platforms used by virtually every major financial institution.
Following the transformative $44B merger with IHS Markit in 2022, S&P Global operates across five divisions that each occupy dominant positions in their respective markets. The company benefits from enormous competitive moats — credit ratings are an oligopoly (S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch control ~95% of the market), the S&P 500 index is a de facto standard, and switching costs for data terminals are extremely high.
S&P Global (SPGI) Business Model
S&P Global operates in the financial data & analytics sector. Below is a summary of S&P Global’s revenue streams, how the company generates income, and the key financial metrics from its most recent annual report. This breakdown uses data from S&P Global’s 2024 fiscal year filings with the SEC.
S&P Global Competitors
S&P Global’s key competitors and comparable public companies include Visa, Mastercard, and Intuit. Each of these companies competes for market share, investor attention, and revenue in overlapping segments. See how S&P Global stacks up by comparing their revenue breakdown, margins, and growth metrics.
Revenue Breakdown
| Division | 2024 | 2023 | YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market Intelligence | $5.1B | $4.8B | +6.3% |
| S&P Global Ratings | $4.4B | $3.6B | +22.2% |
| Commodity Insights | $2.2B | $2.0B | +10.0% |
| Mobility | $1.7B | $1.6B | +6.3% |
| S&P Dow Jones Indices | $1.8B | $1.6B | +12.5% |
| Total Revenue | $14.2B | $13.0B | +9.2% |
Market Intelligence — 36% of Revenue
The largest division, providing data, analytics, and research to financial professionals:
- Desktop & Data Feeds (~$3.0B): S&P Capital IQ Pro and Capital IQ desktop products deliver financial data, company profiles, credit analytics, and screening tools to investment banks, asset managers, private equity firms, and corporations. Subscription-based with ~95% renewal rates
- Data Management Solutions (~$1.0B): Enterprise data feeds, reference data, and loan-level data for quantitative analysis and risk management
- Credit & Risk Solutions (~$1.1B): Credit analytics, probability of default models, and KYC/compliance tools for banks and insurance companies
Market Intelligence competes with Bloomberg and Refinitiv (LSEG) for terminal and data market share.
S&P Global Ratings — 31% of Revenue
The crown jewel. S&P Ratings assigns credit ratings to corporate bonds, sovereign debt, structured finance products, and municipal securities:
- Transaction revenue (~$2.6B): Fees charged when a new bond or loan is issued and needs a rating. This is highly cyclical — revenue surges when debt issuance markets are active (as in 2024) and contracts during credit crunches
- Non-transaction revenue (~$1.8B): Annual surveillance fees charged to maintain existing ratings, plus rating evaluation and assessment services. This is recurring and stable
- Oligopoly power: S&P and Moody’s together control ~80% of the global credit ratings market. Most institutional bond investors require ratings from at least two major agencies, making S&P’s service effectively mandatory for any large bond issuer. This creates extraordinary pricing power
2024 was a banner year for Ratings as bond issuance surged on rate cut expectations and refinancing activity.
Commodity Insights — 15% of Revenue
The former IHS Markit energy and commodities division, providing:
- Platts price assessments: S&P Global Platts publishes benchmark prices for oil (Dated Brent, Dubai), natural gas (JKM, Henry Hub), metals, chemicals, and agriculture. Many physical commodity contracts globally reference Platts prices — making them essential market infrastructure
- Analytics & data: Supply/demand models, scenario planning, and data for energy companies, traders, utilities, and governments
- Upstream research: E&P company data, well-level production data, and basin analysis
Mobility — 12% of Revenue
Automotive data and analytics (also from the IHS Markit merger):
- Vehicle registration & sales data: Tracking vehicle sales, registrations, and recalls for automakers, dealers, insurers, and government agencies
- Recall & compliance: Managing recall notifications for millions of vehicles
- Connected car & EV data: Growing datasets around electric vehicle adoption, charging infrastructure, and autonomous driving
S&P Dow Jones Indices — 13% of Revenue
The world’s leading index provider:
- Asset-linked fees (~$1.0B): Revenue earned as a percentage of assets tracking S&P indices — the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, S&P SmallCap 600, and many others. Over $7 trillion in assets directly track or benchmark to S&P DJI indices. As markets rise and flows into index funds grow, this revenue grows automatically
- Exchange-traded derivatives fees (~$0.5B): Revenue from S&P 500 futures and options traded on CME and CBOE
- Data subscriptions (~$0.3B): Licensing index data and custom index creation
This division has the highest margins in the company (~70%+ operating margin) because the revenue is almost entirely tied to existing index intellectual property — it costs very little to “produce” an index once it exists.
Income Statement Overview
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $14.2B | $13.0B |
| Operating Expenses | $7.2B | $6.8B |
| Operating Income | $7.0B | $6.2B |
| Net Income | $4.9B | $4.1B |
Key Financial Metrics
- Operating Margin: 49.3% — Extraordinary. Nearly half of every revenue dollar flows to operating profit, reflecting the inherent leverage of data, index, and ratings businesses where the cost of serving an additional customer is near-zero.
- Revenue Growth: +9.2% — Healthy growth driven by the ratings cycle recovery, index AUM growth, and subscription revenue expansion across all divisions.
- Net Income: $4.9B — Strong bottom-line growth as operating leverage amplifies revenue gains.
- Recurring Revenue: ~75% — Approximately three-quarters of total revenue comes from subscriptions and asset-linked fees, providing exceptional visibility and stability.
- Free Cash Flow: ~$5.5B — S&P Global converts approximately 110%+ of net income into free cash flow due to low capital requirements and favorable working capital dynamics.
Is S&P Global Profitable?
Yes, S&P Global is exceptionally profitable. The company reported net income of $4.9B on total revenue of $14.2B. The 49.3% operating margin ranks among the highest of any large-cap company, reflecting S&P Global’s dominant market positions, pricing power, and capital-light business model. The combination of oligopoly economics (Ratings), index monopoly (S&P 500), and high switching costs (data) creates a business with extraordinary and durable profitability.
Where Does S&P Global Spend its Money?
- Compensation & Benefits (~$4.5B): The largest expense. S&P Global employs approximately 40,000 people globally — analysts, data scientists, engineers, ratings analysts, sales teams, and index professionals.
- Technology & Infrastructure (~$1.2B): Cloud computing, data infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI/ML models, and platform development. S&P is investing in AI-powered analytics and Kensho (its AI subsidiary) across all divisions.
- Data Acquisition (~$0.5B): Purchasing raw data sets, market data, and proprietary information that feed the company’s analytical products.
- Capital Expenditure (~$0.3B): Extremely low — S&P Global’s business is almost entirely knowledge-based and requires minimal physical infrastructure.
- Shareholder Returns (~$5.0B): Approximately $3.5B in share repurchases and $1.5B in dividends. S&P Global has increased its dividend for 51 consecutive years, making it a Dividend Aristocrat.
What to Watch
- Debt issuance cycle — Ratings revenue is highly correlated with corporate bond and loan issuance volumes. The 2024 recovery was strong, and a lower-rate environment could sustain elevated issuance into 2025-2026. Conversely, a credit crunch would pressure this cyclical division.
- Index fund secular growth — The shift from active to passive investing continues globally. Each dollar that moves from an active fund to an S&P index fund generates asset-linked fee revenue for S&P DJI. With $7T+ tracking S&P indices and this number growing 10%+ annually, this is perhaps the most powerful secular tailwind in financial services.
- AI and data monetization — S&P Global is integrating AI across its platforms — automated credit analysis, natural language data querying, and predictive analytics. The ability to charge premium pricing for AI-enhanced products could accelerate revenue growth.
- IHS Markit synergies — S&P Global targeted $600M+ in cost synergies from the 2022 merger, most of which have been realized. Revenue synergies from cross-selling Commodity Insights and Mobility products to the Market Intelligence client base are the next lever.
- Regulatory risk — The credit ratings industry faces periodic regulatory scrutiny (post-2008 crisis reforms, EU regulations). Any tightening of ratings fee structures or increased competition from new entrants could pressure the Ratings oligopoly, though barriers to entry remain extremely high.
S&P Global (SPGI) Financial Summary
S&P Global (SPGI) is a financial data & analytics company that generated $14.2B in total revenue in fiscal year 2024. Revenue grew +9.2% year-over-year. The company earned $4.9B in net income with a 49.3% operating margin, making it one of the most profitable companies by margin in the S&P 500. For a deeper look at S&P Global’s revenue breakdown, business segments, and financial performance, review the detailed analysis above.