S&P Global Ratings

What S&P Global Ratings does

S&P Global Ratings is a division of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) and operates as a globally recognized credit ratings agency. Founded in 1860 (with the Standard & Poor's brand established in 1941) and headquartered in New York, the organization provides independent credit ratings, research, and analytical assessments of creditworthiness across eight primary segments: sovereign governments, corporates, financial institutions, structured finance, insurance, project finance, U.S. public finance, and infrastructure. Its geographic footprint spans 21+ countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, supported by national-rating subsidiaries (e.g., S&P National Ratings in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Panama; Taiwan Ratings; India via CRISIL) and localized sites in multiple languages.

The product portfolio is anchored on core credit ratings, augmented by the Rating Evaluation Service (forward-looking, confidential credit impact assessments for proposed transactions), Second Party Opinions for green, social, and sustainability financing (strengthened by the 2022 acquisition of CICERO's Shades of Green), and the Ratings360 digital platform that delivers a personalized dashboard of ratings, risk research, and insights to rated issuers. Underlying technology comprises a credit-analytics platform with risk-assessment tools covering over 400 million corporate entities globally, layered onto decades of historical rating and default data.

The business model combines subscription/recurring revenue (issuer-driven credit rating services and institutional research subscriptions distributed through Ratings360 and S&P Capital IQ Pro) with professional-services revenue (Rating Evaluation Service). Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with rated entities engaged as primary customers and institutional investors served through subscription platforms. The franchise benefits from NRSRO regulatory status that mandates credit ratings for capital markets access in many jurisdictions, producing a structurally recurring revenue base across a broad and diverse issuer and investor customer base.

Name

S&P Global Ratings

Legal name

S&P Global Inc.

Website

https://spratings.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI), is a globally recognized credit ratings agency that provides independent credit ratings, research, and sustainable finance opinions to sovereigns, corporates, financial institutions, structured finance issuers, insurers, and infrastructure projects across more than 21 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Credit Rating Services

NAICS

Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)

akta.pro primary industry

Structured Finance Ratings & Surveillance (FSACACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

ESG Data, Ratings & Climate Benchmarks (FSAFAIAI), Sustainable Finance & ESG Ratings/Benchmarking Support (EUAHAJAH), Credit Research (FSACAGAB)

Keywords

• Credit ratings
• Credit risk assessment
• Sovereign ratings
• Structured finance
• Sustainable finance

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Credit Ratings Services: S&P Global Ratings provides credit rating services to rated entities including sovereigns, corporations, financial institutions, and structured finance issuers. The ratings are essential for capital markets access and investor decision-making.
2. Research Subscriptions: The company provides research subscriptions including credit market research, economic research, sector-specific analysis, and outlook reports available through S&P Capital IQ Pro and Ratings360 platforms.
3. Rating Evaluation Service: A confidential assessment service providing forward-looking credit impact evaluations for proposed strategic initiatives before implementation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

S&P Global Ratings is a credit rating agency that provides independent analytical assessments of creditworthiness across sovereigns, corporates, financial institutions, and structured finance issuers. It sells credit ratings, Second Party Opinions for sustainable financing, the Rating Evaluation Service for forward-looking credit impact assessments, and research subscriptions delivered through digital platforms.

Product overview

S&P Global Ratings operates as a platform offering integrated credit ratings, risk research, and analytical insights. The core products include Credit Ratings (providing independent opinions on creditworthiness), Rating Evaluation Service (forward-looking credit impact assessments), Second Party Opinions (sustainable finance transparency services), and Ratings360 (a consolidated dashboard for rated entities to access ratings, research, and critical insights). The company also provides specialized sector coverage including Corporates, Structured Finance, Insurance, Governments, Financial Institutions, and Infrastructure through various research channels and sector-specific solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Credit Ratings

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Agusto & Co.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 July 2026S&P Global Ratings acquired a majority stake in Nigeria-based Agusto & Co. to expand its coverage in Africa, a region seen as underserved by global ratings companies. The investment was described as a strategic step that will complement and support S&P Global's growth strategy in Africa.
• CICERO (Center for International Climate Research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022S&P Global acquired the Shades of Green business from CICERO, a Norwegian climate research institute, to enhance its offerings of second-party opinions related to green and sustainability financing. Shades of Green has been a leading provider of independent SPOs since 2018 and integrates climate expertise into S&P Global Ratings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg: Bloomberg is a broad incumbent in financial data, analytics, and credit-research distribution, with overlapping institutional subscriber base and credit-market intelligence offerings. Competes at the research-platform layer rather than the rating-opinion layer.
• MSCI: MSCI is a broad incumbent in indexes, ESG ratings, and risk analytics. Direct overlap in ESG/climate ratings and indices, increasingly competing for sustainable-finance wallet share that S&P targets through SPOs and Shades of Green.
• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): ICE is a broad incumbent operating fixed-income data, pricing, and analytics infrastructure (including through ICE Data Services and fixed-income indices). Touches the credit-data ecosystem adjacent to S&P's ratings and research distribution.

Direct peers

• Egan-Jones Ratings: Egan-Jones is an independent NRSRO credit rating agency focused on corporate, sovereign, and financial-institution ratings. Smaller-scale direct competitor that has gained traction as a sponsor-pays alternative to the issuer-pays model.
• DBRS Morningstar: DBRS Morningstar is a global credit rating agency acquired by Morningstar, offering ratings across corporates, financial institutions, sovereigns, and structured finance. Direct competitor, particularly strong in Canadian and European structured finance.
• Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA): KBRA is a U.S. credit rating agency providing corporate, financial-institution, insurance, and structured finance ratings, with growing market share in CMBS, RMBS, and CLOs. A credible challenger to the Big Three in structured finance.
• Fitch Ratings: Fitch is the third major global credit rating agency, competing directly with S&P Global Ratings in sovereign, corporate, financial-institution, and structured finance ratings. Sister agency to Moody's under joint ownership history; now independently operated.
• AM Best: AM Best is the dominant credit rating agency specializing in the insurance industry, providing financial-strength ratings to insurers and reinsurers. Comparable as a domain-specialized ratings business within S&P's insurance ratings vertical.
• Moody's: Moody's is the other dominant global credit rating agency alongside S&P Global Ratings, providing corporate, sovereign, financial-institution, and structured finance ratings. Direct head-to-head competitor across virtually all ratings categories.

Regional players

• CRISIL: CRISIL is an India-based credit rating agency majority-owned by S&P Global itself, providing ratings, research, and analytics across Indian corporates, banks, and structured finance. Comparable regional ratings business model within S&P's own global footprint strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/spglobalratings
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SPTVbroadcast
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spglobalratings

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about S&P Global Ratings