Standard & Poor's
S&P Global operates a multi-divisional financial data, analytics, and credit ratings platform serving financial institutions, governments, corporates, index providers, and energy market participants across 190+ countries via subscriptions and index licensing.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1908
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Standard & Poor's does
S&P Global (Standard & Poor's) operates a multi-divisional financial data, analytics, and credit ratings platform serving financial institutions, governments, corporates, index providers, and energy/commodities market participants across more than 190 countries. The company is organized around five core divisions — Market Intelligence, Ratings, Energy & Commodity Insights (including Platts), S&P Dow Jones Indices, Mobility, and Sustainable1 — and is built on proprietary data assets covering approximately 60 million private companies, 109,000+ public companies, and 7,300+ ESG-assessed companies. The 2022 merger with IHS Markit materially expanded the platform into mobility, energy/commodity benchmarks, and supply chain data, consolidating S&P Global into an integrated workflow vendor across credit, capital markets, and commodity intelligence.
The underlying technology combines these proprietary datasets with analytics workflows (e.g., Capital IQ Pro) and benchmark indices such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, which are embedded into trillions of dollars of passively tracked investment products. The business model is predominantly subscription-based: enterprise term licenses, recurring analytics contracts, and licensing royalties tied to proprietary indices. Pricing is quote-based with no published list rates, and distribution relies on a global enterprise field sales organization targeting large institutional and corporate buyers. Customer segments are diversified across financial services, public sector, corporates, and energy/commodities.
Intellectual property extends well beyond raw data to include GICS sector classification, proprietary ratings methodologies, and brand-anchored indices that have become regulatory-recognized benchmarks (e.g., for Basel III capital treatment). Recent product investment has emphasized AI-augmented analytics inside Capital IQ Pro, the launch of the S&P Global Institute (2024), and the partnership-anchored AutoCreditInsight product (2026, with TransUnion), signaling a continued shift from static data delivery to decision-support and workflow-embedded analytics.
Standard & Poor's firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Standard & Poor's
- Legal name
- S&P Global Inc.
- Website
- https://spglobal.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1908
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- S&P Global operates a multi-divisional financial data, analytics, and credit ratings platform serving financial institutions, governments, corporates, index providers, and energy market participants across 190+ countries via subscriptions and index licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Standard & Poor's industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Financial Data and Analytics
- akta.pro primary industry
- Commodity Market Data, Pricing & Benchmark Administrators (Commodity Indices/Assessments) (FSAFAMAJ)
Keywords
Where Standard & Poor's is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Standard & Poor's business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Ratings Services: Credit ratings and related analytical services for debt issuers, investors, and financial institutions globally
- Market Intelligence Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to Capital IQ Pro, company data, financial analysis tools, and research platforms
- Energy & Commodity Data: Platts Connect and energy market data subscriptions providing real-time energy prices, benchmarks, and market analysis
- Index Licensing: Licensing of S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and other indices for financial products including ETFs, futures, and mutual funds
- ESG Data & Analytics: Corporate Sustainability Assessment and ESG scores sold to investors and corporations for sustainability analysis
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise subscription - Contact sales for pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Standard & Poor's product offering
Product offeringCore offering
S&P Global provides essential intelligence for global capital and commodity markets through multiple divisions: independent credit ratings and research (S&P Global Ratings), financial and corporate market intelligence on 60M+ private and 109K+ public companies (Capital IQ Pro), real-time energy price benchmarks and market data (Platts Connect), flagship equity indices including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (S&P Dow Jones Indices), ESG scoring and sustainability data (S&P Global ESG Scores / SPICE), and automotive data (S&P Global Mobility). Offerings are sold primarily via enterprise subscriptions, ratings fees, and index licensing.
Product overview
S&P Global operates as a multi-divisional platform company offering essential intelligence across capital and commodity markets. The portfolio includes: S&P Global Market Intelligence (financial/industry data and research via Capital IQ Pro), S&P Global Ratings (credit ratings and analysis via Ratings360), S&P Global Energy/Commodity Insights (energy benchmarks and data via Platts Connect/Energy Core), S&P Dow Jones Indices (index provision including S&P 500), S&P Global Mobility (automotive data via CARFAX and AutoCreditInsight), and S&P Global Sustainable1 (ESG scores, SPICE indices). Premium datasets are distributed through the Marketplace platform via Cloud, Data Feed, and API Solutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Capital IQ Pro: Premier financial market intelligence platform with AI-powered insights and data on 60M+ private and 109K+ public companies
- Platts Connect
- Ratings360
- SPICE
- CARFAX
- automotiveMasterMind
- CERAWeek
- The Journal of Commerce (JOC)
Products and services
- S&P Capital IQ Pro
- S&P Global Energy Core (Platts Connect)
- S&P Global ESG Scores
- Ratings360
- SPICE (The Index Source for ESG Data)
- AutoCreditInsight
- Visible Alpha
- S&P Global Marketplace
- S&P Global Ratings
- S&P Dow Jones Indices
- S&P Global Sustainable1
- S&P Global Institute
Quantifiable outcome
- Serve 190+ countries with financial intelligence and ratings services
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Standard & Poor's
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Standard & Poor's technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability10 records
Feature6 records
Standard & Poor's partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- IHS MarkitcoreS&P Global completed merger with IHS Markit in 2022, creating a global leader in essential intelligence for markets. The merger combined IHS Markit's transportation, economics, and country risk expertise with S&P Global's existing ratings and data capabilities.
- MSCIcoreCo-development partnership for Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), the industry classification standard used globally for classifying companies by sector and industry. Joint trademark ownership between S&P and MSCI.
- OpenAIcoreMorgan Stanley partnership with OpenAI powering wealth management AI assistant. S&P Global Research cited this as example of generative AI adoption in banking sector.
- TransUnionminorS&P Global Mobility partnership with TransUnion for AutoCreditInsight, providing comprehensive vehicle registration and loyalty data with automotive loan origination activity.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Standard & Poor's competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Moody's Corporation: Moody's is the most direct peer to S&P Global, operating the Moody's Investors Service rating agency and Moody's Analytics platform. Both companies dominate the NRSRO-registered credit rating duopoly and compete directly in financial data, risk analytics, and ESG assessments, with comparable subscription revenue models.
- MSCI Inc. MSCI is S&P Dow Jones Indices' principal competitor in equity index licensing, ESG ratings, and real estate benchmarks. MSCI co-developed the GICS industry classification standard with S&P and competes across index products, ESG data, and portfolio analytics used by asset managers globally.
- Bloomberg L.P. Bloomberg Terminal is the dominant installed platform for financial market data and analytics, competing directly with S&P Capital IQ Pro. Bloomberg's integrated news, data, and analytics offering targets the same investment professional user base at financial institutions, corporations, and asset managers.
- FactSet Research Systems: FactSet is a direct competitor to S&P Capital IQ Pro in financial data, portfolio analytics, and research workflows for buy-side and corporate clients. Both companies offer integrated data, analytics, and workflow tools targeting investment professionals with comparable subscription economics.
- Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar competes with S&P Global Ratings in fund and credit research, with S&P Capital IQ Pro in equity data, and with S&P Dow Jones Indices in benchmarks. Morningstar's emphasis on retail and advisor segments provides differentiated overlap with S&P's institutional-focused franchise.
- PitchBook Data: PitchBook is the leading private market data platform, competing directly with S&P Capital IQ Pro's growing private company coverage (60M+ private companies). Both target venture capital, private equity, and corporate development users with comparable deal, fund, and company data subscriptions.
Broad incumbents
- LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group): LSEG acquired Refinitiv in 2021 and now operates one of the largest financial market data and analytics franchises globally. LSEG competes with S&P across market data, indices (FTSE Russell), and analytics, while also operating exchange infrastructure that creates adjacent competitive pressure.
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): ICE operates major global exchanges (NYSE, ICE Futures) and owns ICE Data Services, competing with S&P in fixed income and commodity data. ICE's acquisition of Black Knight and focus on data infrastructure creates broad incumbent pressure across S&P's market intelligence and indices franchises.
Others
- Dow Jones & Company (News Corp): Dow Jones is S&P's partner in the S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture (which administers the Dow Jones Industrial Average) and operates the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and MarketWatch. While not a direct competitor in data, Dow Jones co-owns index IP and competes in financial news and information services.
Emerging players
- AlphaSense: AlphaSense is an emerging AI-native market intelligence platform that uses generative AI for enterprise research workflows. It targets the same buy-side and corporate research user base as S&P Capital IQ Pro and represents a credible disruptive threat to traditional research subscription models.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Standard & Poor's social profiles
Digital presenceStandard & Poor's financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Standard & Poor's leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Standard & Poor's subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries7 records
Standard & Poor's funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Standard & Poor's M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A5 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Standard & Poor's
What does Standard & Poor's do?
S&P Global provides essential intelligence for global capital and commodity markets through multiple divisions: independent credit ratings and research (S&P Global Ratings), financial and corporate market intelligence on 60M+ private and 109K+ public companies (Capital IQ Pro), real-time energy price benchmarks and market data (Platts Connect), flagship equity indices including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (S&P Dow Jones Indices), ESG scoring and sustainability data (S&P Global ESG Scores / SPICE), and automotive data (S&P Global Mobility). Offerings are sold primarily via enterprise subscriptions, ratings fees, and index licensing.
Is Standard & Poor's a public or private company?
Standard & Poor's is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Standard & Poor's founded?
Standard & Poor's was founded in 1908. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Standard & Poor's based?
Standard & Poor's is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Standard & Poor's make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Ratings Services are the primary driver. The others are market Intelligence Subscriptions, energy & Commodity Data, index Licensing and ESG Data & Analytics.
Who are Standard & Poor's's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Moody's Corporation, MSCI Inc., Bloomberg L.P., FactSet Research Systems, Morningstar, Inc. and PitchBook Data. Broad incumbents are LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Dow Jones & Company (News Corp) is listed as an others. AlphaSense is listed as an emerging player.
Does Standard & Poor's have an API?
No public API is recorded for Standard & Poor's.
What industry is Standard & Poor's in?
Standard & Poor's's product category is Financial Data and Analytics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAFAMAJ, Commodity Market Data, Pricing & Benchmark Administrators (Commodity Indices/Assessments).