S&P Global Inc Earnings - Q3 2026 Analysis & Highlights
Byline: S&P Global reported 7% third-quarter revenue growth, stronger performance in Indices, Energy, and Market Intelligence, and raised its full-year growth and EPS outlook; management also discussed AI adoption, capital returns, and a strategic review of Capital IQ and associated data businesses.
Key financial results
Revenue grew 7% on both an organic constant-currency and all-in basis; adjusted expenses increased 5%.
Adjusted operating margin was 53.5%, up 60 basis points year over year; excluding OSTTRA from the prior-year comparison, expansion would have been 120 basis points.
Adjusted operating profit increased 8%, and adjusted EPS rose 9%, partly reflecting more than $6 billion of share repurchases over the preceding 12 months; EPS growth was partly tempered by quarterly tax timing.
Business segment results
Ratings: Revenue increased 2%; transaction revenue grew 1% and non-transaction revenue 4%. Segment margin contracted approximately 130 basis points in the quarter, while year-to-date margins had expanded just over 100 basis points.
Ratings billed issuance increased 8%. Investment Grade strength was partly offset by tougher comparisons in high-yield bank loans and structured finance.
Indices: Revenue grew 20%, including 24% growth in asset-linked fees and 19% growth in exchange-traded derivatives. Operating profit increased 22%, and margin expanded 150 basis points to 71.9%.
Indices data and custom subscriptions revenue grew 7% reported and 5% organically, supported by new business growth in NFA contracts.
Energy: Revenue grew 6% on both reported and organic constant-currency bases; Platts revenue increased 7%. Expenses rose 2%, and margin expanded 190 basis points to 48.1%.
Energy growth benefited from demand for Platts benchmarks and differentiated data, research, and thought leadership; sanctions reduced growth by about 0.5 percentage point.
Market Intelligence: Revenue increased 7% on both reported and organic constant-currency bases. Subscription revenue grew 6% reported and 7% organically; adjusted expenses rose 5%, and margin expanded 110 basis points to 36.2%.
Market Intelligence’s Kensho Data & Platforms revenue growth accelerated to 10% reported and 6% organically, while Enterprise Solutions organic revenue grew 8%.
Capital allocation
S&P Global had repurchased $4 billion of shares year to date and expected to complete more than $7 billion in repurchases by year-end, twice the originally announced $3.5 billion plan.
The company expected to issue approximately $2 billion of debt at prevailing market rates, partly in connection with the expanded buyback plan.
Management said quarterly capital expenditure changes reflected normal timing within and across years, as well as ongoing technology investment; no specific capex amount was provided.
Industry trends and dynamics
The company said the first three quarters of 2026 were the three strongest on record for billed issuance; year-to-date hyperscaler issuance was approximately $240 billion.
ETF assets linked to S&P DJI were up 26%, with more than $600 billion of net inflows into its ETF products; average daily volumes for exchange-traded derivatives increased 15%.
Demand for AI-ready data was strong: Market Intelligence AI customers’ ACV growth was 1.8 times that of non-AI customers, and Energy AI customers’ growth was approximately three times that of non-AI customers.
API call volume rose nearly 50% since Q2 and more than 4,000% year over year.
Management described growing data-center investment and forecast nearly $900 billion of 2026 capital expenditure by the six largest hyperscalers, nearly double 2025 levels.
Competitive landscape
Management characterized S&P Global as a leading provider of trusted benchmarks and mission-critical data in credit, equities, and commodities; S&P DJI was described as the global leader by assets under management and in index-based derivatives.
S&P Global extended its exclusive S&P 500 options licensing agreement with Cboe through 2051; the company expected a couple of percentage points of incremental total Indices revenue growth in 2027 from the agreement.
S&P DJI described prediction markets as an early-stage opportunity, including supplying indices for market resolution and developing indices based on prediction-market data; it also expects to explore opportunities with Kalshi, Cboe, and CME.
Management said customers value its AI-ready data for its performance and lower error rates compared with other providers.
Macroeconomic environment
Management cited geopolitical conflict, shifting interest rates, and commodity-market swings, alongside strong activity in credit and equity markets.
In debt markets, higher Treasury yields were offset by near-record tight credit spreads, supporting a favorable issuance environment.
In Energy, oil prices remained elevated; management expected oil to stay around $100 per barrel through Q4 and said Strait of Hormuz flows had recovered to almost two-thirds of pre-war levels.
Management said Energy customers in the Middle East had begun to stabilize and adapt, while the near-term operating environment remained uncertain.
Growth opportunities and strategies
S&P Global’s stated priorities are advancing market leadership, expanding into high-growth adjacencies, and developing enterprise capabilities and AI.
The company initiated a strategic review of alternatives for Capital IQ and associated Market Intelligence data businesses, including possible separation; the perimeter was still under review, with RatingsDirect, RatingsXpress, and Enterprise Solutions expected to remain outside it.
Management said a separate ownership structure could provide the businesses under review with dedicated investment and focus, while a more focused S&P Global could concentrate resources on markets where it is strongest.
The review had no definitive timetable; management said the earliest meaningful update was expected on the February earnings call.
S&P Global combined its MCP tools and Adaptive Retrieval agents into a unified AI data portal and launched Ratings, Energy, and Visible Alpha data in MCP during the quarter.
Management said AI-rights negotiations were normalizing and that the company was signing deals with pricing intended to protect its intellectual property.
For Adaptive Retrieval, management said consumption-based pricing could be an option, alongside customers’ interest in licensing additional datasets.
Financial Guidance and Outlook
The company raised its full-year organic constant-currency growth outlook to 7.5%–8.5% and adjusted EPS guidance to $17.70–$17.95.
Full-year adjusted operating margin expansion guidance increased to 75–100 basis points; excluding OSTTRA’s impact, the company expected 125–150 basis points of expansion.
Ratings: Full-year organic constant-currency revenue growth was expected to be 6.5%–8%, with high-single-digit billed issuance growth; Q4 transaction revenue was expected to decline slightly year over year.
Indices: Full-year organic constant-currency growth guidance was 17%–18.5%.
Energy: Full-year organic constant-currency growth guidance remained 4.5%–6%; management expected subscription growth to continue improving in Q4.
Market Intelligence: Full-year organic constant-currency growth guidance remained 5.5%–7%, with management expecting to finish slightly above the range’s midpoint.
Adjusted free cash flow was expected to be approximately $1.6 billion in Q4.
Management expected full-year hyperscaler issuance of $250 billion–$300 billion and raised its expectation for M&A issuance growth to 20%–30%.
