S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) executives struck an upbeat tone on the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call, pointing to strong revenue growth, margin expansion and double-digit earnings growth despite volatility in several end markets. Management also laid out 2026 guidance that assumes continued organic growth and incremental operating margin improvement, while highlighting progress on strategic initiatives including private markets, AI-enabled products and a planned spin of the Mobility business.
Full-year 2025 performance and capital returns
Chief Executive Officer Martina Cheung said 2025 was an “excellent year,” citing strong revenue growth, “meaningful expansion” of operating margins and 14% growth in EPS. She noted the company exceeded its initial guidance issued in February on revenue growth, operating margin and EPS, while returning 113% of adjusted free cash flow to shareholders.
Fourth-quarter results: growth across subscription and market-driven businesses
Chief Financial Officer Eric Aboaf said fourth-quarter results reflected “market leadership and the strength of our execution,” with momentum in subscription businesses and encouraging signs for 2026. Reported revenue rose 9% in the quarter and organic constant-currency revenue increased 8%. Adjusted expenses increased 8%, and the company posted 60 basis points of year-over-year margin expansion to 47.3%.
Aboaf noted that S&P Global divested the OSTTRA joint venture in early October; excluding OSTTRA’s 2024 contribution, margin expansion would have been 130 basis points. Adjusted diluted EPS rose 14% in the quarter. For the full year, Aboaf said EPS landed at the higher end of the company’s most recent guidance range, and he added that a tax rate near the high end of guidance was a modest headwind.
Division highlights: Ratings and Indices lead, Market Intelligence steady, Energy manages headwinds
Across the company’s divisions, management pointed to both cyclical and secular drivers, while acknowledging specific areas of volatility.
- Market Intelligence: Fourth-quarter reported revenue grew 7% and organic constant-currency revenue grew 5%. Subscription revenue, about 85% of the segment, rose about 7% both organically and as reported. Aboaf said one-time and volume-driven revenue were “flattish in aggregate,” and emphasized that subscription growth remains the key health indicator. He also said With Intelligence contributed $9 million of revenue in the quarter. Adjusted expenses rose 7%, and segment operating margin was 32.2%, reflecting higher compensation, strategic investments and higher-than-expected With Intelligence expenses tied to the accelerated close.
- Ratings: Revenue increased 12% year over year (10% organic constant currency). Transaction revenue rose 12% on strong issuance volumes, with management noting a mix shift toward investment-grade issuance and a low double-digit decline in billed issuance from bank loans. Non-transaction revenue grew 11% driven by higher annual fee revenue from surveillance, strong growth at CRISIL, and near-record revenue in ratings evaluation services. Margin expanded 210 basis points to 61.8%.
- Energy: Revenue grew 6% in the quarter, led by Energy Resources, Data and Insights and price assessments. Aboaf cited a $3 million headwind from customer sanctions announced in the second half of 2025, which the company expects to lap by the end of the third quarter of 2026. Advisory and Transactional Services revenue fell 5% amid softness in consulting and events, while operating margin increased 50 basis points to 45.5%.
- S&P Dow Jones Indices: Revenue rose 14%, with double-digit growth across all business lines. Asset-linked fees increased 13% on higher AUM and net inflows, exchange-traded derivatives revenue climbed 20% on SPX ETD volume strength, and data and custom subscriptions rose 13% (including about a 2-point contribution from Ark Research). Segment margin expanded 90 basis points to 68.8%.
- Mobility: Revenue grew 8%, with double-digit growth in dealer and financials/other. Management said CARFAX supported strong subscription growth, while tariffs and regulatory uncertainty weighed on consulting demand and lower recalls in manufacturing. Segment margin expanded 70 basis points to 35.4%.
Strategy update: private markets, AI, and enterprise capability building
Cheung reiterated the company’s strategic vision of “advancing essential intelligence,” describing three objectives: advancing market leadership, expanding into high-growth adjacencies and amplifying enterprise capabilities. She said more than 95% of revenue is tied to proprietary benchmarks, differentiated data and workflow tools, and the company expects that percentage to rise over time.
In private markets, management highlighted strong results and product and partnership activity, including enhancements to iLEVEL with AI functionality, private equity benchmarks and indices, the acquisition of With Intelligence, and partnerships with Cambridge Associates and Mercer. Aboaf said private markets revenue increased 16% year over year in the quarter, driven mainly by Ratings and Market Intelligence.
On AI, Cheung said 2025 was “truly a leap forward,” with new AI products and features launched in every division and collaborations with major technology partners. She told analysts S&P Global maintains control of customer relationships and “doesn’t allow the LLM providers to train on S&P Global data.” Executives also described AI as a driver of internal productivity, pointing to efforts in the Enterprise Data Office, software development, research and analytics.
Cheung also described progress in enterprise execution, including the Chief Client Office and Enterprise Data Office. She said the Enterprise Data Office is targeting more than a 20% reduction in run-rate expenses by the end of 2027 and is “well ahead of pace,” noting that more than half of data workflows are now processed via automation tools and more than 10% of applications have been eliminated.
Mobility spin progress and 2026 outlook
Aboaf provided an update on the planned spin of the Mobility business, stating the new company will be named Mobility Global. He said S&P Global has confidentially filed the Form 10 with the SEC, completed senior leadership appointments including naming Matt Hoisch as CFO designate, and expects to publicly file the Form 10 in the second quarter. He added that Mobility Global expects to host an Investor Day and launch an equity roadshow in the second quarter, and the company expects to pursue a public debt offering for Mobility during the quarter targeting an investment-grade rating.
For 2026, Aboaf said guidance assumes organic constant-currency revenue growth of 6% to 8%, with reported growth expected to be about 60 basis points higher due to acquisitions, divestitures and currency. Excluding the contribution from OSTTRA in 2025, S&P Global expects adjusted operating margin expansion of 50 to 75 basis points; including OSTTRA, margin expansion is expected to be 10 to 35 basis points. Adjusted diluted EPS is expected to be $19.40 to $19.65, representing 9% to 10% growth, driven by operating income growth and share count reduction, partially offset by a higher tax rate.
Management’s key market assumptions include bond issuance up low- to mid-single digits, equity market appreciation of 5% to 7% (from January 1 to December 31), and low single-digit growth in exchange-traded derivatives volumes. Segment organic constant-currency revenue guidance ranges include:
- Market Intelligence: 5.5% to 7%
- Ratings: 4% to 7%
- Energy: 5.5% to 7% (including an assumed 60 basis-point sanctions headwind)
- Mobility: 7.5% to 9%
- Indices: 10% to 12%
Executives said they are taking a “prudent” approach to market-driven components—particularly volume-driven products in Market Intelligence and uncertainties around M&A-driven issuance—while pointing to strong subscription performance indicators heading into 2026.
About S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI)
S&P Global is a leading provider of financial information, analytics and benchmark indices that serve investors, issuers, corporations and public institutions worldwide. The company operates through well-known businesses that include credit ratings, market intelligence and index licensing, as well as commodity and energy information services. Its products and services are used to assess creditworthiness, inform investment decisions, construct and track benchmark portfolios, and support risk and commodity market analysis.
S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit ratings, research and data used by fixed income investors and capital market participants to evaluate issuer and transaction risk.
