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Valued at $162.2 billion by market cap, New York-based S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) provides governments, businesses, and individuals with market data, expertise, and technology solutions for confident decision-making. Widely sought after by many of the world’s leading organizations, S&P Global offers credit ratings, competitive benchmarking, and data-driven analytics in global securities markets.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as "large-cap stocks," and S&P Global fits this bill perfectly. The company operates 70+ offices in 35 countries and serves customers in 150+ countries across the Americas, Indo-Pacific, and the EMEA region.
Despite its strengths, the stock has dipped around 2% from its all-time high of $533.29 achieved on Oct. 15. SPGI stock has gained 1.9% over the past three months, lagging behind the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLF) surge of 11.1% over the same time frame.
Over the longer term, S&P Global has gained 18.7% on a YTD basis and 23.9% over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind the XLF’s surge of 35.2% in 2024 and 40.5% over the past year.
To confirm the bullish trend, SPGI has consistently traded above its 200-day moving average over the past year and above its 50-day moving average since early June with some fluctuations in the past two months.
Despite reporting better-than-expect results, S&P Global’s stock prices dipped around 3.5% after the release of its Q3 earnings on Oct. 24. Driven by the revenue growth from Indices and Ratings segments, the company’s overall revenues grew by an impressive 15.9% year-over-year to approximately $3.6 billion. However, its highest revenue-contributing segment: Market Intelligence recorded comparatively modest revenue growth of 5.7% compared to the year-ago quarter to roughly $1.2 billion, which could have raised concern for some investors.
Meanwhile, the company has reported a massive growth in profitability, with adjusted operating margin expanding 180 basis points compared to the year-ago quarter to 48.8% and adjusted operating profits growing 20.3% year-over-year to $1.7 billion. Furthermore, the company’s adjusted EPS of $3.89 surpassed analysts’ consensus estimates by a notable 6.9%.
S&P has underperformed its competitor Moody's Corporation’s (MCO) 27.4% gains on a YTD basis and 34.1% returns over the past year.
Nevertheless, the company has a consensus “Strong Buy” rating among the 20 analysts covering the stock. As of writing, S&P Global is trading below the mean price target of $585.18.
