S&P Global Q2 FY26 earnings call SPGI

S&P Global successfully completed the spin-off of its Mobility division on July 1, creating an independent publicly traded company. This strategic move, along with the consolidation of supply chain efforts into the Energy division and new leadership/operating model for Market Intelligence, aims to create shareholder value and streamline operations across the remaining four core divisions. The company is now better positioned to deliver on strategic objectives outlined at Investor Day, focusing on simplification and more efficient execution.

The company is seeing rapid adoption of its AI solutions, including Kensho LLM ready APIs, with over 500 customers (up 70% QoQ) and API call volume growing 5x QoQ. ACV growth for AI customers is 60% faster in MI and 3x in Energy. Management is exploring multifaceted monetization approaches, including consumption pricing and additional data set pricing, while also focusing on minimizing token costs for clients. Internally, the Enterprise Data Office (EDO) has achieved nearly 60% of its targeted $100 million in annualized cost savings through AI-driven efficiencies and traditional productivity.

Ratings reported a record quarter with 17% revenue growth, exceeding internal expectations. Billed issuance increased 25% YoY, driven by strong investment-grade issuance (especially from AI infrastructure/data center CapEx and M&A) and growth in private markets ratings (up 60%). The company expects $250 billion to $300 billion in hyperscaler issuance and double-digit M&A-related issuance growth for the full year, with robust maturity walls reinforcing multi-year growth opportunities and strong average annual growth.

S&P Dow Jones Indices achieved its 13th consecutive record quarter, surpassing $2 billion in trailing 12-month revenue with 20% growth. Asset-linked fees grew 22% due to equity market appreciation and record net inflows ($600 billion YoY). The S&P 500-based ETF surpassed $1 trillion in AUM, and the company continues to innovate with new offerings like the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index, driving competitive wins and asset manager switches.

The Energy division is being reported in two business lines: Platts benchmarks and CERA (data, content, research, events, supply chain suite). While long-term secular tailwinds like energy expansion and AI infrastructure demand remain strong (evidenced by the datacenterHawk acquisition and CERA Titan progress), near-term headwind^📎s from the Iran conflict, tariffs, and extreme volatility pressured Q2 growth to 3%. Management expects growth to normalize to 6-8% after this year, as headwinds are considered cyclical.

Market Intelligence has a new business structure with two lines: Kensho Data and Platforms, and Enterprise Solutions. Kensho Data (data feeds, LLM APIs, RatingsXpress) is growing high single-digit to low double-digit organically, while Platforms (Cap IQ, Visible Alpha) is growing low single-digits. The strategy focuses on delivering differentiated data channel-agnostically, consolidating redundant platforms, and leveraging AI for profitability. Small carve-outs are possible, but no transformational M&A is planned, with a focus on disciplined portfolio management.

S&P Global sees significant opportunity in private markets, with strong momentum in AUM inflows and increased demand for transparency, benchmarks, and data analytics. Private Markets Ratings revenue grew 60% in Q2. The company is launching new products like private credit indices and data sets mapped to new taxonomies and LoanX IDs, building on a healthy base of $600 million in private markets revenues across the organization last year. This demonstrates continued appetite from investors for the asset class and a focus on monetizing this growth.