Given the strategy refinement in MI and Energy, why consolidate disclosure rather than provide more segment detail?

Martina clarified that the goal is simplification and more efficient execution, not a change in strategy. The realignment aims to wrap more closely around customers and leverage shared platforms for faster, more profitable growth. She cited the tremendous opportunity in Energy related to AI infrastructure and power grids. “I would say that what we're aiming for here is simplification in MI and in Energy, the strategies for both divisions have not changed. This is really about how I think about it as basically wrapping ourselves more closely around our customers...”

Should we expect disruption from the MI reorganization? How will the company address subscale products facing headwinds (sell or fix)?

Martina expects greater simplicity and continuity, not disruption, citing examples like moving Pricing and Reference Data to Enterprise Solutions. For subscale products (e.g., some consulting, sustainability), she stated they are smaller and not strategic. The company will monitor growth and may make strategic choices (e.g., divestiture) if growth doesn't return, but it's coming from a position of strength. “From an MI perspective, I don't expect disruption, if anything, I expect greater simplicity and continuity in how we're doing things.”

What is driving the long-dated sales cycles with large MI clients?

Martina views it as a positive, indicating clients want to do more with S&P Global, especially around AI and IP use. The conversations are complex due to the company's focus on protecting its IP, leading to some elongation in renewal cycles. She sees this as a near-term "baselining" impact, not a medium- or long-term issue. “Look, we view it actually as a positive because it means that our clients want to do more with us. And as we've been going through these renewal cycles, we're having quite substantial conversations around use of AI and use of our IP and data for AI.”

SPGI

S&P Global (SPGI) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Financials· Jul 28, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

S&P Global Q2 FY26 — Strong Benchmark Performance and Increased Share Repurchase

S&P Global delivered a strong quarter, driven by robust performance in its benchmark businesses (Ratings and Indices) and significant margin expansion following the Mobility spin-off. The company is strategically realigning its Energy and Market Intelligence divisions to enhance focus on high-growth areas like AI and private markets, while also increasing its share repurchase target to over $7 billion for the year. Despite some headwinds in Energy due to geopolitical factors and longer sales cycles in MI, management remains confident in its long-term growth trajectory and ability to leverage AI for both revenue and efficiency gains.

Highlights

Total revenue grew 11% year-over-year, outperforming expectations on both reported and organic constant currency basis.
Benchmark business revenue increased 15% year-over-year, driven by strong performance in Ratings and Indices.
Adjusted diluted EPS grew 23% year-over-year, benefiting from margin expansion and increased share repurchases.
Consolidated operating margin expanded 200 basis points to 54.3%, reflecting high incremental margins and disciplined expense management.
Share repurchase target for 2026 increased by nearly $3 billion to over $7 billion, representing more than 5% of current market capitalization.

Concerns

The Iran conflict complicated contract renewals and led to flexible pricing for some Energy customers, impacting growth.
Sanctions had a 120 basis points negative impact to Platts and a 30 basis points negative impact to CERA growth in Q2 FY26.
Extreme energy volatility had a dampening effect on Global Trading Services (GTS) revenue in the Energy division.
Some softness in pockets of Market Intelligence and longer renewal cycles with larger, more sophisticated clients partially offset solid growth.
Customers are increasingly concerned about token costs and overall expenses of their own AI investments, seeking ways to minimize them.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Consolidated organic constant currency revenue growth	6% to 8% high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Consolidated operating margin expansion (ex-OSTTRA)	75 to 100 basis points high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Adjusted diluted EPS	$17.50 to $17.75 high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Adjusted free cash flow	$2.9 billion to $3.1 billion medium materiality	Second Half 2026 · FY26	High
Gross leverage	2.7x to 2.8x EBITDA medium materiality	End of 2026 · FY26	High
Gross leverage	back in target leverage range of 2.0x to 2.5x medium materiality	End of 2027 · FY27	High
Share repurchase	over $7 billion high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Ratings revenue growth	5% to 8% high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Indices revenue growth	12% to 14% high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Market Intelligence revenue growth	5.5% to 7% medium materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Energy revenue growth	4.5% to 6% medium materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Hyperscaler billed issuance	$250 billion to $300 billion high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
M&A related issuance growth	double-digit growth high materiality	Full Year 2026 · FY26	High
Energy growth normalization	6% to 8% average range medium materiality	After this year	Medium
EDO annualized cost savings	$100 million medium materiality	Before the end of 2027 · FY27	High

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Ratings Record quarter by revenue, exceeding internal expectations. Issuance benefited from tighter spreads and favorable market conditions, partly driven by a soft compare in the prior year period. Transaction revenue growth: 25%Investment grade transaction revenue growth: high 20s%Bank loans transaction revenue growth: double-digitHigh-yield transaction revenue growth: double-digitStructured finance transaction revenue growth: double-digitPrivate Markets Ratings revenue growth: 60%Nontransaction revenue growth: 8%	—	17%	—	68.5%
S&P Dow Jones Indices 13th consecutive record quarter for revenue, surpassing $2 billion of revenue on a trailing 12-month basis. Achieved best quarter of net inflows on record. Asset-linked fees growth: 22%Exchange-traded derivatives revenue growth: 22%Data & custom subscriptions growth: 9%ETF AUM: $6.35 trillionNet inflows (YoY): >$600 billion	—	20%	—	71.5%
Energy Growth pressured by challenging environment, Iran conflict, tariffs, and extreme volatility impacting subscription renewals, one-time sales, and Global Trading Services (GTS). Conference revenue was pressured by lower event attendance. Platts revenue growth: 4%CERA revenue growth: 1%Sanctions negative impact to Platts: 120 bpsSanctions negative impact to CERA: 30 bps	—	3%	—	47.5%
Market Intelligence Solid growth supported by vendor consolidation, momentum in AI solutions, and improving capital markets activity, partially offset by softness in pockets and longer renewal cycles with larger clients. Subscription revenue growth: 6%Volume-driven revenue growth: 9%One-time revenue decline: 2%Kensho Data and Platform revenue growth: 8%Enterprise Solutions revenue growth: 3%Enterprise Solutions organic growth: 10%	—	6%	—	36%

Product announcements

Product	Type	Timeline
S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index	launch	last week
CERA Titan	launch	later this year
Adaptive Retrieval	launch	—

Deals & partnerships

Mobility Global Spin-off of former Mobility division into an independent publicly traded company.

The spin-off was finalized on July 1, 2026.

datacenterHawk Agreement to purchase datacenterHawk.

Acquisition announced to enhance leadership in data center intelligence, including pricing, supply chain, and site selection.

Agusto & Company Agreement to purchase majority stake in Agusto & Company.

Agusto & Company is a leading credit rating agency with operations in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana.

EDM and thinkFolio Divestiture of EDM and thinkFolio.

Mentioned as impacting Enterprise Solutions revenue growth and MI expenses.

Upstream software division Divestiture of the Upstream software division.

The likely close of the Upstream software division is expected during Q3 FY26.

Risks & headwinds

Iran conflict and geopolitical volatility Q2 FY26, near-term

Complicated contract renewals among some very large customers in Energy; led to flexible pricing; 120 bps negative impact to Platts, 30 bps negative impact to CERA growth.

Mitigation:Intentionally chosen to be flexible on price increases and other terms for affected customers; expect growth to normalize after this year.

Extreme energy volatility Q2 FY26

Dampening effect on Global Trading Services (GTS) revenue.

Softness in pockets of Market Intelligence Q2 FY26

Negatively impacting the growth of the division; small products like consulting services, some sustainability products.

Mitigation:Prioritizing investments in highest growth opportunities; small carve-outs possible; disciplined portfolio management.

Longer renewal cycles with large, sophisticated Market Intelligence clients Q2 FY26, near-term

Partially offset solid growth in MI.

Mitigation:Viewed as positive as clients want to do more; conversations are complex due to IP protection; seen as a 'baselining' impact, not long-term.

Token costs and overall expense of AI investments for customers Ongoing

Customers are looking for ways to minimize or manage token expenses, including building solutions in-house.

Mitigation:S&P Global believes its AI offerings will create meaningful value without exorbitant costs.

Potential slowdown from hyperscaler debt issuance Rest of FY26

Market pushing back on CapEx spending; interest rates going up.

Mitigation:Prudent outlook for hyperscale issuance ($250B-$300B for FY26); market continues to absorb deals; hyperscalers use diverse structures (e.g., outside U.S.); guidance range accounts for global economy, conflicts, interest rates.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Energy growth normalization

after this year

Current 3% growth in Q2 FY26

Target 6% to 8% average range

Why it matters

Management expects Energy growth to normalize to its long-term average after current geopolitical headwinds subside, impacting overall segment performance.

We believe these headwinds are transitory, however, and we expect growth to normalize after this year, back to the 6% to 8% average range we outlined at our Investor Day.

Find out whether SPGI delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

How will the focus on Kensho data impact pricing and AI monetization, especially if clients can acquire data more modularly?

Martina emphasized maintaining direct customer relationships and flexible distribution. Kensho's integration accelerates innovation (LLM APIs, adaptive retrieval, MCP apps) and brings it closer to customers. Eric noted a dramatic uptick in data usage through AI calls (MCP connectors up to 500, data usage 5x QoQ) and a multifaceted monetization approach including consumption pricing and additional data set pricing.

“The monetization approach is multifaceted. First, what you what we'll continue to see is just a dramatic uptick in data usage by our clients through their AI calls.”

asked by Faiza Alwy · answered by Martina Cheung

3 min read 7 chapters

Detailed narrative

Mobility Spin-off and Business Realignment

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.

AI Solutions and Monetization

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 Performance and Debt Issuance Outlook

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.

Indices Leadership and 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.

Energy Division Strategy and Headwinds

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 headwinds 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 Reorganization and Strategic Focus

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.

Private Markets Opportunity

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.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.