S&P Global Inc. provides benchmarks, data, analytics, and workflow solutions across global capital, energy and commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through four segments: S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Energy, and S&P Dow Jones Indices. The company was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
S&P Global Acquires OpenZeppelin to Rate Smart Contract Risk
S&P Global announced on September 17, 2026 that it has acquired OpenZeppelin, the industry standard for smart contract security, in a move that extends the ratings firm's risk-assessment mandate into the technology-risk layer of digital assets. OpenZeppelin's libraries underpin over $37 trillion in cumulative transfers and power 8 of the top 10 stablecoins, including USDC, and 10 of the top 10 tokenized money market funds, such as BlackRock's BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's BENJI. OpenZeppelin will operate as a separate business unit led by CEO Demian Brener, who will report directly to Yann Le Pallec, President of S&P Global Ratings. The deal lands on the same day the SEC granted a 5-year exemption for tokenized NMS stock trading, aligning with the broader GENIUS Act framework, and ahead of the DTCC Tokenization Service launch in October 2026. S&P Global is positioning itself as the gatekeeper of the technical standards regulators are expected to require for tokenized markets.
SEC Unveils Trading Framework for Tokenized Stocks, S&P Acquires OpenZeppelin, DeFi Market Cap Hits $80 Billion
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission introduced a provisional, conditional exemption allowing certain tokenized U.S.-listed equities to trade on-chain under specified conditions, while S&P Global agreed to acquire OpenZeppelin, a firm specializing in smart contract security infrastructure. The SEC measure, set out in a "Statement on Innovation Exemptions" signed by Commissioner Mark T. Ueda, guarantees holders of equity tokens the same rights as holders of conventional shares and requires third parties to notify the issuer of the underlying stock in writing before dealing in tokenized shares. According to S&P Global, OpenZeppelin's technology has supported the transfer of more than $37 trillion in value cumulatively, including major stablecoins and tokenized funds. Following these announcements, the market capitalization of DeFi-related tokens rose about $7 billion on Friday, climbing 8.8% to $79.8 billion, while the total market capitalization of the broader crypto market rose 4% to $2.7 trillion. Hyperliquid's HYPE jumped 10.8% to an all-time high of about $90.46, giving it a market capitalization of $20.12 billion; Uniswap's UNI rose 29.1% over 24 hours to about $9.00, for a market capitalization of $5.59 billion; and Aave's AAVE gained 9.5% to about $135.28. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the SEC is trying to put in place as much of a crypto regulatory framework as it can under its existing authority, and described tokenization as a massive tide.
Tradeweb Q2 Revenue Rises 9% to $558.9 Million as Financial Exchanges Group Beats Estimates
Tradeweb Markets reported second-quarter revenues of $558.9 million, up 9% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations, as the ten financial exchanges and data stocks tracked by the report beat consensus revenue estimates by 1.6% as a group. Tradeweb, which was founded in 1996 as one of the pioneers in electronic bond trading, posted a decent beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates, but the market seemed disappointed and the stock is down 5.6% since reporting, currently trading at $102.07. Among peers, Morningstar was the strongest performer with revenues of $663.2 million, up 9.6% year on year and 2.2% above expectations, while S&P Global was the weakest, reporting revenues of $4.15 billion, up 10.4% year on year and 1% above expectations, but posting a significant miss of analysts' EBITDA estimates and full-year EPS guidance slightly missing expectations, with its stock down 7.9% since the results. FactSet reported revenues of $622.9 million, up 6.4% year on year and 1.1% above expectations, and Nasdaq reported revenues of $1.5 billion, up 14.9% year on year and 3% above expectations. Share prices of the companies in the group have held steady, up 3.6% on average since the latest earnings results.
Moonshot launches Kimi for financial services with Wall Street data partners
Beijing-based AI startup Moonshot said Thursday it is launching Kimi for financial services, connecting its Kimi models to major industry data providers. Investment bank CICC and venture capital firms including Sequoia China, now rebranded as Hong Shan, are among the companies using Kimi on AI tools, the company said. Kimi users can directly access information commonly used for analysis and reports through data partners such as S&P Global Market Intelligence, Crunchbase, Wind, local financial news leaders and business database Tianyancha, according to Moonshot. The startup said Kimi can also directly access the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR system for public companies' financial filings, the IMF, World Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve Economic Data site, known as FRED. Subscriptions to Kimi start at 49 yuan, or $7.31, a month and can go up to 699 yuan, or $104.23. Samuel Fischer, Beijing branch manager at Deutsche Bank, said in a promotional video published by Moonshot on Thursday that the real inflection point is the combination of stronger AI capabilities with professional expertise, adding that AI companies that understand real financial workflows and can deliver reliability and data security will be particularly well positioned. It was not immediately clear whether Deutsche Bank was a client, and the bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Kimi K3 model, released by Moonshot in July, competes with models from leading U.S. companies, and the Chinese startup has reportedly filed confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO, though the company has said it does not comment on market rumors or speculation.
Buffett Warns on Market Risk as Berkshire Builds $38 Billion Alphabet Stake
Warren Buffett told CNBC that markets are in a gambling mood and that prices for many assets will look very silly, while confirming he initiated Berkshire Hathaway's aggressive buying of Alphabet stock, a position now worth about $38 billion and representing roughly 12.6% of its public equity holdings. Buffett said the decision was made by Greg Abel, and when asked why he was comfortable buying Alphabet over other hyperscalers spending heavily on AI-related capital expenditures, he said he did not want to knock the others because they have no choice, adding that in many cases they are playing a game they do not want to play. Bond markets are pricing in default risk for Oracle, with a mid-market credit default swap spread of 192 basis points implying a 3.2% one-year default probability and 14.8% cumulatively over five years, after S&P Global Ratings downgraded Oracle debt from BBB to BBB-, its lowest investment-grade rating, warning that an industry downturn would hit Oracle worse than other hyperscalers. The takeaway is that any significant market-led weakness tied to weaker hyperscalers could be a buying opportunity in higher-quality names like Alphabet.
Agentic AI Metrics Clash as Salesforce Touts 7 Billion Work Units
Salesforce is touting 7 billion Agentic Work Units, its proprietary activity measure, as proof of momentum for its Agentforce platform, which has reached $1.5 billion in annual recurring revenue, but that headline sits alongside five competing industry metrics that measure entirely different things. Gartner predicts over 40% of agentic projects will be canceled by 2027 due to costs and unclear value, while McKinsey finds 93% of enterprises are overspending on AI and that 60% of total agentic AI spend goes to iterative response refinement rather than initial inference. S&P Global Market Intelligence and MIT data show 80% of apps embedding AI but only 31% of organizations actually running agents in production, and the MIT NANDA report says 95% of generative AI pilots fail to meet CFO expectations. More than 50% of GenAI budgets still flow to sales and marketing even though the most measurable ROI for AI agents is consistently found in back-office automation. Gartner senior director analyst Anushree Verma says most of these projects remain early-stage experiments driven by hype, and Futurum Group's Keith Kirkpatrick says enterprises now demand that every AI capability connect directly to revenue growth or margin improvement, pointing toward standardized cost-per-outcome metrics ahead of Dreamforce 2026 this September.
Oracle's $638 Billion Backlog Faces Q1 Test Thursday
Oracle reports fiscal first-quarter results Thursday after the close, with investors focused on whether its $638 billion remaining performance obligation—a backlog that grew 363% last year and dwarfs its $67.4 billion annual revenue—converts into revenue as promised. The Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for earnings of $1.74 per share on revenue of approximately $19.14 billion, implying growth of more than 28%, within management's guidance for a 27% to 29% increase. The key metric is cloud revenue, guided to expand 58% to 64% year over year, and a miss would raise doubts about the backlog's conversion pace. The stock is down 17.7% year to date despite strong operating momentum, as investors worry about financing: free cash flow was negative $23.7 billion in fiscal 2026, capex jumped 162% to $55.7 billion, and new CFO Hilary Maxson guided fiscal 2027 net cash capex to roughly $70 billion. To fund this, Oracle plans to raise $40 billion through debt and equity, including a $20 billion share sale, and S&P Global downgraded its credit rating to BBB-. Bank of America estimates OpenAI accounts for more than half of the backlog, and OpenAI's heavy losses and delayed IPO add concentration risk. Oracle trades near 20 times forward earnings against fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $8.05, with a wide range of Wall Street price targets reflecting genuine disagreement over the backlog's value.
Aon's largest-ever acquisition, the $17 billion purchase of USI Insurance Services from KKR, will add $17 billion in borrowed funds and delay earnings benefits, with the net purchase price coming to $16.7 billion after accounting for certain tax attributes. The deal, announced on August 31, 2026, is the second multibillion-dollar middle-market insurance acquisition Aon has pursued in three years, following its $13 billion purchase of NFP in 2024. Aon plans to issue $17.5 billion in new debt, including a $4 billion term loan and $13.5 billion in senior notes, which will push leverage to an estimated 4.8 times adjusted EBITDA at closing, nearly double the 2.8 times ratio before the announcement. S&P Global Ratings revised Aon's outlook to negative, while Moody's shifted to stable, citing leverage and integration concerns. The deal will freeze share buybacks, and Aon expects the acquisition to become accretive to adjusted earnings per share only in 2028, implying dilution through 2027. USI, the tenth-largest U.S. insurance broker with about $3 billion in annual revenue, gives Aon access to the middle-market commercial insurance segment, estimated at over $40 billion, and combined with NFP, the platform is expected to generate $6.5 billion in revenue.
S&P Global Inc. is exploring a potential spinoff of its Capital IQ Pro data and research platform, a move that could create a standalone company valued in the high single-digit billions of dollars, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Shares of S&P Global reversed earlier losses and traded more than 3% higher following the report. The company is said to be in early discussions about options for the unit, which could include establishing a publicly listed entity. The deliberations are preliminary, and S&P Global may choose not to proceed with any transaction involving the business, commonly known as CapIQ. Capital IQ Pro serves as a software platform for finance professionals to conduct research, providing access to data on more than 60 million private companies. A separation would position CapIQ as a direct competitor to companies including FactSet Research Systems Inc., which has a market value exceeding $11 billion, and the data division of London Stock Exchange Group Plc. S&P Global, under Chief Executive Officer Martina Cheung since 2024, has restructured portions of its operations in recent years, including the July spinoff of its automotive intelligence division into Mobility Global.
S&P Global Beats Q2 Estimates, Shares Up 4% Since Earnings
S&P Global reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $4.83 per share, up 23% year over year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.49, while pro-forma revenues rose 11% to $3.68 billion, surpassing the consensus of $3.64 billion. The company's Ratings and Indices segments delivered record results, with Ratings revenues up 17% to $1.34 billion and Indices revenues up 20% to $534 million. S&P Global repurchased $500 million in shares during the quarter, bringing year-to-date buybacks to $1.5 billion, and expects total 2026 repurchases to exceed $7 billion following the Mobility separation. Management guided 2026 revenue growth of 5.9-7.9% excluding Mobility, with adjusted diluted earnings between $17.50 and $17.75. Since the earnings release, the consensus estimate has shifted down 6.25%, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
CME Group reported second-quarter revenues of $1.71 billion, flat year over year and 1.7% above analyst expectations. The company also delivered a decent beat on EBITDA estimates. Its stock has risen 16% since the report and currently trades at $275.30. Among the ten financial exchanges and data stocks tracked, Morningstar posted the strongest quarter with revenue up 9.6% to $663.2 million, while S&P Global was the weakest after full-year EPS guidance slightly missed expectations. The group overall beat consensus revenue estimates by 1.6% and shares are up 8.4% on average since reporting.
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square invests $1.1B in Visa
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed a new $1.12 billion stake in Visa Inc., according to a 13F filing covering holdings as of June 29, 2026. The fund bought 3.27 million shares of Visa, making it one of Pershing Square's larger positions at 5.4% of the portfolio, behind names like Uber, Brookfield Corp, Microsoft, and Amazon. The same filing shows new positions in Mastercard worth about $1.09 billion and S&P Global worth roughly $1.06 billion, bringing combined new investments in financial infrastructure to more than $3 billion. Visa's fiscal third-quarter 2026 results showed net revenue up 14% year over year to $11.6 billion and earnings per share up 11%, with quarterly payments volume crossing $4 trillion for the first time in company history.
S&P Global's Mobility Spin and AI Push Set Margin Test
S&P Global completed the spin-off of its Mobility division on July 1, leaving a four-division portfolio centered on ratings, benchmarks, data and analytics. Pro forma revenues increased 11% in the second quarter, while adjusted operating profit rose 15% and adjusted operating margin expanded 200 basis points to 54.3%. The company is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across products and internal operations, with customers using its large language model-ready data interfaces exceeding 500 in the second quarter, up more than 70% sequentially. Management expects organic constant-currency revenue growth of 6% to 8% for 2026, with adjusted operating margin projected to expand 35 to 60 basis points, or 75 to 100 basis points excluding OSTTRA. The Enterprise Data Organization has achieved nearly 60% of its targeted $100 million in annualized savings through AI-driven efficiencies and traditional productivity measures, with the full target expected before the end of 2027.
S&P Global announced an expanded collaboration with Microsoft that embeds its AI-ready data and analytics directly into Microsoft 365 Copilot tools and related agentic experiences. The announcement comes as S&P Global shares trade at $432.16, down 15.7% year to date and 16.6% over one year, despite a 3.5% gain over the past 90 days. The most followed narrative on S&P Global currently points to a fair value of $380, which sits below the latest close, reflecting concern about how durable the business model is as AI tools spread through finance and data heavy workflows. At a P/E of 25.9x, the stock trades in line with peers and materially below the US Capital Markets average of 38.5x.
Japan's preliminary manufacturing PMI for August expands at fastest pace in years
Japan's preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers' index for August rose to 55.1 from 54.5 in July, supported by the fastest expansion in new orders since January 2018. S&P Global released the data today and said the factory sector continued to lead growth in both output and new orders. Annabel Fiddes, associate economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said manufacturers saw total sales and foreign demand jump at the strongest pace in more than eight and a half years, helped by the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries. The preliminary services PMI rose to 52.3 from 51.2, and the preliminary composite PMI covering manufacturing and services reached 53.4 from 52.7, the highest level since February. Cost pressures eased, with overall input price inflation slowing to a five-month low, but selling prices continued to rise at a record pace. Business confidence climbed to its highest level since February, with manufacturers more upbeat than services firms.
S&P Global Expands Microsoft Collaboration to Integrate AI Data into Copilot
S&P Global has expanded its collaboration with Microsoft to bring AI-ready data and analytics into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. The integration gives clients access to S&P Global's proprietary intelligence directly inside familiar Microsoft 365 tools, aiming to streamline financial analysis, company research, and benchmarking for enterprise users. The move supports S&P Global's focus on AI-native experiences and deeper integration of its Market Intelligence offering into day-to-day operations. The partnership strengthens S&P Global's competitive position versus peers such as MSCI and Moody's that are pursuing their own AI distribution paths.
MSCI reported second-quarter revenues of $867 million, up 12.2% year over year, in line with analyst expectations but marking the weakest performance against estimates among its peers. The stock has fallen 8.5% since the report and currently trades at $572.27. Among the ten financial exchanges and data stocks tracked, Morningstar posted the best quarter with revenues of $663.2 million, up 9.6% and beating estimates by 2.2%, while S&P Global was the weakest with revenues of $4.15 billion, up 10.4% but issuing full-year EPS guidance slightly below expectations. Nasdaq and Moody's also beat estimates, with Moody's achieving the biggest beat and fastest revenue growth of the group at 15.1%.
CARFAX Report Adds Future Reliability Predictions Based on VIN History
CARFAX has introduced a new feature that predicts the future reliability of specific vehicles based on their unique VIN-specific history. The company says the feature draws on over 151,000 data sources and more than 35 billion records to help shoppers anticipate repairs and costs over the next three years. The future Reliability insight now appears at the top of the CARFAX Report in a redesigned header that presents a vehicle's story through Past, Present, and Future lenses. CARFAX, part of S&P Global Mobility, says dealers are already seeing increased consumer confidence from the more complete picture. The company issued a correction removing language suggesting it is the first or only provider of a VIN-specific reliability product.
CloudSEK Identifies Over 2,500 Organisations Potentially Impacted by AI Supply Chain Exposure
CloudSEK has identified more than 2,500 organisations that may have been potentially affected by a major AI supply chain incident involving LiteLLM in March 2026, with approximately 434,000 automated software-development pipelines linked to the exposure. The potentially affected organisations span critical industries including technology, cybersecurity, banking and financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, consulting, logistics, and enterprise software, with high-confidence matches associated with major global organisations including NVIDIA, Samsung Electronics, Cisco Systems, Siemens, S&P Global, ServiceNow, Deloitte, Vodafone, X Corp, Zscaler, FedEx, Volkswagen, Thales and London Stock Exchange Group. The incident occurred after cybercriminal group Team PCP compromised LiteLLM, and malicious versions were reportedly available through the Python software repository PyPI for only around 40 minutes, yet CloudSEK's analysis identified approximately 434,000 CI/CD pipelines potentially connected to the exposure. Potentially accessible information included cloud credentials, source-code access, server keys, software-development secrets, AI API keys and other credentials that could give attackers access to critical business systems, and CloudSEK stresses that appearing in the dataset does not automatically mean an organisation was successfully breached but should be investigated urgently. CloudSEK has released a free exposure-checking tool to help organisations determine whether credentials or infrastructure associated with them appear in the identified dataset.
S&P Global Raises 2026 Guidance and Integrates With Intelligence Private Markets Data
S&P Global updated its full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting GAAP revenue growth of 5.9% to 7.9%, GAAP diluted EPS of US$16.35 to US$16.60, and operating margin expansion of 335 to 360 basis points. The company also expanded its S&P Capital IQ Pro platform by integrating With Intelligence's private markets data and editorial insights following its 2025 acquisition, enabling users to manage the full private investment lifecycle within one platform. The integration deepens S&P Global's toolkit across public and private markets, though near-term performance still depends on healthy issuance in Ratings and execution of AI and product investments.
S&P Dow Jones Indices Launches U.S. CLO Investment Grade Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices has introduced the S&P U.S. CLO Investment Grade Indices, a new series of benchmarks for the investment-grade collateralized loan obligation market. The indices measure the performance of USD-denominated, floating-rate, investment-grade CLO debt tranches and include four sub-indices: the S&P U.S. CLO AAA CLO Index, the S&P U.S. CLO AA CLO Index, the S&P U.S. CLO A CLO Index, and the S&P U.S. CLO BBB CLO Index. The launch expands S&P DJI's role in the leveraged finance ecosystem by combining independent market pricing, CLO analytics, credit expertise, and transparent methodologies. The indices draw on data and analytics from S&P Global Market Intelligence and credit insights from S&P Global Ratings to provide a differentiated framework for measuring investment-grade CLO performance.
S&P Global's Earnings Miss Tied to Mobility Spinoff Confusion
S&P Global reported second-quarter revenue of nearly $4.15 billion, a 10% increase that topped estimates, but per-share earnings of $4.12 fell short of consensus, and the company lowered its full-year guidance. The apparent miss was largely due to confusion around the July 1 spinoff of its automotive data business, Mobility Global, as the company reported both pre- and post-spinoff results on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. On an adjusted pro forma basis, revenue grew 11%, adjusted operating profit rose 15% to $1.998 billion, and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 23% to $4.83, with operating margins improving to 54.3%. Updated 2026 revenue growth guidance was trimmed to a range of 5.9% to 7.9%, partly because of slower growth in its energy information platform, which saw only 3% year-over-year revenue growth last quarter amid contract renewal challenges linked to the Iran conflict. Despite the guidance cut, most analysts maintain a strong buy rating on the stock with a consensus price target of $518.17, implying nearly 28% upside.
S&P and Pantera Launch Crypto Index Excluding Bitcoin and XRP
S&P Global and Pantera Capital launched a new digital asset index that excludes Bitcoin and XRP while including Ethereum, Solana, and Hyperliquid. The S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index selects tokens based on protocol revenue and mechanisms that return value to holders, such as buybacks, burns, or staking rewards. Bitcoin was omitted because its transaction fees go to miners rather than holders, and XRP was excluded due to negligible fee revenue that fails to meet the index's threshold. The index is designed for institutional investors seeking crypto assets with financial fundamentals, and it may eventually underpin an exchange-traded fund.
S&P Global launches private markets intelligence and new AI data tools
S&P Global has launched integrated private markets intelligence on its Capital IQ Pro platform, incorporating data from With Intelligence, and introduced two new AI tools on its S&P Global AI Data Portal. The additions bring private markets, hedge fund, and allocator insights into the same environment as public markets content, supporting clients across private equity, private credit, hedge funds, and wealth segments. The new AI tools, Adaptive Retrieval and Deterministic Retrieval, allow clients and their AI agents to query S&P datasets in plain language and integrate results into internal models and workflows. These updates aim to enhance how investors source information and design products, though competing platforms investing in similar capabilities could limit differentiation.
85% of financial companies beat EPS estimates this week
Eighty-five percent of the 20 financial companies that reported earnings this week beat earnings-per-share estimates, with 17 surpassing expectations, two missing, and one matching. Twelve of the 20 companies exceeded revenue forecasts, while eight fell short. Notable beats included PayPal, which posted non-GAAP EPS of $1.38 and raised its full-year guidance to around $5.38, Visa with EPS of $3.32 on revenue of $11.6 billion, and Robinhood with GAAP EPS of $0.62. Among the misses, Cincinnati Financial reported EPS of $1.43, missing by $0.39, and S&P Global also fell short on EPS despite revenue slightly ahead of consensus.
S&P Global Q2 CY2026 revenue beats but EPS misses, full-year guidance cut
S&P Global reported second-quarter CY2026 revenue of $4.15 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $4.11 billion and marking a 10.4% year-on-year increase. However, adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.83, missing the consensus forecast of $5.02 by 3.7%. Management also lowered its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a midpoint of $17.63, a 9.7% reduction. The stock fell 2.7% to $428.04 following the release.
S&P Global to acquire majority stake in Agusto & Company
S&P Global has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Pan-African rating agency Agusto & Company, which operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the second half and aims to expand market insights and strengthen credit transparency across the region. After the transaction, Agusto & Company will continue to operate as a separate ratings entity and issue its own credit ratings.
S&P Global to acquire datacenterHawk to connect data center, power and infrastructure markets
S&P Global has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire datacenterHawk, a provider of proprietary intelligence for global data center, fiber optic and related infrastructure markets. The deal will combine datacenterHawk's asset-level data on supply, demand, pricing, pipelines and site selection with S&P Global Energy's data center forecasting, market outlooks and power market intelligence from 451 Research. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026 and is not expected to have a material impact on S&P Global's financial results. S&P Global Energy President Dave Ernsberger said the acquisition reinforces the company's energy expansion strategy and will help customers make real-time decisions in one of the most important infrastructure markets of the next decade.
BlackRock completes $12.5 billion bond financing for Meta's Texas data center project
BlackRock has completed a $12.5 billion bond financing for a Meta Platforms-backed data center project in Texas after a week-long marketing process. The financing, arranged through a special-purpose vehicle, ended up about $273 million larger than initially marketed, underscoring strong investor demand despite recent volatility in technology debt markets. The 2048 note sold at a yield premium of 2.875 percentage points over 10-year Treasury yields, with pricing remaining in line with initial discussions, making the transaction a rare investment-grade bond sale that did not tighten during syndication. Under the financing terms, Meta has committed to a 20-year lease beginning in 2028 and is responsible for construction cost overruns above specified thresholds. The bonds received investment-grade ratings, including A+ from S&P Global Ratings and AA- from Fitch Ratings and KBRA. The project is for a Meta data center in El Paso, Texas, with BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Management and HPS Investment Partners together holding an 80% stake in the project, and Meta owning the remaining 20%.
S&P Global launches AI data service and Pantera-backed digital asset index
S&P Global has launched an AI-powered Adaptive Retrieval data service and the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index in partnership with Pantera Capital. The Adaptive Retrieval service lets clients access and assemble licensed data using natural language queries for AI workflows. The new digital asset index expands the company's offerings in digital asset data and indexing. The launches come as S&P Global shares trade at $431.26, down 15.9% year to date but up 15.2% over five years.
Data centers expected to use four times more electricity by 2035
Data centers are expected to consume one-fifth of U.S. electricity by 2035, four times today's share, according to a new BloombergNEF report. The surge in AI compute will push data center capacity to nearly 200 gigawatts over the next decade, with almost half devoted to training and inference, mostly concentrated in the U.S., which will host 64% of AI chips by power demand in 2033. The new 2035 electricity demand estimate is 83% higher than BloombergNEF's December forecast, while EPRI has more than doubled its 2024 estimate and S&P's forecast rose by more than a third between October and April. The PJM Interconnection, spanning Virginia to Illinois, will see 34% of its electricity go to data centers, and ERCOT in Texas will devote 22% of its generating capacity, even as PJM struggles with connection requests and electricity prices have risen 76% over the past year. Globally, aggressive AI adoption could create 1,935 terawatt-hours of new electricity demand by 2033, nearly as much as India uses annually.
S&P Dow Jones Indices and Pantera Capital Launch Digital Asset Index
S&P Dow Jones Indices and Pantera Capital have launched the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index, a new benchmark for institutional investors seeking disciplined exposure to digital assets. The index uses a rules-based, fundamentals-driven approach that includes only tokens and companies demonstrating real-world use and actual revenue, excluding speculative assets like meme coins. It is designed to serve as a reference for investment products and active managers, applying the same standards as traditional benchmarks such as the S&P 500. The collaboration combines S&P Dow Jones Indices' indexing expertise with Pantera Capital's digital asset-native research, powered by data from Artemis.
S&P Global launches ETF Intelligence platform and projects US LNG as second largest net export industry
S&P Global Market Intelligence has launched ETF Intelligence, a new platform for exchange traded fund data and analytics, while an S&P Global Energy study projects that US LNG will become the nation's second largest net export industry within five years. The ETF Intelligence launch and the LNG export study signal an expansion of S&P Global's role in ETF analytics and energy market research. The company is trading at $450.84, with the share price up 4.7% over the past week and 7.9% over the past month, but down 12.1% year to date. The new platform aims to compete with other ETF data providers such as MSCI and Morningstar, while the LNG study reinforces S&P Global's position in energy analytics.
S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI launch consultation on GICS overhaul
S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI have opened a consultation on potential changes to the Global Industry Classification Standard. The review, which runs from July 17 to October 30, 2026, aims to ensure the GICS structure reflects current markets, with any resulting changes to be announced by November 2026. Key topics under review include the classification of artificial intelligence-related business models, restructuring of the semiconductors sub-industry, definition updates for high-performance computing as-a-service and AI data lifecycle services, classification of foundation model developers, updates to the application software sub-industry, and classification of listed investment companies. A select list of companies with market capitalizations exceeding USD 2 billion that may be affected is available to clients for illustrative purposes.
S&P Global completes spinoff of Mobility business, sharpening focus on ratings and market intelligence
S&P Global has completed the spinoff of its Mobility business, now trading as Mobility Global under ticker MBGL, effective July 1. The divested unit provides automotive market intelligence and owns CarFax, and was the company's smallest and lowest-margin segment with operating margins below 22% last year versus a companywide average above 40%. The remaining company, which includes ratings, market intelligence, and energy data services, is expected to see slightly higher profit margins and greater strategic focus. S&P Global's first quarterly earnings report without Mobility is due on July 28, and its 53-year streak of annual dividend growth remains intact.
Seeking Alpha flags 39 large-cap US stocks with Sell or Strong Sell ratings ahead of Q2 earnings
As second-quarter earnings season begins, Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating system identifies 39 large-cap US stocks carrying Sell or Strong Sell ratings, reflecting weaker scores across valuation, growth, profitability, momentum, and earnings estimate revisions. Seven of these companies hold the lowest Strong Sell designation with Quant Ratings below 1.50: Crown Castle, SBA Communications, Honeywell, Strategy, Zoetis, Erie Indemnity, and Tractor Supply. The remaining 32 stocks are rated Sell, including widely followed names such as Coinbase Global, Blackstone, S&P Global, Domino's Pizza, Lennar, Clorox, and Fidelity National Information Services. While some of these companies have delivered positive share-price returns this year, their Quant Ratings suggest investors should watch for potential downside risks as quarterly results and guidance are released.
Zacks highlights research reports on Interactive Brokers, Danaher, and S&P Global
Zacks Investment Research released new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Interactive Brokers, Danaher, and S&P Global, as well as a micro-cap stock Optical Cable. Interactive Brokers has outperformed its industry over the past year with a 64.7% gain versus 33.2%, driven by a widening product set and automated platform, though earnings remain sensitive to benchmark-rate changes and elevated expenses. Danaher's shares gained 3.9% over the past year, lagging the Zacks Medical Services industry's 18% gain, with strength in bioprocessing and filtration offset by weakness in diagnostics and high debt. S&P Global's shares declined 10.5% over the past year, slightly better than its industry's 11.4% decline, as subscription-based revenue and the IHS Markit acquisition support growth amid rising expenses and competitive pressures. Optical Cable, a micro-cap with a market capitalization of $144.85 million, saw its shares rise 175.8% over the past year, in line with the Zacks Fiber Optics industry, supported by demand from enterprise, data center, and severe-duty markets, though risks include constrained liquidity and customer concentration.
Moody's partners with Intapp to embed risk data inside AI workflows
Moody's and Intapp announced a partnership on July 14, 2026 to embed Moody's financial intelligence into Intapp's AI-powered professional workflow platform. The integration uses an open standard protocol to connect AI agents with Moody's risk data, entity screening, and company information inside client workflows, aiming to make Moody's datasets more accessible within day-to-day decision tools used by professional and financial services firms. This move shifts Moody's from being a data provider to being embedded inside workflows, potentially deepening client reliance on its risk intelligence and making its services harder to substitute versus competitors such as S&P Global and MSCI. The partnership also highlights execution risk, as client adoption and usage patterns sit partly outside Moody's direct control, and the open standard Model Context Protocol angle adds a distribution layer that existing narratives may not fully reflect yet.
S&P Global's Recurring Revenue and AI Demand Support Retention
S&P Global benefits from a recurring subscription-based revenue model and strong demand for AI-powered services, supporting its position in portfolios. Subscription product revenues rose 6% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, while Ratings revenue increased 13%, Market Intelligence 8%, Energy 7%, and Indices 17%. The company is expanding compatibility with AI platforms like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude, with AI-enabled customers generating faster annual contract value growth. S&P Global paid dividends of $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion, and $1.2 billion in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively, and repurchased shares worth $3.3 billion, $18.6 billion, and $5 billion over the same period. However, rising expenses—up 6.1% to $2.34 billion in the first quarter of 2026—and a current ratio of 0.68, below the industry average of 1.01, pose risks.
AI is making markets more efficient but increasing tail risks, Bernstein says
Artificial intelligence is making financial markets more efficient in many areas but also introducing new risks that could amplify volatility and market dislocations, according to a Bernstein research note. AI is improving market efficiency by processing earnings reports, regulatory filings and alternative datasets faster than human analysts, narrowing information gaps and reducing the size of earnings surprises. Automated workflows are cutting the time needed for earnings reviews and financial model updates, allowing analysts to follow more companies, with coverage of emerging market small caps rising sharply over the past year. However, greater adoption of similar AI models may create new vulnerabilities as trading signals become increasingly synchronized, encouraging crowded positions and making market reversals more severe during periods of stress. The note pointed to the August 2024 unwind of the yen carry trade and instances of AI-generated misinformation that briefly moved U.S. equities as examples of how automated strategies and synthetic content can accelerate volatility. Analysts also describe a reflexivity problem where AI-generated recommendations increasingly influence investor behavior, pushing prices in ways that reinforce future model outputs and potentially strengthening momentum trades and increasing market concentration. Overall, the findings suggest AI is likely to reduce average market inefficiencies through better research and execution while increasing the likelihood of larger dislocations during periods of market stress, resulting in lower average inefficiency but greater tail risk.
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