SPGI: FY25 Deep Dive
FY25 revenue $15.34B — Ratings $4.55B (66% OpMargin) and Indices $1.84B (69% OpMargin) the highest-margin segments. April 29 2025 announcement: Mobility spinoff to a new public company expected mid-2026 — the structural reorg of the year. Capital return $6.17B = 120% of FCF on aggressive buyback program. PT cuts swept Feb earnings: Wells -$145, Goldman -$140.
Key Takeaways
S&P Global closed fiscal 2025 (calendar year ended December 31, 2025) at $15.34 billion of revenue, with the structural read centered on the April 29, 2025 announcement of a full Mobility segment spinoff, expected to complete mid-2026 as a tax-free distribution to SPGI shareholders. The five-segment portfolio shows the typical SPGI margin signature — Ratings ($4.55B revenue, 66% segment OpMargin), Indices ($1.84B revenue, 69% margin), and Energy / Commodity Insights ($2.30B revenue, 41% margin) anchor the high-margin core; Market Intelligence ($4.90B revenue, 20% margin) is the larger but lower-margin scale franchise; Mobility ($1.75B revenue, 22% margin) is the segment being spun out. Net income attributable to SPGI was $4.47 billion. Operating cash flow was $5.65 billion, capex a tiny $195 million (asset-light data business), free cash flow $5.14 billion. Capital allocation: $5.00 billion in buybacks (the largest annual buyback program in the company's history) plus $1.17 billion in dividends — total $6.17 billion, representing 120% of FCF. The aggressive buyback pace reflects Q4 2024 incremental authorization plus the strategic decision to compress share count ahead of the Mobility spinoff. Sell-side coverage in the Feb-April 2026 window: 12 covered actions, all maintains (no rating changes). PT direction was bearish around the February 11 earnings date — Wells Fargo cut $675 → $530 (-$145), Goldman cut $638 → $498 (-$140), MS / Wells trimmed further in April.
Main business structure
S&P Global reports five operating segments:
| Segment | FY25 Revenue ($M) | FY25 OpInc ($M) | OpMargin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market Intelligence | 4,902 | 991 | 20% |
| Ratings | 4,549 | 3,013 | 66% |
| Energy (Commodity Insights / Platts) | 2,299 | 943 | 41% |
| Indices | 1,839 | 1,271 | 69% |
| Mobility | 1,747 | 378 | 22% |
| Total external revenue | 15,336 | 6,596 (segment) | 43% segment |
| Corporate Unallocated | — | (146) | — |
| Consolidated OpInc | — | 6,478 | 42% |
Ratings (~30% of revenue, 66% OpMargin) is the credit ratings franchise — issuer-pays + investor subscription model covering corporate, sovereign, structured finance debt globally. The ~50% market share alongside Moody's makes this a structural duopoly with bond-issuance-volume cyclicality.
Market Intelligence (~32%, 20% margin): data, analytics, financial software platforms (Capital IQ, ESG/sustainability data, fixed-income analytics, Compustat). The largest segment by revenue but the lowest-margin — recurring subscription revenue base with double-digit growth.
Indices (~12%, 69% margin): S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P Composite 1500, plus thousands of custom indices. Asset-based fees on ETF AUM tracking these indices is the structural compounder — index licensing economics are near-monopoly.
Energy / Commodity Insights (~15%, 41% margin): Platts pricing benchmarks (oil, gas, refined products, metals, agriculture) + S&P Global Commodity Insights data + analytics. Strong pricing power on benchmark-data products.
Mobility (~11%, 22% margin) — being spun out: automotive insights, vehicle history (CARFAX), automotive aftermarket data. Acquired with the IHS Markit merger in 2022. April 29, 2025 spinoff announcement: full separation as a new publicly traded company, expected mid-2026, tax-free distribution to SPGI shareholders.
Concurrent portfolio actions:
- OSTTRA (post-trade derivatives infrastructure) divested in 2025
- EDM and ThinkFolio closed 2026 — divested as part of broader portfolio rationalization
- The strategic intent is to focus the post-spin SPGI on the four high-margin core franchises (Ratings, Market Intelligence, Energy, Indices)
Geographic mix. ~57% Americas, ~28% EMEA, ~15% Asia-Pacific. Subscription-based revenue model less geographically cyclical than transaction-based businesses.
Customer concentration. Highly diversified — corporate / financial institution / asset manager / energy / government customer base globally. No 10%+ disclosure.
Scale anchors. ~40,000 employees globally. Operations in 30+ countries. The largest data and ratings franchise globally with Moody's and MSCI / Bloomberg as primary peers.
Key core metrics (3-year trend)
1. Revenue and segment composition
| FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue ($B) | 12.5 | 14.2 | 15.3 |
| YoY | — | +14% | +8% |
The FY25 revenue growth +8% reflects normalized post-COVID baseline; pre-revenue-recognition-conventions FY24 had benefited from US debt issuance recovery driving Ratings.
2. Segment-level operating margins
| Segment | FY25 OpMargin |
|---|---|
| Ratings | 66% |
| Indices | 69% |
| Energy | 41% |
| Mobility | 22% |
| Market Intelligence | 20% |
| Consolidated | 42% |
The 66% Ratings + 69% Indices margins are among the highest in S&P 500 — these are franchise economics that mirror exchange-operator economics (CME, ICE, Nasdaq).
3. Free cash flow
| FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OCF ($B) | 3.71 | 5.69 | 5.65 |
| Capex ($M) | 143 | 124 | 195 |
| FCF (non-GAAP, $B) | 3.29 | 5.28 | 5.14 |
FCF is structurally close to net income — capex intensity ~1% of revenue is the asset-light data-business signature.
4. Capital allocation — buyback acceleration
| FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buybacks ($B) | 3.30 | 3.30 | 5.00 |
| Dividends ($B) | 1.15 | 1.13 | 1.17 |
| Total return ($B) | 4.45 | 4.43 | 6.17 |
| Capital return / FCF | 135% | 84% | 120% |
Buyback pace accelerated 50% YoY to $5.0B in FY25 — the largest single-year buyback program in company history. Combined with steady dividend, capital return reached 120% of FCF. The aggressive pace coincides with the Mobility spinoff announcement (April 2025) — likely intended to compress share count ahead of the distribution.
Market evaluation
Sell-side coverage (Feb-April 2026 window). 12 covered actions in window — all maintains, no rating changes. The pattern was uniformly bearish PT direction:
February 11 earnings cycle (synchronized PT cuts):
- Wells Fargo (Jason Haas): $675 → $530 on Feb 11 — -$145, the largest cut, OW maintained
- Goldman Sachs (George Tong): $638 → $498 on Feb 11 — -$140 cut, Buy maintained
- Multiple other firms cut PTs 5-15% off prior levels
April additional trims:
- Morgan Stanley (Toni Kaplan): trimmed to $556 on April 7 — OW maintained
- Wells Fargo: further trim $530 → $525 on April 13
The bear thesis behind the synchronized cuts: (1) US bond issuance volume softening into FY26 affecting Ratings cyclicality; (2) Mobility spinoff dilution / valuation reset risk; (3) Market Intelligence growth deceleration concerns. The bull thesis keeping ratings unchanged: (1) Indices franchise compounding on ETF AUM growth, (2) Ratings + Indices margin profile the durable economics, (3) Mobility spinoff post-completion likely to surface value via cleaner trading multiple on the high-margin remainco.
Buy-side positioning. SPGI is a core large-cap financials / data holding paired with MSCI / MCO (Moody's) in a "data / index / ratings" basket. Defensive growth profile with high-margin franchise economics. Short interest below 1% of float.
FY25 corporate structure: the year of the Mobility spinoff announcement
FY25 is the year S&P Global announced the largest portfolio reorg since the IHS Markit merger — Mobility spinoff (announced April 29, 2025; expected mid-2026 close) plus concurrent OSTTRA / EDM / ThinkFolio divestitures. The post-spin SPGI will be a four-segment franchise focused on Ratings (66% margin), Market Intelligence (20% margin, biggest revenue), Energy (41% margin), and Indices (69% margin) — with Mobility carved out into a separate $1.7B-revenue, 22%-margin auto-data business. Capital return at $6.17B / 120% of FCF reflects an aggressive buyback acceleration ($5.0B vs $3.3B FY24) likely intended to compress share count ahead of the Mobility distribution. The Q1 FY26 earnings print this week is the proximate event for: (1) updated commentary on Mobility spinoff timeline (closes mid-2026 if on schedule), (2) any signal on FY26 Ratings issuance cycle, (3) update on the ongoing portfolio simplification narrative as EDM / ThinkFolio divestitures continue.