S&P Global Inc. is a major American corporation providing essential financial information, analytics, and energy intelligence worldwide. Its operations are critical to global capital markets, offering independent credit ratings through S&P Global Ratings, benchmark commodity prices via S&P Global Energy, and extensive market data and indices. For Canadian investors and institutions, the company's partnership with the Toronto Stock Exchange delivers premier equity indices that are fundamental to the national financial landscape. The company's data and ratings support investment decisions, risk management, and economic analysis across Canada.
Corporate Structure and Core Businesses
S&P Global organizes its vast operations into distinct divisions, each serving a critical function in global finance and commodities markets. The company is the parent organization for several well-known subsidiaries that operate with a high degree of independence in their respective fields. These divisions provide the essential data, benchmarks, and analysis that form the backbone of modern financial systems. The company's reach extends from credit assessments for sovereign nations to real-time price reporting for oil and gas markets.
S&P Global Ratings is perhaps the most publicly recognized division, providing independent credit ratings on investment instruments ranging from corporate bonds to national governments. Its assessments directly influence interest rates and investment flows worldwide. S&P Global Energy, formerly known as Platts and headquartered in London, is a primary source of benchmark price assessments for commodities, energy, petrochemicals, metals, and agriculture. It maintains offices in more than 15 major global centres including Houston, Singapore, and Dubai, and its data is used to settle contracts worth billions of dollars.
S&P Global Market Intelligence is a provider of multi-asset class and real-time data, research, news, and analytics to institutional investors, banks, and corporations. Its suite of products includes platforms like Capital IQ and data sources such as Panjiva. S&P Dow Jones Indices, a joint venture majority-owned by S&P Global, is the world's largest global resource for index-based concepts. It calculates over 830,000 indices, including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, and provides benchmarks for hundreds of exchange-traded funds globally.
Historical Evolution from Publisher to Data Giant
The origins of S&P Global trace back to the late 19th century with the separate publishing ventures of James H. McGraw and John A. Hill. McGraw purchased the American Journal of Railway Appliances in 1888 and established The McGraw Publishing Company in 1899, while Hill formed The Hill Publishing Company in 1902. The two men agreed to combine the book departments of their companies in 1909, forming The McGraw, Hill Book Company, and fully merged their remaining publishing operations in 1917 to create The McGraw, Hill Publishing Company. This merger laid the foundation for a century of growth and diversification. Throughout the 20th century, the company expanded significantly beyond its original publishing business. A key expansion occurred in 1966 when McGraw, Hill purchased the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's. The company entered the broadcasting field in 1972 by acquiring four television stations from a division of Time Inc. It also became a major force in educational publishing, notably acquiring The Economy Company in 1986. That acquisition made McGraw, Hill the largest educational publisher in the United States at that time.
The 21st century marked a strategic shift away from its traditional businesses towards a focused financial information powerhouse. The company sold its television station group in 2011 and its entire education division, McGraw, Hill Education, in 2013. Following the sale of its construction data division in 2014, the company renamed itself McGraw Hill Financial in 2013 and then S&P Global Inc. in 2016 to reflect its core focus. Major recent transactions include the $44 billion acquisition of analytics firm IHS Markit in 2020 and the spin-off of its Mobility division into an independent public company in 2026, cementing its position as a data and analytics leader.
- 1888: James H. McGraw purchases the American Journal of Railway Appliances.
- 1909: McGraw and Hill combine book departments to form The McGraw, Hill Book Company.
- 1966: McGraw, Hill purchases Standard & Poor's credit rating agency.
- 2013: Sells McGraw, Hill Education division. Changes name to McGraw Hill Financial.
- 2016: Renames itself S&P Global Inc.
- 2020: Acquires IHS Markit for $44 billion.
- 2026: Spins off Mobility division as Mobility Global Inc.
Operations and Presence in Canada
S&P Global maintains a direct operational presence in Canada, primarily through its office in Vancouver, British Columbia, located at 1055 West Georgia Street. This office supports various business lines, including market intelligence and sales operations for the Canadian market. The company also lists numerous job openings in Toronto, Ontario, for roles such as Credit Product Specialist and OTC Derivatives Analyst, indicating active recruitment and business activity within the country's major financial centre. These positions are part of the company's global workforce that provides essential intelligence to customers.
The company's most significant impact on the Canadian financial system comes through its indices partnership with the Toronto Stock Exchange. S&P Dow Jones Indices has a long history of measuring Canada's markets, collaborating with the exchange to produce the premier benchmarks for Canadian equities. These indices are used by investors globally to track the performance of the Canadian stock market and serve as the basis for many investment products, including exchange-traded funds and index funds offered within Canadian registered accounts. This partnership ensures Canadian markets are measured with globally recognized methodology.
Canadian financial institutions, corporations, and government bodies rely on S&P Global's data and ratings for critical decision-making. Banks use its market intelligence for risk assessment and trading, while corporations may engage with S&P Global Ratings for credit evaluations. The commodity price assessments from S&P Global Energy are vital for Canada's significant natural resources sector, providing transparent benchmarks for energy and mining products that are central to the national economy. The company's analysis on global sectors like aerospace and coal also informs Canadian policy and corporate strategy, as seen in its reports on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on airlines.
Leadership and Corporate Milestones
The leadership of S&P Global and its predecessors has remained closely tied to the McGraw family for much of its history, with several family members serving as president. James H. McGraw served as the first president of the merged company from 1917 to 1928. His son, James H. McGraw Jr., led the company from 1937 to 1950, and later, Harold McGraw Jr. served as president from 1974 to 1983. Harold W. McGraw III, known as Terry McGraw, was president from 1998 until the corporate restructuring in 2013, overseeing the company's transition towards financial services.
The presidency transitioned outside the family with the appointment of Douglas L. Peterson in 2013, who led the company through its rebranding to S&P Global and major acquisitions like IHS Markit. In 2024, Martina Cheung became the president and CEO, marking a new chapter in the company's leadership. Under these recent leaders, the company has aggressively pursued growth through strategic acquisitions, most notably the landmark purchase of IHS Markit, which significantly expanded its data and analytics capabilities across multiple sectors. The company also named Dan Draper as CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices in 2020.
The company has also been recognized for its corporate responsibilities. In 2023, S&P Global was included in Newsweek's ranking of America's Greenest Companies 2024 for its sustainability efforts. Historically, the National Building Museum presented the McGraw, Hill Companies with its annual Honor Award in 1999 for contributions to the built environment. The company maintained a dedicated credit union for employees, originally established in 1935, which merged with Pentagon Federal Credit Union in 2019 after serving staff for over eight decades.
Major Acquisitions and Divestitures
S&P Global's growth has been characterized by a cycle of strategic acquisitions and divestitures, reshaping the company from a broad-based publisher to a focused financial information provider. The 1966 purchase of Standard & Poor's was the foundational acquisition that set the company on its current path. Later expansions included the 1972 move into broadcasting and the 1986 acquisition that made it the top U.S. educational publisher. These moves diversified the company but also set the stage for later sales as strategy shifted. It sold Business Week to Bloomberg in 2009 and its entire television station group in 2011. The most significant divestiture was the 2013 sale of its education division, McGraw, Hill Education, for $2.4 billion. This was followed by the sale of its construction data unit in 2014 and J.D. Power and Associates in 2016, completely exiting its traditional publishing and media roots.
Concurrently, the company made massive acquisitions to bolster its core data and analytics businesses. The $44 billion deal for IHS Markit in 2020 was one of the largest in the sector, combining two giants in financial and commodities information. In 2025, S&P Global announced a deal to buy markets data firm With Intelligence for $1.8 billion. Following large acquisitions, the company sometimes sells non-core parts, as seen with the 2023 sale of former IHS engineering operations to KKR & Co., which rebranded as Accuris, continually refining its business portfolio.
| Year | Acquisition | Divestiture |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Standard & Poor's | |
| 2009 | Business Week | |
| 2011 | Television station group | |
| 2013 | McGraw, Hill Education | |
| 2014 | McGraw, Hill Construction | |
| 2016 | J.D. Power and Associates | |
| 2020 | IHS Markit | |
| 2025 | With Intelligence |
Role in Global and Canadian Markets
S&P Global's products and services are deeply embedded in the architecture of global finance. Its credit ratings from S&P Global Ratings affect the borrowing costs of countries and corporations, with downgrades or upgrades often moving financial markets. The commodity price benchmarks published by S&P Global Energy, such as the Dated Brent assessment for crude oil, are used to price physical cargoes and settle derivatives contracts worth billions of dollars daily. This makes the company a key player in the price discovery process for essential resources relied upon by economies worldwide.
The indices from S&P Dow Jones Indices provide foundational benchmarks for measuring market performance and constructing investment products. The company calculates over 830,000 indices. Its benchmarks provide the basis for 575 exchange-traded funds globally with $387 billion in assets invested. Furthermore, $1.5 trillion of the world's indexed assets are tied to its indices. The data feeds from S&P Global Market Intelligence are integrated into the systems of major financial institutions worldwide.
In Canada, the influence is equally profound. The S&P/TSX Composite Index, co-developed with the Toronto Stock Exchange, is the definitive measure of the Canadian equity market. It is the benchmark for countless pension funds, mutual funds, and ETFs within Canada. Furthermore, Canadian energy and mining companies are heavily reliant on the price assessments from S&P Global Energy for their revenue calculations and hedging activities. The company's analysis on sectors like aerospace and coal also informs Canadian policy and investment decisions, especially regarding industries impacted by global trends and crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Frequently asked questions
What does S&P Global do?
S&P Global Inc. is an American corporation whose primary areas of business are financial information, analytics, and energy and commodities intelligence. It is the parent company of S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Energy, and the Indian credit rating agency CRISIL. The company provides independent investment research, benchmark price assessments for commodities and energy, and multi-asset class data and analytics. Its S&P Dow Jones Indices division produces indices like the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Does S&P Global have offices in Canada?
Yes, S&P Global has an office in Canada. The office is located at 1055 West Georgia Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company also lists job openings in Toronto, Ontario, for positions such as Credit Product Specialist and OTC Derivatives Analyst. This demonstrates the company's operational presence and recruitment activities within the country.
What is S&P Global's connection to the Toronto Stock Exchange?
S&P Global, through its S&P Dow Jones Indices division, partners with the Toronto Stock Exchange. This partnership delivers the premier measures of Canadian equities. The company has long been a leader in measuring Canada's markets through this collaboration. The indices created through this partnership are key benchmarks for the Canadian stock market.
Who owns S&P Global?
S&P Global is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SPGI. It is owned by its shareholders. The company was historically controlled by the McGraw family, which founded the predecessor publishing businesses. However, since becoming a public company, ownership has been distributed among institutional and individual investors who trade its shares on the open market.
What was the big acquisition S&P Global made recently?
A major recent acquisition by S&P Global was the purchase of the analytics company IHS Markit in November 2020 for $44 billion. As part of the integration of that acquisition, S&P Global sold the former IHS engineering operations to KKR & Co. in 2023, which rebranded them as Accuris. Furthermore, in October 2025, S&P Global announced another significant deal to acquire the markets data and analytics firm With Intelligence for $1.8 billion. These moves are consistent with the company's strategic focus on expanding its data, analytics, and intelligence offerings.
Sources and further reading
- S&P Global (Wikipedia) en.wikipedia.org
- S&P Global Apply careers.spglobal.com
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