The following Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") provides a narrative
of the results of operations and financial condition of S&P Global Inc.
(together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "S&P Global," the "Company," "we,"
"us" or "our") for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. The MD&A should
be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements, accompanying
notes and MD&A included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019
(our "Form 10-K"), which have been prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). The
MD&A includes the following sections:
•Overview
•Results of Operations - Comparing the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020
and 2019
•Liquidity and Capital Resources
•Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information
•Critical Accounting Estimates
•Recently Issued or Adopted Accounting Standards
•Forward-Looking Statements

OVERVIEW



We are a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks,
analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. The capital
markets include asset managers, investment banks, commercial banks, insurance
companies, exchanges, trading firms and issuers; and the commodity markets
include producers, traders and intermediaries within energy, petrochemicals,
metals and agriculture.

Our operations consist of four reportable segments: S&P Global Ratings
("Ratings"), S&P Global Market Intelligence ("Market Intelligence"), S&P Global
Platts ("Platts") and S&P Dow Jones Indices ("Indices").
•Ratings is an independent provider of credit ratings, research, and analytics,
offering investors and other market participants information, ratings and
benchmarks.
•Market Intelligence is a global provider of multi-asset-class data, research
and analytical capabilities, which integrate cross-asset analytics and desktop
services.
•Platts is the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices
for the commodity and energy markets.
•Indices is a global index provider maintaining a wide variety of valuation and
index benchmarks for investment advisors, wealth managers and institutional
investors.
Key results for the periods ended June 30 are as follows:
(in millions, except per share
amounts)                                         Three Months                                                                        Six Months
                                  2020             2019            % Change 1             2020             2019            % Change 1
Revenue                        $ 1,943          $ 1,704                14%             $ 3,729          $ 3,275                14%
Operating profit 2             $ 1,105          $   813                36%             $ 2,017          $ 1,518                33%
Operating margin %                  57  %            48  %                                  54  %            46  %
Diluted earnings per share
from net income                $  3.28          $  2.24                46%             $  5.90          $  3.89                51%


1  % changes in the tables throughout the MD&A are calculated off of the actual
number, not the rounded number presented.
2 Operating profit for the three months ended June 30, 2020 includes employee
severance charges of $3 million, Kensho retention related expense of $2 million
and a gain on disposition of $1 million. Operating profit for the six months
ended June 30, 2020 includes employee severance charges of $12 million, a gain
on disposition of $8 million and Kensho retention related expense of $7 million.
Operating profit for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 includes
employee severance charges of $20 million and a lease impairment of $5 million.
Additionally, operating profit for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019
includes Kensho retention related expense of $5 million and $11 million,
respectively. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from
acquisitions of $32 million and $31 million for the three months ended June 30,
2020 and 2019, respectively, and $61 million and $63 million for the six months
ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

                                       37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three Months



Revenue increased 14% driven by increases at all of our reportable segments.
Revenue growth at Ratings was mainly driven by an increase in transaction
revenue due to higher corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by a
decrease in bank loan ratings revenue and structured finance revenue. Revenue
growth at Market Intelligence was driven by annualized contract value growth in
Market Intelligence Desktop products, Credit Risk Solutions and Data Management
Solutions. Revenue growth at Indices was due to higher exchange-traded
derivatives trading volumes and an increase in data subscription revenue,
partially offset by the unfavorable impact of benefits related to a contract
renegotiation and retrospective fee that were recognized in the second quarter
of 2019. The revenue increase at Platts was primarily due to continued demand
for market data and price assessment products. Foreign exchange rates had an
unfavorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 36%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange
rates of 1 percentage point. Excluding the impact of higher employee severance
charges in 2019 of 4 percentage points and a lease impairment charge in 2019 of
1 percentage point, operating profit increased 31%. The increase was primarily
due to revenue growth at all of our reportable segments combined with a
reduction in expenses driven by a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses
from non-essential travel restrictions in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus
("COVID-19"), lower professional fees at Ratings from increased leverage from
the Global Technology Center, lower costs due to the postponement of events due
to COVID-19 and the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates, partially offset
by higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional
headcount.

Six Months

Revenue increased 14% driven by increases at all of our reportable segments.
Revenue growth at Ratings was mainly driven by an increase in transaction
revenue due to higher corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by a
decrease in bank loan ratings revenue. Revenue growth at Market Intelligence was
driven by annualized contract value growth in Market Intelligence Desktop
products, Credit Risk Solutions and Data Management Solutions. Revenue growth at
Indices was due to higher exchange-traded derivatives trading volumes, higher
average levels of assets under management ("AUM") for ETFs and an increase in
data subscription revenue. The revenue increase at Platts was primarily due to
continued demand for market data and price assessment products. Foreign exchange
rates had an unfavorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 33%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange
rates of 2 percentage points. Excluding the favorable impact of a gain on
disposition of 1 percentage point, higher employee severance charges in 2019 of
1 percentage point, a lease impairment charge in 2019 of 1 percentage point and
higher Kensho retention related expense in 2019 of 1 percentage point, operating
profit increased 29%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth at all of
our reportable segments combined with a reduction in expenses driven by a
decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel
restrictions in response to COVID-19, lower professional fees at Ratings from
increased leverage from the Global Technology Center, lower costs due to the
postponement of events due to COVID-19 and the favorable impact of foreign
exchange rates, partially offset by higher compensation costs driven by annual
merit increases and additional headcount.

We are closely monitoring the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 on all aspects
of our business. While COVID-19 did not have a material adverse effect on our
reported results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, we are unable
to predict the ultimate impact that it may have on our business, future results
of operations, financial position or cash flows. While we have modeled and
updated the financial implications of three and six month recovery scenarios,
factoring in data points from both internal and external economists and a range
of observable market sources and incorporated the impact into our 2020 guidance
expectations, the extent to which our results of operations may be impacted by
the COVID-19 pandemic will depend largely on future developments, which are
uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted.

Our Strategy



We are a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks,
analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. Our purpose
is to provide the intelligence that is essential for companies, governments and
individuals to make decisions with conviction. We seek to deliver on this
purpose in line with our core values of integrity, excellence and relevance.

In 2018, we announced the launch of Powering the Markets of the Future to provide a framework for our forward-looking business strategy. Through this framework, we seek to deliver an exceptional, differentiated customer experience by enhancing our foundational capabilities, evolving and growing our core businesses, and pursuing growth via adjacencies. In 2020, we will strive to deliver on our strategic priorities in the following key areas:


                                       38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finance

•Meeting or exceeding revenue growth and EBITA margin targets and delivering on commitments to return capital to shareholders;

•Funding organic opportunities with continued productivity gains;

•Pursuing a disciplined acquisition, investment and partnership strategy to support our strategic initiatives; and

•Better serving our customers, employees, and the communities in which we operate through our commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability.

Customer

•Continuing to drive excellence through our core business offerings;

•Delivering ESG, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise data and Marketplace solutions to market on schedule and with strong commercial traction;

•Modernizing and enhancing the delivery of our products across multiple channels (e.g., S&P Global Platform, MI Smart move, feeds, application programming interfaces);

•Providing a superior customer experience through the collective efforts of our divisions and functions; and

•Accelerating growth in non-U.S. markets with a particular focus on progressing our businesses in China.



Operations

•Modernizing our workplace to improve end-user productivity and experience, enabling our employees to innovate and better serve our customers;

•Standardizing and simplifying our technology to best support and enable our divisions;

•Reducing our Cyber Security risk while augmenting process maturity and producing outcomes commensurate with our risk appetite;

•Maintaining our strong commitment to quality, utilizing shared data processes and capabilities; and

•Continuing to advance a strong Risk, Internal Control, and Compliance environment.

People

•Creating an inclusive performance-driven culture that drives employee engagement and aligns with our purpose of accelerating progress in the world;

•Promoting career mobility and attracting and retaining the best people; and

•Improving diversity in overall representation through talent acquisition, advancement and retention.



There can be no assurance that we will achieve success in implementing any one
or more of these strategies as a variety of factors could unfavorably impact
operating results, including prolonged difficulties in the global credit markets
and a change in the regulatory environment affecting our businesses. See Item
1A, Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q and our most recently filed Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
                                       39

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© Edgar Online, source Glimpses