Standard & Poor's
A global credit-rating agency and division of S&P Global that evaluates the creditworthiness of governments, companies, financial institutions and debt instruments.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
S&P Global Ratings is the credit-rating division of S&P Global and one of the world's largest credit-rating agencies. It produces ratings, research and analysis concerning the ability and willingness of borrowers and issuers to meet their financial obligations. Its coverage includes sovereign governments, public-sector borrowers, banks, insurers, corporations, structured-finance vehicles and individual debt issues. The agency is commonly grouped with Moody's Ratings and Fitch Ratings as the global industry's Big Three. The business traces its institutional lineage to Henry Varnum Poor's 1860 publication on the financial and operating condition of American railroad companies. Poor and his son later developed recurring reference publications for railroad investors. A separate information business, the Standard Statistics Bureau, was established by Luther Lee Blake in 1906 to provide frequently updated information on non-railroad companies. In 1941, Poor's Publishing merged with Standard Statistics to form Standard & Poor's Corp. McGraw-Hill acquired the company in 1966, bringing the ratings and financial-information operations into a larger publishing and market-data group. The parent company was later renamed S&P Global. S&P Global Ratings' principal product is an opinion on credit risk rather than a guarantee of repayment. Its long-term issuer and issue ratings run from AAA, denoting the strongest capacity to meet financial commitments, through investment-grade and speculative-grade categories to D, denoting default. Short-term issue ratings generally run from A-1 to D. The agency may also publish outlooks and credit-watch designations indicating the potential direction of a rating. Ratings are used by investors, lenders, issuers, regulators and market intermediaries when assessing borrowing costs, investment mandates and portfolio risk. The agency has also published credit-market research and investment commentary, including long-running periodicals such as The Outlook and Credit Week. Earlier governance products included Corporate Governance Scores and GAMMA assessments, although standalone governance scoring was discontinued while governance analysis continued to be incorporated into broader credit work. S&P's methodology has evolved toward evaluating management, governance, enterprise risk and other qualitative factors alongside financial data. Its influence has made rating actions consequential in debt markets and public policy. The 2011 downgrade of the United States from AAA to AA+ drew intense criticism after the agency acknowledged a major calculation error in its supporting debt projection. Rating decisions concerning France and other European countries during the euro-area debt crisis also attracted political scrutiny. More broadly, the agency and its peers were criticized for assigning high ratings to structured-finance securities before the 2008 financial crisis. Litigation and regulatory settlements have focused on alleged conflicts arising from the issuer-pays model, the quality of structured-finance analysis and whether published ratings or related statements misled investors. Today, S&P Global Ratings operates as part of S&P Global's broader financial-information ecosystem. It remains an internationally significant provider of credit opinions and fixed-income research, while its parent also operates businesses in indices, commodity and energy information, mobility data and market intelligence.
History
Standard & Poor's developed from two American information businesses serving investors in an era when corporate disclosure was limited. In 1860, Henry Varnum Poor published a detailed history of U.S. railroads, assembling financial and operational information that investors could use to compare railway companies. Poor later worked with his son through H.V. and H.W. Poor Co., producing recurring railroad manuals and directories. Luther Lee Blake founded the Standard Statistics Bureau in 1906. Its method emphasized more frequent updates and extended coverage to non-railroad companies. Standard Statistics eventually became known for indexes and financial statistics, while Poor's Publishing retained its strong reference and securities-information heritage. In 1941, Paul Talbot Babson acquired Poor's Publishing and merged it with Standard Statistics, creating Standard & Poor's Corporation. The combined organization broadened its publications, indexes, investment services, and credit-rating operations. Its ratings came to cover corporate and government debt, bank loans, insurance claims-paying ability, funds, private placements, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and other structured instruments. The brand's rating scale and analytical publications helped standardize how many institutional investors, issuers, and regulators discussed credit quality. McGraw-Hill acquired Standard & Poor's in 1966. Under McGraw-Hill, the business became part of a larger information and publishing portfolio and continued to internationalize its ratings and index activities. In 1957, before the acquisition, Standard & Poor's had introduced the S&P 500, which became a central benchmark for U.S. equities and later supported index funds, exchange-traded products, derivatives, and performance comparisons. The parent company later separated from much of its traditional publishing identity. McGraw-Hill Financial was renamed S&P Global in 2016, and the Standard & Poor's name became most visibly associated with the ratings operation and the S&P index family. The index business had been combined with Dow Jones Indexes in 2012 to create S&P Dow Jones Indices. S&P Global subsequently expanded its data and analytics capabilities, including the acquisition of Kensho in 2018 and the 2022 merger with IHS Markit. The brand's modern history also includes sustained scrutiny. During and after the 2008 financial crisis, critics argued that S&P and other rating agencies gave excessive confidence to mortgage-related structured securities. The downgrade of the United States in 2011 and France in 2012 demonstrated the political sensitivity of sovereign ratings. Regulators and courts have examined rating methodologies, analyst incentives, issuer-paid business models, internal controls, and the language used to market ratings. S&P remains an active global provider, but its role is understood as influential rather than infallible: ratings and indexes are analytical tools that require independent assessment by users.
- 2022
S&P Global and IHS Markit merge
[2]The merger joined complementary market, economic, commodities, and financial-data businesses.
- 2018
S&P Global acquires Kensho
[2]The acquisition added artificial-intelligence and analytical technology capabilities to the group.
- 2016
McGraw Hill Financial becomes S&P Global
[7]The parent company's rebrand aligned the corporate identity with the S&P brand portfolio.
- 2012
S&P and Dow Jones index operations combine
[8]The combination formed S&P Dow Jones Indices, expanding the scale of the index business.
- 1966
McGraw-Hill acquires Standard & Poor's
[7]The acquisition placed the financial-information brand within McGraw-Hill's corporate group.
- 1957
S&P 500 is introduced
[2]Standard & Poor's created the broad large-cap U.S. equity benchmark that became its most recognizable index product.
- 1941
Poor's Publishing merges with Standard Statistics
[2]The merger created Standard & Poor's Corporation and united reference publishing, financial statistics, indexes, and ratings capabilities.
- 1906
Standard Statistics Bureau is founded
[1]Luther Lee Blake created a frequently updated financial-statistics business covering companies beyond the railroad sector.
- 1860
Henry Varnum Poor publishes railroad reference work
[1]Poor published a comprehensive account of U.S. railroads, establishing the information-service lineage later associated with Standard & Poor's.
Products and positioning
A global capital-markets intelligence brand combining standardized credit opinions, benchmarks, financial data, and research for professional market participants.
Credit ratings and credit research · 1916
S&P Global Ratings
The ratings business evaluates the creditworthiness of governments, companies, financial institutions, structured-finance vehicles, and debt instruments. Its long-term scale ranges from AAA to D, with modifiers, outlooks, and credit-watch indicators used to communicate relative risk and potential rating direction. Ratings are used by issuers, investors, intermediaries, and regulators, but represent opinions rather than assurances of repayment.
Equity index · 1957
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a large-cap U.S. equity benchmark tracking 500 leading companies. It is used as a market barometer, portfolio-performance reference, and foundation for investment products and derivatives. Its influence extends well beyond the individual constituents because many passive and active investment strategies compare themselves with or seek exposure to the index.
Index platform · 2012
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Created through the combination of S&P and Dow Jones index operations, this platform provides benchmarks across equities, fixed income, commodities, strategy, and other asset classes. Its indexes support investment products, derivatives, asset allocation, research, and performance measurement in domestic and international markets.
Financial data and research
S&P financial research and market intelligence
The wider S&P Global portfolio supplies financial data, company information, economic analysis, industry research, and risk-related analytics. Offerings are directed primarily at institutional investors, banks, insurers, corporations, governments, and professional advisers that need structured information for valuation, due diligence, monitoring, and decision-making.
Controversies
2013
Regulatory and legal scrutiny over ratings quality
The company faced U.S. government litigation and regulatory scrutiny concerning representations and practices related to ratings of structured securities. Its advertising claims about research and review processes attracted additional attention during the dispute.
2008
Role of ratings in the global financial crisis
S&P and other rating agencies were criticized for assigning high ratings to mortgage-related structured products whose risks later became apparent. The episode intensified scrutiny of methodologies, conflicts of interest, and the issuer-paid ratings model.
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Ratings methodology and accountability advertising
United States
S&P advertising emphasized analyst research, internal scrutiny, committee approval, and post-crisis methodology improvements while the company was defending itself against allegations about ratings quality.
Outcome. The campaign became part of public reporting and was criticized as potentially inconsistent with the company's legal argument that promotional language was merely non-actionable puffery.
Brand decisions
2022
Complete IHS Markit mergerM&ABackground
S&P Global pursued broader data, analytics, and market-intelligence capabilities through a combination with IHS Markit.
Action taken
S&P Global completed its merger with IHS Markit.
Aftermath
The combined group expanded its coverage of financial markets, economics, commodities, and industry information.
2016
Rebrand parent company as S&P GlobalStrategyBackground
The former McGraw Hill Financial group sought to emphasize financial intelligence, ratings, benchmarks, and data rather than its historical publishing identity.
Action taken
The parent company changed its corporate name to S&P Global while retaining Standard & Poor's and related S&P brands within the portfolio.
Aftermath
The rebrand made S&P Global the principal corporate identity and left Standard & Poor's most closely associated with ratings and indexes.
2012
Combine S&P and Dow Jones index businessesM&ABackground
Both businesses operated established index franchises serving professional investors and financial-product providers.
Action taken
Their index operations were combined into S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Aftermath
The transaction created a larger global provider of benchmarks across multiple asset classes.
Recent events
S&P Global Ratings launches sustainability-linked financing opinions[10]
Reported:
S&P Global Ratings announced a new service offering Second Party Opinions for sustainability-linked financings, assessing alignment with third-party sustainable finance principles and guidelines.
Sources10 sources
- 1S&P Global Ratingsen.wikipedia.org
- 2S&P Global Our Historyspglobal.com
- 3Statement of Standard & Poor's on Credit Rating Agenciessec.gov
- 4Standard & Poor'sbritannica.com
- 5S&P 500en.wikipedia.org
- 6Standard & Poor's Completes Acquisition of Corporate Value Consulting Units29.q4cdn.com
- 7McGraw-Hill acquires Standard & Poor'sen.wikipedia.org
- 8S&P and Dow Jones index operations combinecorporatefinanceinstitute.com
- 9Ratings methodology and accountability advertisingbuzzfeednews.com
- 10标普全球评级推出可持续发展挂钩融资意见服务prnewswire.com
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