UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 20192020
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from                     to                     
Commission File Number: 1-1023  
spgi-20200930_g1.jpg
S&P Global Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
New York13-1026995
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

55 Water Street,New York,New York10041
(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-438-1000212-438-1000
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
ClassTrading SymbolName of Exchange on which registered
Common stock (par value $1.00 per share)SPGINew York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.                            Yes No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Date File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).                                         Yes No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitionthe definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filerAccelerated filerNon-accelerated filerSmaller reporting company
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    YES NO

As of October 25, 201923, 2020 (latest practicable date), 244.4240.6 million shares of the issuer's classes of common stock (par value $1.00 per share) were outstanding.


1


S&P Global Inc.
INDEX
 
Page Number
Item 6. Exhibits

2


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of S&P Global Inc.  


Results of Review of Interim Financial Statements

We have reviewed the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of S&P Global Inc. (and subsidiaries) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of September 30, 2019,2020, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, and equity for the three- and nine- monthnine-month periods ended September 30, 20192020 and 2018,2019, the related consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 20192020 and 2018,2019, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated interim financial statements”). Based on our reviews, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the consolidated interim financial statements for them to be in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.


We have previously audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of December 31, 2018,2019, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, equity and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes and schedule (not presented herein); and in our report dated February 12, 2019,10, 2020, we expressed an unqualified audit opinion on those consolidated financial statements. In our opinion, the information set forth in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2018,2019, is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the consolidated balance sheet from which it has been derived.

Basis for Review Results

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the PCAOB. We conducted our review in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. A review of interim financial statements consists principally of applying analytical procedures and making inquiries of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters. It is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB, the objective of which is the expression of an opinion regarding the financial statements taken as a whole. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.

/s/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP

New York, New York
October 29, 201927, 2020



3


PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements

S&P Global Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited)
(in millions, except per share amounts)Three Months EndedNine Months Ended
September 30,September 30,
2020201920202019
Revenue$1,846 $1,689 $5,575 $4,964 
Expenses:
Operating-related expenses519 480 1,533 1,460 
Selling and general expenses339 318 944 992 
Depreciation20 20 60 61 
Amortization of intangibles32 29 94 92 
Total expenses910 847 2,631 2,605 
Gain on dispositions(8)(49)(16)(49)
Operating profit944 891 2,960 2,408 
Other (income) expense, net(6)(16)104 
Interest expense, net35 32 109 105 
Loss on extinguishment of debt279 279 
Income before taxes on income636 851 2,588 2,199 
Provision for taxes on income138 189 559 482 
Net income498 662 2,029 1,717 
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(43)(45)(144)(135)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$455 $617 $1,885 $1,582 
Earnings per share attributable to S&P Global Inc. common shareholders:
Net income:
Basic$1.89 $2.52 $7.82 $6.43 
Diluted$1.88 $2.50 $7.78 $6.40 
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic240.6 245.0 241.2 245.9 
Diluted241.6 246.5 242.3 247.4 
Actual shares outstanding at period end240.6 244.4 
(in millions, except per share amounts)Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
 September 30, September 30,
 2019 2018 2019 2018
Revenue$1,689
 $1,546
 $4,964
 $4,721
Expenses:       
Operating-related expenses438
 410
 1,337
 1,287
Selling and general expenses360
 379
 1,115
 1,197
Depreciation20
 20
 61
 60
Amortization of intangibles29
 33
 92
 91
Total expenses847
 842
 2,605
 2,635
Gain on dispositions(49) 
 (49) 
Operating profit891
 704
 2,408
 2,086
Other expense (income), net8
 (6) 104
 (22)
Interest expense, net32
 38
 105
 98
Income before taxes on income851
 672
 2,199
 2,010
Provision for taxes on income189
 137
 482
 440
Net income662
 535
 1,717
 1,570
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(45) (40) (135) (123)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$617
 $495
 $1,582
 $1,447
        
Earnings per share attributable to S&P Global Inc. common shareholders:       
Net income:       
Basic$2.52
 $1.97
 $6.43
 $5.75
Diluted$2.50
 $1.95
 $6.40
 $5.70
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:       
Basic245.0
 251.3
 245.9
 251.6
Diluted246.5
 253.5
 247.4
 253.7
        
Actual shares outstanding at period end
 
 244.4
 250.9
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.
4


S&P Global Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
(Unaudited)
 
(in millions)Three Months EndedNine Months Ended
September 30,September 30,
2020201920202019
Net income$498 $662 $2,029 $1,717 
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign currency translation adjustments(1)(35)(54)(33)
Income tax effect15 15 
14 (33)(39)(27)
Pension and other postretirement benefit plans(30)116 
Income tax effect(1)(28)
(22)88 
Unrealized gain (loss) on forward exchange contracts14 (4)10 (4)
Income tax effect(3)(2)
11 (3)(3)
Comprehensive income525 628 1,976 1,775 
Less: comprehensive income attributable to nonredeemable noncontrolling interests(3)(1)(8)(7)
Less: comprehensive income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests(40)(44)(136)(128)
Comprehensive income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$482 $583 $1,832 $1,640 
(in millions)Three Months EndedNine Months Ended
 September 30,September 30,
 2019 20182019 2018
Net income$662
 $535
$1,717
 $1,570
       
Other comprehensive income:      
Foreign currency translation adjustment(35) (1)(33) (53)
Income tax effect2
 2
6
 (1)
 (33) 1
(27) (54)
       
Pension and other postretirement benefit plans2
 5
116
 (6)
Income tax effect
 (1)(28) 2
 2
 4
88
 (4)
       
Unrealized gain on investment and forward exchange contracts(4) (4)(4) (8)
Income tax effect1
 1
1
 2
 (3) (3)(3) (6)
       
Comprehensive income628
 537
1,775
 1,506
Less: comprehensive income attributable to nonredeemable noncontrolling interests(1) (4)(7) (11)
Less: comprehensive income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests(44) (36)(128) (112)
Comprehensive income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$583
 $497
$1,640
 $1,383



See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.
5


S&P Global Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in millions)September 30,
2019
 December 31,
2018
 (Unaudited)  
ASSETS   
Current assets:   
Cash and cash equivalents$1,996
 $1,917
Restricted cash23
 41
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts: 2019 - $38; 2018 - $341,486
 1,449
Prepaid and other current assets217
 197
Total current assets3,722
 3,604
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation: 2019 - $608; 2018 - $596298
 270
Right of use assets660
 
Goodwill3,515
 3,535
Other intangible assets, net1,427
 1,524
Other non-current assets566
 525
Total assets$10,188
 $9,458
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY   
Current liabilities:   
Accounts payable$188
 $211
Accrued compensation and contributions to retirement plans327
 354
Short-term debt699
 
Income taxes currently payable114
 72
Unearned revenue1,614
 1,641
Other current liabilities431
 351
Total current liabilities3,373

2,629
Long-term debt2,966
 3,662
Lease liabilities — non-current615
 
Pension and other postretirement benefits226
 229
Other non-current liabilities581
 634
Total liabilities7,761
 7,154
Redeemable noncontrolling interest (Note 8)2,025
 1,620
Commitments and contingencies (Note 12)

 

Equity:   
Common stock294
 294
Additional paid-in capital835
 833
Retained income12,054
 11,284
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(684) (742)
Less: common stock in treasury(12,153) (11,041)
Total equity — controlling interests346
 628
Total equity — noncontrolling interests56
 56
Total equity402
 684
Total liabilities and equity$10,188
 $9,458
(in millions)September 30,
2020
December 31,
2019
(Unaudited) 
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$3,148 $2,866 
Restricted cash20 20 
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts: 2020 - $37; 2019 - $341,427 1,577 
Prepaid and other current assets246 249 
Total current assets4,841 4,712 
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation: 2020 - $651; 2019 - $622298 320 
Right of use assets610 676 
Goodwill3,715 3,575 
Other intangible assets, net1,376 1,424 
Other non-current assets612 641 
Total assets$11,452 $11,348 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$186 $190 
Accrued compensation and contributions to retirement plans392 446 
Income taxes currently payable79 68 
Unearned revenue1,720 1,928 
Other current liabilities438 461 
Total current liabilities2,815 3,093 
Long-term debt4,110 3,948 
Lease liabilities — non-current563 620 
Pension and other postretirement benefits262 259 
Other non-current liabilities693 624 
Total liabilities8,443 8,544 
Redeemable noncontrolling interest (Note 8)2,511 2,268 
Commitments and contingencies (Note 12)
Equity:
Common stock294 294 
Additional paid-in capital917 903 
Retained income13,368 12,205 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(677)(624)
Less: common stock in treasury(13,460)(12,299)
Total equity — controlling interests442 479 
Total equity — noncontrolling interests56 57 
Total equity498 536 
Total liabilities and equity$11,452 $11,348 

See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.
6


S&P Global Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
(in millions)Nine Months Ended(in millions)Nine Months Ended
September 30,September 30,
2019 201820202019
Operating Activities:   Operating Activities:
Net income$1,717
 $1,570
Net income$2,029 $1,717 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:   Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation61
 60
Depreciation60 61 
Amortization of intangibles92
 91
Amortization of intangibles94 92 
Provision for losses on accounts receivable17
 16
Provision for losses on accounts receivable16 17 
Deferred income taxes15
 21
Deferred income taxes(14)33 
Stock-based compensation53
 73
Stock-based compensation60 53 
Gain on dispositions(49) 
Gain on dispositions(16)(49)
Pension settlement charge, net of taxes85
 
Pension settlement charges, net of taxesPension settlement charges, net of taxes85 
Loss on extinguishment of debtLoss on extinguishment of debt279 
Other49
 20
Other50 49 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions and dispositions:   Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions and dispositions:
Accounts receivable(50) 62
Accounts receivable172 (50)
Prepaid and other current assets(59) 1
Prepaid and other current assets(52)(59)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses(54) (167)Accounts payable and accrued expenses(97)(54)
Unearned revenue(27) (72)Unearned revenue(158)(27)
Accrued legal settlements(1) (180)
Other current liabilities(81) (18)Other current liabilities(28)(82)
Net change in prepaid/accrued income taxes58
 62
Net change in prepaid/accrued income taxes28 40 
Net change in other assets and liabilities(54) (138)Net change in other assets and liabilities(54)
Cash provided by operating activities1,772
 1,401
Cash provided by operating activities2,426 1,772 
Investing Activities:   Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures(77) (88)Capital expenditures(43)(77)
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired(25) (263)Acquisitions, net of cash acquired(189)(25)
Proceeds from dispositions85
 
Proceeds from dispositions85 
Changes in short-term investments(3) 5
Changes in short-term investments19 (3)
Cash used for investing activities(20) (346)Cash used for investing activities(204)(20)
Financing Activities:   Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net
 489
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net1,276 
Payments on senior notes
 (403)Payments on senior notes(1,394)
Dividends paid to shareholders(421) (379)Dividends paid to shareholders(484)(421)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net(100) (116)Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net(143)(100)
Purchase of CRISIL shares
 (25)
Repurchase of treasury shares(1,144) (1,108)Repurchase of treasury shares(1,164)(1,144)
Exercise of stock options38
 24
Exercise of stock options14 38 
Employee withholding tax on share-based payments and other(57) (61)Employee withholding tax on share-based payments and other(55)(57)
Cash used for financing activities(1,684) (1,579)Cash used for financing activities(1,950)(1,684)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash(7) (52)Effect of exchange rate changes on cash10 (7)
Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash61
 (576)Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash282 61 
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period1,958
 2,779
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period2,886 1,958 
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period$2,019
 $2,203
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period$3,168 $2,019 

See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.
7


S&P Global Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Equity
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 parAdditional Paid-in CapitalRetained IncomeAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossLess: Treasury StockTotal SPGI EquityNoncontrolling InterestsTotal Equity
Balance as of June 30, 2020$294 $762 $13,189 (704)$13,331 $210 $58 $268 
Comprehensive income 1
455 27 482 485 
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $0.67 per share)(161)(161)(7)(168)
Share repurchases120 131 (11)(11)
Employee stock plans35 (2)37 37 
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest(115)(115)(115)
Other
Balance as of September 30, 2020$294 $917 $13,368 $(677)$13,460 $442 $56 $498 
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 par Additional Paid-in Capital Retained Income Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Less: Treasury Stock Total SPGI Equity Noncontrolling Interests Total Equity
Balance as of June 30, 2019$294
 $790
 $11,710
 (651) $11,631
 $512
 $58
 $570
Comprehensive income 1
    617
 (34)   583
 1
 584
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $0.57 per share)    (139)     (139) (1) (140)
Share repurchases  30
     530
 (500)   (500)
Employee stock plans  15
     (8) 23
   23
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest    (134)     (134)   (134)
Other      1
   1
 (2) (1)
Balance as of September 30, 2019$294
 $835
 $12,054
 $(684) $12,153
 $346
 $56
 $402

Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 parAdditional Paid-in CapitalRetained IncomeAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossLess: Treasury StockTotal SPGI EquityNoncontrolling InterestsTotal Equity
Balance as of June 30, 2019$294 $790 $11,710 $(651)$11,631 $512 $58 $570 
Comprehensive income 1
617 (34)583 584 
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $0.57 per share)(139)(139)(1)(140)
Share repurchases30 530 (500)(500)
Employee stock plans15 (8)23 23 
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest(134)(134)(134)
Other(2)(1)
Balance as of September 30, 2019$294 $835 $12,054 $(684)$12,153 $346 $56 $402 
Three Months Ended September 30, 2018
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 par Additional Paid-in Capital Retained Income Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Less: Treasury Stock Total SPGI Equity Noncontrolling Interests Total Equity
Balance as of June 30, 2018$412
 $732
 $10,677
 $(705) $10,536
 $580
 $53
 $633
Comprehensive income 1
    495
 2
   497
 3
 500
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $0.50 per share)    (126)     (126) (2) (128)
Share repurchases  150
     163
 (13)   (13)
Employee stock plans  15
     5
 10
   10
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest    (46)     (46)   (46)
Other          
 (1) (1)
Balance as of September 30, 2018$412
 $897
 $11,000
 $(703) $10,704
 $902
 $53
 $955








Consolidated Statements of Equity (continued)
(unaudited)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 par Additional Paid-in Capital Retained Income Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Less: Treasury Stock Total SPGI Equity Noncontrolling Interests Total Equity
Balance as of December 31, 2018$294
 $833
 $11,284
 $(742) $11,041
 $628
 $56
 $684
Comprehensive income 1
    1,582
 58
   1,640
 7
 1,647
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $1.71 per share)    (420)     (420) (7) (427)
Share repurchases  30
     1,174
 (1,144) 
 (1,144)
Employee stock plans  (28)     (62) 34
 
 34
Capital contribution from noncontrolling interest    (36)     (36)   (36)
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest    (356)     (356)   (356)
Balance as of September 30, 2019$294
 $835
 $12,054
 $(684) $12,153
 $346
 $56
 $402

8


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 par Additional Paid-in Capital Retained Income Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Less: Treasury Stock Total SPGI Equity Noncontrolling Interests Total Equity
Balance as of December 31, 2017$412
 $525
 $10,025
 $(649) $9,602
 $711
 $57
 $768
Comprehensive income 1
    1,447
 (64)   1,383
 11
 1,394
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $1.50 per share)    (379)     (379) (9) (388)
Share repurchases        1,113
 (1,113)   (1,113)
Employee stock plans  45
     (11) 56
 
 56
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest    (119)     (119)   (119)
Increase in CRISIL ownership  (25)       (25) (1) (26)
Stock consideration for Kensho  352
       352
   352
Other 2
    26
 10
   36
 (5) 31
Balance as of September 30, 2018$412
 $897
 $11,000
 $(703) $10,704
 $902
 $53
 $955
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 parAdditional Paid-in CapitalRetained IncomeAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossLess: Treasury StockTotal SPGI EquityNoncontrolling InterestsTotal Equity
Balance as of December 31, 2019$294 $903 $12,205 (624)$12,299 $479 $57 $536 
Comprehensive income 1
1,885 (53)1,832 1,840 
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $2.01 per share)(484)(484)(9)(493)
Share repurchases1,164 (1,164)(1,164)
Employee stock plans14 (3)17 17 
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest(238)(238)(238)
Balance as of September 30, 2020$294 $917 $13,368 $(677)$13,460 $442 $56 $498 

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
 (in millions)Common Stock $1 parAdditional Paid-in CapitalRetained IncomeAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossLess: Treasury StockTotal SPGI EquityNoncontrolling InterestsTotal Equity
Balance as of December 31, 2018$294 $833 $11,284 $(742)$11,041 $628 $56 $684 
Comprehensive income 1
1,582 58 1,640 1,647 
Dividends (Dividend declared per common share — $1.71 per share)(420)(420)(7)(427)
Share repurchases30 1,174 (1,144)(1,144)
Employee stock plans(28)(62)34 34 
Capital contribution from noncontrolling interest(36)(36)(36)
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest(356)(356)(356)
Balance as of September 30, 2019$294 $835 $12,054 $(684)$12,153 $346 $56 $402 
1Excludes comprehensive income of $44$40 million and $36$44 million for the three months ended September 30, 20192020 and 2018,2019, respectively, and $128$136 million and $112$128 million for the nine months ended September 30, 20192020 and 2018,2019, respectively, attributable to our redeemable noncontrolling interest.
2 Reflects opening balance sheet adjustments related to the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard and the reclassification of the unrealized loss on investments from Accumulated other comprehensive loss to Retained income.
See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.
9


S&P Global Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited)
 
1.Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
1.    Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

S&P Global Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "S&P Global," the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is a leading provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide.

Our operations consist of 4 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 that maintains a wide variety of valuation and index benchmarks for investment advisors, wealth managers and institutional investors.
Beginning in
In the first quarter of 2019,2020, we changed our allocation methodology for allocating our centrally managed technology-related expenses to our reportable segments to more accurately reflect each segment's respective usage. Prior-year amounts have been reclassified to conform with current presentation. There was no impact on the contract obligations for revenue from Kensho Technologies Inc.’s (“Kensho”) major customers were transferred to Market Intelligence for fulfillment.  AsCompany's consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of income and consolidated statements of cash flows as a result of this transfer, from January 1, 2019 revenue from contracts with Kensho’s customers is reflected in Market Intelligence’s results.  In 2018, the revenue from contracts with Kensho’s customers was reported in Corporate revenue. See Note 2 Acquisitions and Divestitures for additional information.change.

The accompanying unaudited financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. Therefore, the financial statements included herein should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20182019 (our “Form 10-K”). Certain prior-year amounts have been reclassified to conform with current presentation.

In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair statement of the results of the interim periods have been included. The operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 20192020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.


Our critical accounting estimates are disclosed in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in our Form 10-K. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including those related to revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, pension plans, incentive compensation and stock-based compensation, income taxes, contingencies and redeemable noncontrolling interests. Since the date of our Form 10-K, there have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies and estimates.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash of $23 million and $41$20 million included in our consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018, respectively, primarily2019 includes amounts held in escrow accounts in connection with our acquisition of Kensho.

10


Contract Assets

Contract assets include unbilled amounts from when the Company transfers service to a customer before a customer pays consideration or before payment is due. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, contract assets were $49$33 million and $26$28 million, respectively, and are included in accounts receivable in our consolidated balance sheets.

Unearned Revenue

We record unearned revenue when cash payments are received in advance of our performance. The decrease in the unearned revenue balance at September 30, 20192020 compared to December 31, 20182019 is primarily driven by $1.5$1.7 billion of revenues recognized that were included in the unearned revenue balance at the beginning of the period, offset by cash payments received in advance of satisfying our performance obligations.

Remaining Performance Obligations

Remaining performance obligations represent the transaction price of contracts for work that has not yet been performed. As of September 30, 2019,2020, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations was $1.5$2.0 billion. We expect to recognize revenue on approximately half and three-quarters of the remaining performance obligations over the next 12 and 24 months, respectively, with the remainder recognized thereafter.

We do not disclose the value of unfulfilled performance obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected length of one year or less and (ii) contracts where revenue is a usage-based royalty promised in exchange for a license of intellectual property.

Costs to Obtain a Contract

We recognize an asset for the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if we expect the benefit of those costs to be longer than one year. We have determined that the costs associated with certain sales commission programs are incremental to the costs to obtain contracts with customers and therefore meet the criteria to be capitalized. Total capitalized costs to obtain a contract were $96$112 million and $101$115 million as of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, respectively, and are included in prepaid and other current assets and other non-current assets on our consolidated balance sheets. The capitalized asset will be amortized over a period consistent with the transfer to the customer of the goods or services to which the asset relates, calculated based on the customer term and the average life of the products and services underlying the contracts which has been determined to be approximately 5 years. The expense is recorded within selling and general expenses.

We expense sales commissions when incurred if the amortization period is one year or less. These costs are recorded within selling and general expenses.

Other (Income) Expense, (Income), net

The components of other (income) expense, (income), net for the three and nine months ended September 30 are as follows: 
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
Other components of net periodic benefit cost 1
$(9)$(8)$(24)$88 
Net loss from investments16 16 
Other (income) expense, net$(6)$$(16)$104 
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 2019 2018
Other components of net periodic benefit cost 1
$(8) $(8) $88
 $(24)
Net loss from investments16
 2
 16
 2
Other expense (income), net$8
 $(6) $104
 $(22)


1    The net periodic benefit cost for our retirement and post retirement plans for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 includes a non-cash pre-tax settlement charge of $3 million. During the first quarternine months of 2019, the Company purchased a group annuity contract under which an insurance company assumed a portion of
the Company's obligation to pay pension benefits to the plan's beneficiaries. The purchase of this group annuity contract was funded by pension plan assets. The net periodic benefit cost for our retirement and post retirement plans for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes a non-cash pre-tax settlement charge of $113 million reflecting the accelerated recognition of a portion of unamortized actuarial losses in the plan.

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2.Acquisitions and Divestitures
2.    Acquisitions and Divestitures

Acquisitions

20192020

In SeptemberFebruary of 2019, Platts acquired Canadian Enerdata Ltd.2020, CRISIL, included within our Ratings segment, completed the acquisition of Greenwich Associates LLC ("Enerdata"Greenwich"), an independenta leading provider of energyproprietary benchmarking data, analytics and information in Canada,qualitative, actionable insights that helps financial services firms worldwide measure and improve business performance. The acquisition will complement CRISIL's existing portfolio of products and expand offerings to further enhance Platts' North American natural gas offering.new segments across financial services including commercial banks and asset and wealth managers. The acquisition of EnerdataGreenwich is not material to our consolidated financial statements.

In AugustJanuary of 2019, Platts acquired Live Rice Index2020, we completed the acquisition of the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM, which includes the widely followed SAM* Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The acquisition will bolster our position as the premier resource for essential environmental, social, and governance ("LRI"ESG"), a global provider of information insights and benchmark price assessmentsproduct solutions for the rice industry. The purchase expands Platts portfolio of agricultural price assessments while extending its dataour customers. Through this acquisition, we will be able to offer our customers even more transparent, robust and news coverage in key export regions for international grains.comprehensive ESG solutions. The acquisition of LRIthe ESG Ratings Business is not material to our consolidated financial statements.

In July of2019

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, S&P Global completed the acquisition of the Orion technology center from Ness Technologies. Orion was developed to become S&P Global's center of excellence for technology talent to focus on innovation by providing employees with access to the latest technologies and global communications infrastructure, as well as physical spaces that enable highly-collaborative teams. The acquisition of Orion iswe did not complete any material to our consolidated financial statements.acquisitions.

2018Divestitures

In August of 2018, we acquired a 5.03% investment in FiscalNote, a technology innovator at the intersection of global business and government that provides advanced, data-driven Issues Management solutions. The investment in FiscalNote is not material to our consolidated financial statements.2020

In June of 2018, Market Intelligence acquired the RateWatch business ("RateWatch") from TheStreet, Inc., a B2B data business that offers subscription and custom reports on bank deposits, loans, fees and other product data to the financial services industry. The acquisition will complement and strengthen Market Intelligence's core capabilities of providing differentiated data and analytics solutions for the banking sector. The acquisition of RateWatch is not material to our consolidated financial statements.

In April of 2018, we acquired Kensho for approximately $550 million, net of cash acquired, in a mix of cash and stock. Kensho is a leading-edge provider of next-generation analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data visualization systems to Wall Street's premier global banks and investment institutions, as well as the National Security community. The acquisition will strengthen S&P Global's emerging technology capabilities, enhance our ability to deliver essential, actionable insights that will transform the user experience for our clients, and accelerate efforts to improve efficiency and effectiveness of our core internal operations. The acquisition of Kensho is not material to our consolidated financial statements.

In February of 2018, Market Intelligence acquired Panjiva, Inc. ("Panjiva"), a privately-held company that provides deep, differentiated, sector-relevant insights on global supply chains, leveraging data science and technology to make sense of large, unstructured datasets. The acquisition will help strengthen the insights, products and data that we provide to our clients throughout the world. The acquisition of Panjiva is not material to our consolidated financial statements.

In January of 2018, CRISIL, included2020, Market Intelligence entered into a strategic alliance to transition S&P Global Market Intelligence's Investor Relations ("IR") webhosting business to Q4 Inc. ("Q4"), a third party provider of investor relations related services. This alliance will integrate Market Intelligence's proprietary data into Q4's portfolio of solutions, enabling further opportunities for commercial collaboration. In connection with transitioning its IR webhosting business to Q4, Market Intelligence made a minority investment in Q4. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $3 million ($2 million after-tax) and $11 million ($10 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of IR.

In September of 2020, we sold our facility at East Windsor, New Jersey. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $4 million ($3 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of East Windsor.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $1 million ($1 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC ("SPIAS") within our RatingsMarket Intelligence segment acquired a 100% stake in Pragmatix Services Private Limited ("Pragmatix"), a data analytics company focused on delivering cutting edge solutions in the "data to intelligence" life cycle to the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance vertical. The acquisition will strengthen CRISIL's position as an agile, innovative and global analytics company. The acquisitionJuly of Pragmatix is not material to our consolidated financial statements.2019.

Divestitures

2019

On July 31, 2019, we completed the sale of RigData, a business within our Platts segment, to Drilling Info, Inc. RigData is a provider of daily information on rig activity for the natural gas and oil markets across North America. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $27 million ($26 million after-tax) in gainGain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of RigData.


In March of 2019, we entered into an agreement to sell Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC  ("SPIAS"),SPIAS, a business within our Market Intelligence segment, to Goldman Sachs Asset Management ("GSAM"). SPIAS provides non-discretionary investment advice across institutional sub-advisory and intermediary distribution channels globally. On July 1, 2019, we completed the sale of SPIAS to GSAM. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $22 million ($12 million after-tax) in gainGain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of SPIAS.
12



The operating profit of our businesses that were disposed of for the periods ending September 30, 20192020 and 20182019 is as follows:
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 2019 2018
Operating profit$
 $2
 $5
 $6

(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
Operating profit 1
$$$$

2018

During the1The three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, we did not complete any dispositions.2020 exclude a pre-tax gain on the sale of the IR webhosting business of $3 million and $11 million, respectively. The three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 exclude a pre-tax gain on the sale of SPIAS of $1 million. The three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 exclude a pre-tax gain on the sale of RigData and SPIAS of $27 million and $22 million, respectively.

3.Income Taxes
3.    Income Taxes

The effective income tax rate was 21.7% and 21.6% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and 22.2% and 20.4%21.9% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. The decrease in the three months ended September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively. The increase2020 was primarily due to a favorable adjustment recorded duringtaxes on the three months ended September 30, 2018deductible pre-tax loss on extinguishment of debt related to the provisional tax expense originally recorded upon enactmentredemption and extinguishment of our 4.4% senior notes due in 2026 and a portion of the Tax Cuts6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and Jobs Act4.5% senior notes due in December2048 in the third quarter of 2017.2020. The effective tax rate was 21.9% for bothdecrease in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018.

2020 was primarily due to a decrease in taxes on foreign operations. At the end of each interim period, we estimate the annual effective tax rate and apply that rate to our ordinary quarterly earnings. The tax expense or benefit related to significant unusual or infrequently occurring items that will be separately reported or reported net of their related tax effect, and are individually computed, is recognized in the interim period in which those items occur. In addition, the effect of changes in enacted tax laws or rates or tax status is recognized in the interim period in which the change occurs.

The Company is continuously subject to tax examinations in various jurisdictions. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, the total amount of federal, state and local, and foreign unrecognized tax benefits was $114$131 million and $147$124 million, respectively, exclusive of interest and penalties. We recognize accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and operating-related expense, respectively. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, we had $19$23 million and $35$20 million, respectively, of accrued interest and penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits. The reduction in uncertain tax positions and associated accrued interest relates primarily to settlements of tax audits with New York City. Based on the current status of income tax audits, we believe that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits may decrease by approximately $3$12 million in the next twelve months as a result of the resolution of local tax examinations.

13


4.
4.    Debt


A summary of short-term and long-term debt outstanding is as follows:
(in millions)September 30,
2020
December 31,
2019
4.0% Senior Notes, due 2025 1
695 694 
4.4% Senior Notes, due 2026 2
893 
2.95% Senior Notes, due 2027 3
495 493 
2.5% Senior Notes, due 2029 4
495 495 
1.25% Senior Notes, due 2030 5
592 
6.55% Senior Notes, due 2037 6
290 294 
4.5% Senior Notes, due 2048 7
273 490 
3.25% Senior Notes, due 2049 8
589 589 
2.3% Senior Notes, due 2060 9
681 
Long-term debt4,110 3,948 
(in millions)September 30,
2019
 December 31,
2018
3.3% Senior Notes, due 2020 1
699
 698
4.0% Senior Notes, due 2025 2
694
 693
4.4% Senior Notes, due 2026 3
893
 892
2.95% Senior Notes, due 2027 4
493
 493
6.55% Senior Notes, due 2037 5
396
 396
4.5% Senior Notes, due 2048 6
490
 490
Total debt3,665
 3,662
Less: short-term debt including current maturities699
 
Long-term debt$2,966
 $3,662


1Interest payments are due semiannually on June 15 and December 15, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $5 million.
1
2We made a $900 million payment on the early retirement of our 4.4% senior notes in the third quarter of 2020.
3Interest payments are due semiannually on January 22 and July 22, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $5 million.
4Interest payments are due semiannually on June 1 and December 1, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $5 million.
5Interest payments are due semiannually on February 15 and August 15, beginning on February 15, 2021, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $8 million.
6Interest payments are due semiannually on May 15 and November 15, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $3 million.
7Interest payments are due semiannually on May 15 and November 15, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $10 million.
8Interest payments are due semiannually on June 1 and December 1, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $11 million.
9Interest payments are due semiannually on February 15 and August 15, beginning on February 15, 2021, and as of September 30, 2020, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $19 million.
Interest payments are due semiannually on February 14 and August 14, and as of September 30, 2019, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $1 million.
2
Interest payments are due semiannually on June 15 and December 15, and as of September 30, 2019, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $6 million.
3
Interest payments are due semiannually on February 15 and August 15, and as of September 30, 2019, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $7 million.
4
Interest payments are due semiannually on January 22 and July 22, and as of September 30, 2019, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $7 million.
5
Interest payments are due semiannually on May 15 and November 15, and as of September 30, 2019, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $4 million.
6
Interest payments are due semiannually on May 15 and November 15, beginning on November 15, 2018, and as of September 30, 2019, the unamortized debt discount and issuance costs total $10 million.


The fair value of our total debt borrowings was $4.2$5.1 billion and $3.8$4.5 billion as of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, respectively, and was estimated based on quoted market prices.


On August 13, 2020, we issued $600 million of 1.25% senior notes due in 2030 and $700 million of 2.3% senior notes due in 2060. The notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC. In the third quarter of 2020, we used the net proceeds to fund the redemption and extinguishment of the $900 million outstanding principal amount of our 4.4% senior notes due in 2026 and a portion of the outstanding principal amounts of our 6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and our 4.5% senior notes due in 2048.

We have the ability to borrow a total of $1.2 billion through our commercial paper program, which is supported by our revolving $1.2 billion five-yearfive-year credit agreement (our "credit facility") that we entered into on June 30, 2017. This credit facility will terminate on June 30, 2022. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, there werewas 0 commercial paper issued or outstanding, and we similarly did not draw or have any borrowings outstanding.

outstanding from the credit facility during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019.

Depending on our corporate credit rating, we pay a commitment fee of 8 to 17.5 basis points for our credit facility, whether or not amounts have been borrowed. We currently pay a commitment fee of 10 basis points. The interest rate on borrowings under our credit facility is, at our option, calculated using rates that are primarily based on either the prevailing London Inter-Bank
14


Offer Rate, the prime rate determined by the administrative agent or the Federal Funds Rate. For certain borrowings under this credit facility, there is also a spread based on our corporate credit rating.


Our credit facility contains certain covenants. The only financial covenant requires that our indebtedness to cash flow ratio, as defined in our credit facility, is not greater than 4 to 1,, and this covenant level has never been exceeded.


5.    Derivative Instruments

5.Derivative Instruments

Our exposure to market risk includes changes in foreign exchange rates. We have operations in foreign countries where the functional currency is primarily the local currency. For international operations that are determined to be extensions of the parent company, the U.S. dollar is the functional currency. We typically have naturally hedged positions in most countries from a local currency perspective with offsetting assets and liabilities. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, we have entered into foreign exchange forward contracts to mitigate or hedge the effect of adverse fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. ForeignAs of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we have entered into cross currency swap contracts to hedge a portion of our net investment in a foreign subsidiary against volatility in foreign exchange forwardrates. These contracts are recorded at fair value that is based on foreign currency exchange rates in active markets; therefore, we classify these derivative contracts within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. We do not enter into any derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes.

Undesignated Derivative Instruments

During the nine months ended September 30, 20192020 and twelve months ended December 31, 2018,2019, we entered into foreign exchange forward contracts in order to mitigate the change in fair value of specific assets and liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.sheet. These forward contracts do not qualify for hedge accounting. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the aggregate notional value of these outstanding forward contracts was $117 million.$333 million and $116 million, respectively. The changes in fair value of these forward contracts are recorded in prepaid and other current assets andor other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet with their corresponding change in fair value recognized in selling and general expenses in the consolidated statement of income. The amount recorded in both prepaid and other current assets and other current liabilities as of September 30, 20192020 was $1$3 million. The amount recorded in selling and general expense related to these contracts was a net gain of $5 million and less than $1 million for three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and a net loss of $4 million and net gain of less than $1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, related to these contracts was a net loss of $4 million and a net gain of less than $1 million, respectively.

Cash FlowNet Investment Hedges

During the nine months ended September 30, 20192020 and twelve months ended December 31, 2018,2019, we entered into cross currency swaps to hedge a portion of our net investment in a certain European subsidiary against volatility in the Euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate. These swaps are designated and qualify as a hedge of a net investment in a foreign subsidiary and are scheduled to mature in 2024, 2025 and 2026. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the notional value of our outstanding cross currency swaps designated as a net investment hedge was $1 billion and $400 million, respectively. The changes in the fair value of swaps are recognized in foreign currency translation adjustments, a component of other comprehensive income (loss), and reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss in our consolidated balance sheet. The gain or loss will be subsequently reclassified into net earnings when the hedged net investment is either sold or substantially liquidated. We have elected to assess the effectiveness of our net investment hedges based on changes in spot exchange rates. Accordingly, amounts related to the cross currency swaps recognized directly in net income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 represent net periodic interest settlements and accruals, which are recognized in interest expense, net. We recognized net interest income of $3 million and $7 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.
Cash Flow Hedges

During the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and twelve months ended December 31, 2019, we entered into a series of foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge a portion of the Indian rupee, British pound, and Euro exposures through the third quarter of 20202022 and the fourth quarter of 2019,2020, respectively. These contracts are intended to offset the impact of movement of exchange rates on future revenue and operating costs and are scheduled to mature within twelvetwenty-four months. The changes in the fair value of these contracts are initially reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss in our consolidated balance sheet and are subsequently reclassified into revenue and selling and general expenses in the same period that the hedged transaction affects earnings.
As of September 30, 2019,2020, we estimate that $1$10 million of the net gains related to derivatives designated as cash flow hedges recorded in other comprehensive income is expected to be reclassified into earnings within the next twelve months. There was no material hedge ineffectiveness for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019.
15


As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the aggregate notional value of our outstanding foreign exchange forward contracts designated as cash flow hedges was $201 million.$501 million and $249 million, respectively.
The following table provides information on the location and fair value amounts of our cash flow hedges and net investment hedges as of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018:
(in millions)

 September 30, December 31,
Balance Sheet Location 2019 2018
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges:    
Prepaid and other current assetsForeign exchange forward contracts$2
 $3
Other current liabilitiesForeign exchange forward contracts$(2) $

2019:






(in millions)September 30,December 31,
Balance Sheet Location20202019
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges:
Prepaid and other current assetsForeign exchange forward contracts$12 $
Other current liabilitiesForeign exchange forward contracts$$
Derivatives designated as net investment hedges :
Other non-current assetsCross currency swaps$$
Other non-current liabilitiesCross currency swaps$48 $10 
The following table provides information on the location and amounts of pre-tax gains (losses) on our cash flow hedges and net investment hedges for the periods ended September 30:
Three Months
(in millions)Gain (Loss) recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (effective portion) Location of Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion) Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion)
Cash flow hedges - designated as hedging instruments2019 2018   2019 2018
Foreign exchange forward contracts$(3) $(3) Revenue, Selling and general expenses $
 $(2)

(in millions)Gain (Loss) recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (effective portion)Location of Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion)Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion)
2020201920202019
Cash flow hedges - designated as hedging instruments
Foreign exchange forward contracts$11 $(3)Revenue, Selling and general expenses$$
Net investment hedges - designated as hedging instruments
Cross currency swaps$(47)$$$
Nine Months
(in millions)Gain (Loss) recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (effective portion) Location of Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion) Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion)
Cash flow hedges - designated as hedging instruments2019 2018   2019 2018
Foreign exchange forward contracts$(3) $(6) Revenue, Selling and general expenses $4
 $(3)



(in millions)Gain (Loss) recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (effective portion)Location of Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion)Gain (Loss) reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss into Income (effective portion)
2020201920202019
Cash flow hedges - designated as hedging instruments
Foreign exchange forward contracts$$(3)Revenue, Selling and general expenses$(2)$
Net investment hedges - designated as hedging instruments
Cross currency swaps$(38)$$$
The activity related to the change in unrealized gains (losses) in accumulated other comprehensive loss was as follows for the periods ended September 30:
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net unrealized gains on cash flow hedges, net of taxes, beginning of period$4
 $(1) $4
 $2
Change in fair value, net of tax(3) (5) 1
 (9)
Reclassification into earnings, net of tax
 2
 (4) 3
Net unrealized gains (losses) on cash flow hedges, net of taxes, end of period$1
 $(4) $1
 $(4)
16


(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
Cash Flow Hedges
Net unrealized (losses) gains on cash flow hedges, net of taxes, beginning of period$(1)$$$
Change in fair value, net of tax13 (3)
Reclassification into earnings, net of tax(2)(4)
Net unrealized gains (losses) on cash flow hedges, net of taxes, end of period$10 $$10 $
Net Investment Hedges
Net unrealized (losses) gains on net investment hedges, net of taxes, beginning of period$$$(8)$
Change in fair value, net of tax(36)(28)
Reclassification into earnings, net of tax
Net unrealized (losses) gains on net investment hedges, net of taxes, end of period$(36)$$(36)$


6. Employee Benefits

We maintain a number of active defined contribution retirement plans for our employees. The majority of our defined benefit plans are frozen. As a result, no new employees will be permitted to enter these plans and no additional benefits for current participants in the frozen plans will be accrued.

We have supplemental benefit plans providing senior management with supplemental retirement, disability and death benefits. Certain supplemental retirement benefits are based on final monthly earnings. In addition, we sponsor a voluntary 401(k) plan under which we may match employee contributions up to certain levels of compensation as well as profit-sharing plans under which we contribute a percentage of eligible employees' compensation to the employees' accounts.

We also provide certain medical, dental and life insurance benefits for active and retired employees and eligible dependents. The medical and dental plans and supplemental life insurance plan are contributory, while the basic life insurance plan is noncontributory. We currently do not prefund any of these plans.

We recognize the funded status of our defined benefit retirement and postretirement plans in the consolidated balance sheets, with a corresponding adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of taxes. The amounts in accumulated other comprehensive loss represent unrecognized actuarial losses and unrecognized prior service costs. These amounts will be subsequently recognized as net periodic benefit cost pursuant to our accounting policy for amortizing such amounts.

Net periodic benefit cost for our retirement and postretirement plans other than the service cost component are included in other income,(income) expense, net in our consolidated statements of income.


The components of net periodic benefit cost for our retirement plans and postretirement plans for the periods ended September 30 are as follows: 

(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
Service cost$$$$
Interest cost13 16 39 49 
Expected return on assets(26)(27)(76)(81)
Amortization of prior service credit / actuarial loss10 
Net periodic benefit cost(8)(7)(24)(23)
Settlement charges 1
113 
Net benefit cost$(8)$(7)$(21)$90 
1 During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, lump sum withdrawals exceeded the combined total anticipated annual service and interest cost of our U.K. pension plan, triggering the recognition of a non-cash pre-tax settlement charge of $3 million. During the first nine
17


(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
 2019 20182019 2018
Service cost$1
 $1
$2
 $2
Interest cost16
 18
49
 54
Expected return on assets(27) (31)(81) (94)
Amortization of prior service credit / actuarial loss3
 4
7
 13
Net periodic benefit cost(7) (8)(23) (25)
Settlement charge 1

 
113
 
Net benefit cost$(7) $(8)$90
 $(25)
1Themonths of 2019, the Company purchased a group annuity contract under which an insurance company assumed a portion of the Company's obligation to pay pension benefits to the plan's beneficiaries. The purchase of this group annuity contract was funded by pension plan assets. The non-cash pre-taxpretax settlement charge of $113 million reflects the accelerated recognition of a portion of unamortized actuarial losses in the plan.

Net periodic benefit cost related to our postretirement plans reflected in the table above was not material for the three and nine months ended September 30, 20192020 and 2018, respectively.2019.

As discussed in our Form 10-K, we changed certain discount rate assumptions for our retirement and postretirement plans and our expected return on assets assumption for our retirement plans which became effective on January 1, 2019.2020. The effect of the assumption changes on retirement and postretirement expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 20192020 did not have a material impact to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In the first nine months of 2019,2020, we contributed $44$9 million to our retirement plans and expect to make additional required contributions of approximately $1$3 million to our retirement plans during the remainder of the year. We may elect to make additional non-required contributions depending on investment performance and theor any potential deterioration of our pension plan status in the fourth quarter of 2019.2020.

Financial information shown above is based on market conditions as of December 31, 2019. Significant changes in interest rates, asset values and economic conditions have occurred since then, which could affect the information shown herein, although as of September 30, 2020, market conditions at that time had minimal effect on the funded status of the pension plans due to the plans’ investment policies (primarily fixed income investments intended to track movements in the bonds used to determine the discount rate). Effects of the 2019 novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") on the financial markets, regulations, and plan experience are uncertain and still evolving. The short-term and long-term effects of COVID-19 may have significant effects on future measurements.
7.Stock-Based Compensation

7.    Stock-Based Compensation

We issue stock-based incentive awards to our eligible employees under the 2019 Stock Incentive Plan ("2019 Plan") and to our eligible non-employee Directors under a Director Deferred Stock Ownership Plan. No further awards may be granted under the 2002 Stock Incentive Plan ("2002 Plan"), although awards granted under the 2002 Plan prior to the adoption of the new 2019 Plan in June of 2019 remain outstanding in accordance with their terms. The remaining outstanding options under the 2002 Plan will have fully met their maximum term and expire in the second quarter of 2028. The new 2019 Plan permits the granting of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, performance stock, restricted stock and other stock-based awards.

Stock-based compensation for the periods ended September 30 is as follows:
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 2019 2018
Stock option expense$
 $1
 $1
 $3
Restricted stock and unit awards expense20
 26
 52
 70
Total stock-based compensation expense 
$20
 $27
 $53
 $73

DuringFor the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company granted 0.3 million shares oftotal stock-based compensation expense primarily related to restricted stock and unit awards which had a weighted average grant date fair value of $213.45 per share.

was $38 million and $60 million, respectively, and $20 million and $53 million, respectively. Total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested stock option awards and unvested restricted stock and unit awards as of September 30, 20192020 was $1$100 million, and $79 million, respectively, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 0.9 years and 1.9 years, respectively.years.

8.    Equity

8.Equity

Stock Repurchases

On January 29, 2020, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of 30 million shares (the "2020 Repurchase Program"), which was approximately 12% of the total shares of our outstanding common stock at that time. On December 4, 2013, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of 50 million shares (the "2013 Repurchase Program"), which was approximately 18% of the total shares of our outstanding common stock at that time.

In any period, share repurchase transactions could result in timing differences between the recognition of those repurchases and their settlement for cash. This could result in a difference between the cash used for financing activities related to common stock repurchased and the comparable change in equity.

Share repurchases for the periods ended September 30 were as follows:
(in millions, except average price)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 2019 2018
Total number of shares purchased 1
2.0
 0.7
 5.4
 5.7
Average price paid per share 2
$
 $205.11
 $184.51
 $180.94
Total cash utilized 3 
$500
 $13
 $1,144
 $1,113

1
The three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 include shares received as part of our accelerated share repurchase agreements described in more detail below.
2
Average price paid per share information does not include the accelerated share repurchase agreements as discussed in more detail below.
3
During the third quarter of 2018, we repurchased shares for approximately $6 million, which settled in October 2018. Cash used for financing activities only reflects those shares which settled during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 resulting in $1,108 million of cash used to repurchase shares.
Our purchased shares may be used for general corporate purposes, including the issuance of shares for stock compensation plans and to offset the dilutive effect of the exercise of employee stock options. As of September 30, 2019, approximately 5.22020, 30 million shares remained available under the current share2020 Repurchase Program and 0.8 million shares remained available under the 2013 repurchase program which hasprogram. Our 2020 Repurchase Program and 2013 Repurchase Program have no expiration date and purchases under this programthese programs may be made from time to time on the open market and in private transactions, depending on market conditions.

Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreements

2019

We have entered into an accelerated share repurchase ("ASR"(“ASR”) agreementagreements with a financial institution on August 5, 2019institutions to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million. of our common stock. Under an ASR agreement, we pay a specified amount to the financial institution and receive an initial delivery of shares. This initial delivery of shares represents the minimum number of shares that we may receive under the agreement. Upon settlement of the ASR agreement, the financial institution delivers additional shares. The total number of shares ultimately delivered, and therefore the average price paid per share, is determined at the end of the applicable purchase period of each ASR agreement based on the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. We account for our ASR agreements as two transactions: a stock purchase transaction and a forward stock purchase contract. The shares delivered under the ASR agreements resulted in a reduction of outstanding shares used to determine our weighted average common shares
18


outstanding for purposes of calculating basic and diluted earnings per share. The repurchased shares are held in Treasury. The forward stock purchase contracts were classified as equity instruments. The ASR agreements were executed under our 2013 Repurchase Program, approved on December 4, 2013.
The terms of each ASR agreement entered for the periods ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, structured as outlined above, are as follows:
(in millions, except average price)
ASR Agreement Initiation DateASR Agreement Completion DateInitial Shares DeliveredAdditional Shares DeliveredTotal Number of Shares
Purchased
Average Price Paid Per ShareTotal Cash Utilized
February 11, 2020 1
July 27, 20201.30.41.7$292.13 $500 
February 11, 2020 2
July 27, 20201.40.31.7$292.13 $500 
August 5, 2019 3
October 1, 20191.70.32.0$253.36 $500 
February 11, 2019 4
July 31, 20192.20.12.3$214.65 $500 

1 The ASR agreement was structured as a capped ASR agreement in which we paid $500 million and received an initial delivery of approximately 1.61.3 million shares and an additional amount of 0.2 million during the month of February, representing a minimum number of shares of our common stock to be repurchased based on a calculation using a specified capped price per share. We completed the ASR agreement on July 27, 2020 and received an additional 0.2 million shares.
2 The ASR agreement was structured as an uncapped ASR agreement in which we paid $500 million and received an initial delivery of 1.4 million shares, representing 85% of the $500 million at a price equal to the then market price of the Company. We completed the ASR agreement on July 27, 2020 and received an additional 0.3 million shares.
3 The ASR agreement was structured as a capped ASR agreement in which we paid $500 million and received an initial delivery of 1.7 million shares and an additional amount of 0.2 million during the month of August, 2019, representing thea minimum number of shares of our common stock to be repurchased based on a calculation using a specified capped price per share. We completed the ASR agreement on October 1, 2019 and received an additional 0.1 million shares. We repurchased a total of 2.0 million shares under the ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $253.36 per share. The total number of shares repurchased under the ASR agreement is equal to $500 million divided by the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. The repurchased shares are held in Treasury. The ASR agreement was executed under the current share repurchase program, approved by the Board of Directors on December
4 2013.

We entered into an accelerated share repurchase ("ASR") agreement with a financial institution on February 11, 2019 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million. The ASR agreement was structured as an uncapped ASR agreement in which we paid $500 million and received an initial delivery of approximately 2.2 million shares, representing 85% of the $500 million at a price equal to the then market price of the Company. We completed the ASR agreement on July 31, 2019 and received an additional 0.1 million shares. We repurchased

Additionally, we purchased shares of our common stock in the open market for the periods ended September 30 as follows:

(in millions, except average price)
Total number of shares purchased
Average price paid per shareTotal cash utilized
Three Months
September 30, 20200.0 $351.77 $11 
September 30, 2019$$
Nine Months
September 30, 20200.5$295.40 $161 
September 30, 20190.8$184.51 $144 

During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, we purchased a total of 2.34.0 million shares underfor $1,161 million of cash. During the ASR agreement for an average purchase pricefourth quarter of $214.65 per share. The total number of shares repurchased under the ASR agreement is equal to $500 million divided by the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. The2019, we repurchased shares are heldfor $3 million, which settled in Treasury. The ASR agreement was executed under the current sharefirst quarter of 2020, resulting in $1,164 million of cash used to repurchase program, approved byshares. During the Boardnine months ended September 30, 2019, we received 5.4 million shares, including 0.4 million shares received in January of Directors on December 4, 2013.









2018

We entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution on2019 related to our October 29, 2018 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million. The ASR agreement, was structured as an uncapped ASR agreementresulting in which we paid $500$1,144 million and received an initial delivery of approximately 2.5 million shares, representing 85% of the $500 million at a price equalcash used to the then market price of the Company. We completed the ASR agreement on January 2, 2019 and received an additional 0.4 millionrepurchase shares. We repurchased a total of 2.9 million shares under the ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $173.80 per share. The total number of shares repurchased under the ASR agreement is equal to $500 million divided by the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. The repurchased shares are held in Treasury. The ASR agreement was executed under the current share repurchase program, approved on December 4, 2013.

We entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution on March 6, 2018 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $1 billion. The ASR agreement was structured as an uncapped ASR agreement in which we paid $1 billion and received an initial delivery of approximately 4.5 million shares, representing 85% of the $1 billion at a price equal to the then market price of the Company. We completed the ASR agreement on September 25, 2018 and received an additional 0.6 million shares. We repurchased a total of 5.1 million shares under the ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $197.49 per share. The total number of shares repurchased under the ASR agreement is equal to $1 billion divided by the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. The repurchased shares are held in Treasury. The ASR agreement was executed under the current share repurchase program, approved by the Board of Directors on December 4, 2013.






19


Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

The agreement with the minority partners that own 27% of our S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC joint venture contains redemption features whereby interests held by minority partners are redeemable either (i) at the option of the holder or (ii) upon the occurrence of an event that is not solely within our control. Specifically, under the terms of the operating agreement of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, CME Group and CME Group Index Services LLC ("CGIS") has the right at any time to sell, and we are obligated to buy, at least 20% of their share in S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. In addition, in the event there is a change of control of the Company, for the 15 days following a change in control, CME Group and CGIS will have the right to put their interest to us at the then fair value of CME Group's and CGIS' minority interest.

If interests were to be redeemed under this agreement, we would generally be required to purchase the interest at fair value on the date of redemption. This interest is presented on the consolidated balance sheets outside of equity under the caption “Redeemable noncontrolling interest” with an initial value based on fair value for the portion attributable to the net assets we acquired, and based on our historical cost for the portion attributable to our S&P Index business. We adjust the redeemable noncontrolling interest each reporting period to its estimated redemption value, but never less than its initial fair value, using both income and market valuation approaches. Our income and market valuation approaches incorporate Level 3 fair value measures for instances when observable inputs are not available. The more significant judgmental assumptions used to estimate the value of the S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC joint venture include an estimated discount rate, a range of assumptions that form the basis of the expected future net cash flows (e.g., the revenue growth rates and operating margins), and a company specific beta. The significant judgmental assumptions used that incorporate market data, including the relative weighting of market observable information and the comparability of that information in our valuation models, are forward-looking and could be affected by future economic and market conditions. Any adjustments to the redemption value will impact retained income.

Noncontrolling interests that do not contain such redemption features are presented in equity.


Changes to redeemable noncontrolling interest during the nine months ended September 30, 20192020 were as follows:
(in millions) 
Balance as of December 31, 2018$1,620
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest128
Capital contribution from noncontrolling interest36
Distributions payable to noncontrolling interest(115)
Redemption value adjustment356
Balance as of September 30, 2019$2,025


(in millions)
Balance as of December 31, 2019$2,268 
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest136 
Distributions payable to noncontrolling interest(131)
Redemption value adjustment238 
Balance as of September 30, 2020$2,511 




Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The following table summarizes the changes in the components of accumulated other comprehensive loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2019:2020:
(in millions)Foreign Currency Translation AdjustmentsPension and Postretirement Benefit PlansUnrealized Gain (Loss) on Foreign Forward Exchange ContractsAccumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Balance as of December 31, 2019$(321)$(305)$$(624)
Other comprehensive (loss) income before reclassifications(39)1(33)(66)
Reclassifications from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to net earnings11 2313 
Net other comprehensive (loss) income(39)(22)(53)
Balance as of September 30, 2020$(360)$(327)$10 $(677)
1Includes an unrealized gain related to the cross currency swaps entered into in December 2019. See note 5 – Derivative Instruments for additional detail of items recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss.
2Reflects amortization of net actuarial losses and is net of a tax benefit of $2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. See Note 6 — Employee Benefits for additional details of items reclassed from accumulated other comprehensive loss to net earnings.
20


(in millions)Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment Pension and Postretirement Benefit Plans Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Foreign Forward Exchange Contracts Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Balance as of December 31, 2018$(339) $(407) $4
 $(742)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications(27) (3) 1
 (29)
Reclassifications from accumulated other comprehensive loss to net earnings
 91
1 
(4)
2 
87
Net other comprehensive income(27) 88
 (3) 58
Balance as of September 30, 2019$(366) $(319) $1
 $(684)
1
Reflects amortization of net actuarial losses and is net of a tax benefit of $29 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. See Note 6 Employee Benefits for additional details of items reclassed3See Note 5 — Derivative Instruments for additional details of items reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss to net earnings.
2
See Note 5 Derivative Instruments for additional details of items reclassed from accumulated other comprehensive loss to net earnings.


9.Earnings Per Share
9.    Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per common share (“EPS”) is computed by dividing net income attributable to the common shareholders of the Company by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS is computed in the same manner as basic EPS, except the number of shares is increased to include additional common shares that would have been outstanding if potential common shares with a dilutive effect had been issued. Potential common shares consist primarily of stock options and restricted performance shares calculated using the treasury stock method.

The calculation of basic and diluted EPS for the periods ended September 30 is as follows:
(in millions, except per share amounts)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
Amounts attributable to S&P Global Inc. common shareholders:
Net income$455 $617 $1,885 $1,582 
Basic weighted-average number of common shares outstanding240.6 245.0 241.2 245.9 
Effect of stock options and other dilutive securities1.0 1.5 1.1 1.5 
Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding241.6 246.5 242.3 247.4 
Earnings per share attributable to S&P Global Inc. common shareholders:
Net income:
Basic$1.89 $2.52 $7.82 $6.43 
Diluted$1.88 $2.50 $7.78 $6.40 
(in millions, except per share amounts)Three Months Nine Months

2019 2018 2019 2018
Amounts attributable to S&P Global Inc. common shareholders:       
Net income$617
 $495
 $1,582
 $1,447
        
Basic weighted-average number of common shares outstanding245.0
 251.3
 245.9
 251.6
Effect of stock options and other dilutive securities1.5
 2.2
 1.5
 2.1
Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding246.5
 253.5
 247.4
 253.7
        
Earnings per share attributable to S&P Global Inc. common shareholders:       
Net income:       
Basic$2.52
 $1.97
 $6.43
 $5.75
Diluted$2.50
 $1.95
 $6.40
 $5.70


We have certain stock options and restricted performance shares that are potentially excluded from the computation of diluted EPS. The effect of the potential exercise of stock options is excluded when the average market price of our common stock is lower than the exercise price of the related option during the period or when a net loss exists because the effect would have been antidilutive. Additionally, restricted performance shares are excluded because the necessary vesting conditions had not been met or when a net loss exists. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 20192020 and 2018,2019, there were 0 stock options excluded. Restricted performance shares outstanding of 0.40.6 million and 0.80.4 million as of September 30, 20192020 and 2018,2019, respectively, were excluded.


10.    Restructuring

10.Restructuring

We continuously evaluate our cost structure to identify cost savings associated with streamlining our management structure. Our 2020 and 2019 and 2018 restructuring planplans consisted of a company-wide workforce reduction of approximately 17090 and 160300 positions, respectively, and are further detailed below. The charges for the restructuring plans are classified as selling and general expenses within the consolidated statements of income and the reserves are included in other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

In certain circumstances, reserves are no longer needed because of efficiencies in carrying out the plans or because employees previously identified for separation resigned from the Company and did not receive severance or were reassigned due to circumstances not foreseen when the original plans were initiated. In these cases, we reverse reserves through the consolidated statements of income during the period when it is determined they are no longer needed.

21


The initial restructuring charge recorded and the ending reserve balance as of September 30, 20192020 by segment is as follows:
 2019 Restructuring Plan 2018 Restructuring Plan
(in millions)Initial Charge Recorded Ending Reserve Balance Initial Charge Recorded Ending Reserve Balance
Ratings$11
 $9
 $8
 $
Market Intelligence1
 1
 7
 1
Platts1
 
 
 
Corporate7
 6
 10
 1
Total$20
 $16
 $25
 $2

2020 Restructuring Plan2019 Restructuring Plan
(in millions)Initial Charge RecordedEnding Reserve BalanceInitial Charge RecordedEnding Reserve Balance
Ratings$$$11 $
Market Intelligence
Platts
Corporate10 
Total$12 $$25 $

We recorded a pre-tax restructuring charge of $20$12 million primarily related to employee severance charges for the 20192020 restructuring plan during the nine months ended September 30, 20192020 and have reduced the reserve by $4$5 million. The ending reserve balance for the 20182019 restructuring plan was $24$18 million as of December 31, 2018.2019. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019,2020, we have reduced the reserve for the 20182019 restructuring plan by $22$13 million. The reductions primarily related to cash payments for employee severance charges.


11. Segment and Related Information

We have 4 reportable segments: Ratings, Market Intelligence, Platts and Indices. Our Chief Executive Officer is our chief operating decision-maker and evaluates performance of our segments and allocates resources based primarily on operating profit. Segment operating profit does not include Corporate Unallocated, other expense, (income), net, or interest expense, net, as these are amounts that do not affect the operating results of our reportable segments.

Beginning inIn the first quarter of 2019, the contract obligations2020, we changed our allocation methodology for revenue from Kensho's major customers were transferredallocating our centrally managed technology-related expenses to Market Intelligence for fulfillment.  As a result of this transfer, from January 1, 2019 revenue from contractsour reportable segments to more accurately reflect each segment's respective usage. Prior-year amounts have been reclassified to conform with Kensho’s customers is reflected in Market Intelligence’s results.  In 2018, the revenue from contracts with Kensho’s customers was reported in Corporate revenue.current presentation.

A summary of operating results for the periods ended September 30 is as follows: 

RevenueThree MonthsNine Months
(in millions)2020201920202019
Ratings$894 $789 $2,725 $2,286��
Market Intelligence530 488 1,565 1,457 
Platts222 212 654 632 
Indices234 232 733 684 
Intersegment elimination 1
(34)(32)(102)(95)
Total revenue$1,846 $1,689 $5,575 $4,964 
Operating ProfitThree MonthsNine Months
(in millions)2020201920202019
Ratings 2
$544$477$1,758$1,305
Market Intelligence 3
164161469431
Platts 4
121136357348
Indices 5
151162504474
Total reportable segments9809363,0882,558
Corporate Unallocated expense6
(36)(45)(128)(150)
Total operating profit$944$891$2,960$2,408
RevenueThree Months
Nine Months
(in millions)2019
2018
2019
2018
Ratings$789

$700

$2,286

$2,223
Market Intelligence488

466

1,457

1,355
Platts212

204

632

604
Indices232

203

684

621
Corporate

5



10
Intersegment elimination 1
(32)
(32)
(95)
(92)
Total revenue$1,689

$1,546

$4,964

$4,721

Operating ProfitThree Months Nine Months
(in millions)2019 2018 2019 2018
Ratings 2
$472
 $395
 $1,290
 $1,173
Market Intelligence 3
171
 147
 462
 384
Platts 4
132
 98
 333
 285
Indices 5
161
 135
 473
 420
Total reportable segments936
 775
 2,558
 2,262
Corporate Unallocated 6
(45) (71) (150) (176)
Total operating profit$891
 $704
 $2,408
 $2,086
Note - In the fourth quarter of 2018, Trucost was transferred from Indices1Revenue for Ratings and expenses for Market Intelligence include an intersegment royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and historical reporting was retroactively revised to reflectdistribute content and data developed by Ratings.
2 Operating profit for the change.three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 include a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million. Operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes employee severance charges of $11 million. Operating profit also
22
1


includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $3 million and $5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and $2 million for the nine months ended September 30,2019.
3 Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 includes a gain on dispositions of $4 million and $12 million, respectively, and employee severance charges of $2 million and $1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of July 1, 2019, we completed the sale of SPIAS and the results are included in Market Intelligence results through that date. Operating profit includes a gain on the sale of SPIAS of $22 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $19 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $58 million and $56 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019.
4 As of July 31, 2019, we completed the sale of RigData and the results are included in Platts results through that date. Operating profit includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes employee severance charges of $1 million. Operating profit includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and $7 million and $9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
5 Operating profit includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and $4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019.
6 Corporate Unallocated expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 includes a gain on disposition of $4 million, Kensho retention related expense of $2 million and $10 million, respectively, and employee severance charges of $10 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. Corporate Unallocated Expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes Kensho related expenses $6 million and $17 million, respectively. Corporate unallocated expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes employee severance charges of $7 million and a lease impairment of $5 million. Corporate Unallocated expense also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $7 million and $20 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and $7 million and $21 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively.

Revenue for Ratings and expenses for Market Intelligence include an intersegment royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.
2
Operating profit includes employee severance charges of $11 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit includes legal settlement expenses of $73 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and $2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.
3
As of July 1, 2019, we completed the sale of SPIAS and the results are included in Market Intelligence results through that date. Operating profit includes a gain on the sale of SPAIS of $22 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit includes employee severance charges of $1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit includes restructuring charges related to a business disposition and employee severance charges of $2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $19 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, and $56 million and $55 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
4
As of July 31, 2019, we completed the sale of RigData and the results are included in Platts results through that date. Operating profit includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit includes employee severance charges of $1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $2 million and $4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $9 million and $13 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
5
Operating profit for includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 and $4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.
6
Operating loss includes Kensho retention related expenses of $6 million and $11 millionfor the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $17 million and $23 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Operating loss includes employee severance charges of $7 million and a lease impairment of $5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and lease impairments of $11 million and employee severance charges of $7 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. Operating loss also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $7 million and $21 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and $8 million and $17 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018.

The following table presents our revenue disaggregated by revenue type:type for the periods ended September 30:
(in millions)RatingsMarket IntelligencePlattsIndices
Intersegment Elimination 1
Total
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
Subscription$$517 $205 $43 $$765 
Non-subscription / Transaction490 13 505 
Non-transaction404 (34)370 
Asset-linked fees156 156 
Sales usage-based royalties15 35 50 
Total revenue$894 $530 $222 $234 $(34)$1,846 
Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time$490 $13 $$$$505 
Services transferred over time404 517 220 234 (34)1,341 
Total revenue$894 $530 $222 $234 $(34)$1,846 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
Subscription$$1,525 $603 $132 $$2,260 
Non-subscription / Transaction1,546 39 1,589 
Non-transaction1,179 (102)1,077 
Asset-linked fees468 469 
Sales usage-based royalties47 133 180 
Total revenue$2,725 $1,565 $654 $733 $(102)$5,575 
Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time$1,546 $39 $$$$1,589 
Services transferred over time1,179 1,526 650 733 (102)3,986 
Total revenue$2,725 $1,565 $654 $733 $(102)$5,575 

23


(in millions)Ratings Market Intelligence Platts Indices Corporate 
Intersegment Elimination 1
 Total(in millions)RatingsMarket IntelligencePlattsIndices
Intersegment Elimination 1
Total
             
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
Subscription$
 $477
 $194
 $42
 $
 $
 $713
Subscription$$477 $194 $42 $$713 
Non-subscription / TransactionNon-subscription / Transaction402 10 414 
Non-transaction387
 
 
 
 
 (32) 355
Non-transaction387 (32)355 
Non-subscription / Transaction402
 10
 2
 
 
 
 414
Asset-linked fees
 1
 
 152
 
 
 153
Asset-linked fees152 153 
Sales usage-based royalties
 
 16
 38
 
 
 54
Sales usage-based royalties16 38 54 
Total revenue$789
 $488
 $212
 $232
 $
 $(32) $1,689
Total revenue$789 $488 $212 $232 $(32)$1,689 
             
Timing of revenue recognition             Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time$402
 $10
 $2
 $
 $
 $
 $414
Services transferred at a point in time$402 $10 $$$$414 
Services transferred over time387
 478
 210
 232
 
 (32) 1,275
Services transferred over time387 478 210 232 (32)1,275 
Total revenue$789
 $488
 $212
 $232
 $
 $(32) $1,689
Total revenue$789 $488 $212 $232 $(32)$1,689 
             
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
Subscription$
 $1,416
 $579
 $122
 


 $
 $2,117
Subscription$$1,416 $579 $122 $$2,117 
Non-subscription / TransactionNon-subscription / Transaction1,148 31 1,187 
Non-transaction1,138
 
 
 
 
 (95) 1,043
Non-transaction1,138 (95)1,043 
Non-subscription / Transaction1,148
 31
 8
 
 
 
 1,187
Asset-linked fees
 10
 
 454
 
 
 464
Asset-linked fees10 454 464 
Sales usage-based royalties
 
 45
 108
 
 
 153
Sales usage-based royalties45 108 153 
Total revenue$2,286
 $1,457
 $632
 $684
 $
 $(95) $4,964
Total revenue$2,286 $1,457 $632 $684 $(95)$4,964 
             
Timing of revenue recognition             Timing of revenue recognition
Services transferred at a point in time$1,148
 $31
 $8
 $
 $
 $
 $1,187
Services transferred at a point in time$1,148 $31 $$$$1,187 
Services transferred over time1,138
 1,426
 624
 684
 
 (95) 3,777
Services transferred over time1,138 1,426 624 684 (95)3,777 
Total revenue$2,286
 $1,457
 $632
 $684
 $
 $(95) $4,964
Total revenue$2,286 $1,457 $632 $684 $(95)$4,964 

1 Intersegment eliminations primarily consists of a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.
(in millions)Ratings Market Intelligence Platts Indices Corporate 
Intersegment Elimination 1
 Total
              
 Three Months Ended September 30, 2018
Subscription$
 $453
 $188
 $39
 $5
 $
 $685
Non-transaction379
 
 
 
 
 (32) 347
Non-subscription / Transaction321
 8
 2
 
 
 
 331
Asset-linked fees
 5
 
 131
 
 
 136
Sales usage-based royalties
 
 14
 33
 
 
 47
Total revenue$700
 $466
 $204
 $203
 $5
 $(32) $1,546
              
Timing of revenue recognition             
Services transferred at a point in time$321
 $8
 $2
 $
 $
 $
 $331
Services transferred over time379
 458
 202
 203
 5
 (32) 1,215
Total revenue$700
 $466
 $204
 $203
 $5
 $(32) $1,546
              
 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
Subscription$
 $1,309
 $556
 $103
 $10
 $
 $1,978
Non-transaction1,150
 
 
 
 
 (92) 1,058
Non-subscription / Transaction1,073
 31
 8
 
 
 
 1,112
Asset-linked fees
 15
 
 396
 
 
 411
Sales usage-based royalties
 
 40
 122
 
 
 162
Total revenue$2,223
 $1,355
 $604
 $621
 $10
 $(92) $4,721
              
Timing of revenue recognition             
Services transferred at a point in time$1,073
 $31
 $8
 $
 $
 $
 $1,112
Services transferred over time1,150
 1,324
 596
 621
 10
 (92) 3,609
Total revenue$2,223
 $1,355
 $604
 $621
 $10
 $(92) $4,721
1
Intersegment eliminations primarily consists of a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

The following provides revenue by geographic region for the periods ended September 30:
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
U.S.$1,076 $1,021 $3,384 $2,978 
European region455 411 1,310 1,205 
Asia214 174 585 522 
Rest of the world101 83 296 259 
Total$1,846 $1,689 $5,575 $4,964 
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 2019 2018
U.S.$1,013
 $934
 $2,974
 $2,850
European region419
 378
 1,212
 1,159
Asia174
 160
 522
 473
Rest of the world83
 74
 256
 239
Total$1,689
 $1,546
 $4,964
 $4,721


See Note 2 Acquisitions and Divestitures and Note 10 Restructuring for additional actions that impacted the segment operating results.

24




12. Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

We determine whether an arrangement meets the criteria for an operating lease or a finance lease at the inception of the arrangement. We have operating leases for office space and equipment. Our leases have remaining lease terms of 1 year to 1413 years, some of which include options to extend the leases for up to 12 years, and some of which include options to terminate the leases within

1 year. We consider these options in determining the lease term used to establish our right-ofright of use ("ROU") assets and associated lease liabilities. We sublease certain real estate leases to third parties which mainly consist of operating leases for space within our offices.

Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expenses for these leases on a straight line-basis over the lease term in operating-related expenses and selling and general expenses.
Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. Our future minimum based payments used to determine our lease liabilities include minimum based rent payments and escalations. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use our estimated incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments.
The following table provides information on the location and amounts of our leases on our consolidated balance sheetsheets as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019:
(in millions)September 30,December 31,
Balance Sheet Location20202019
Assets
Right of use assetsLease right of use assets$610 $676 
Liabilities
Other current liabilitiesCurrent lease liabilities102 112 
Lease liabilities — non-currentNon-current lease liabilities563 620 
(in millions) September 30,
Balance Sheet Location 2019
Assets  
Right of use assetsLease right-of-use assets$660
Liabilities  
Other current liabilitiesCurrent lease liabilities112
Lease liabilities — non-current

Noncurrent lease liabilities615


The components of lease expense for the periods ended September 30 are as follows: 
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
Operating lease cost$35 $39 $110 $116 
Sublease income(4)(5)(13)
Total lease cost$35 $35 $105 $103 
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2019
Operating lease cost$39
 $116
Sublease income(4) (13)
Total lease cost$35
 $103

Supplemental information related to leases for the periods ended September 30 are as follows:
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
2020201920202019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement for operating lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases$32 $39 105 110 
Right of use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations
Operating leases34 772 
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement for operating lease liabilities   
Operating cash flows from operating leases$39
 $110
    
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations   
Operating leases34
 772
25



Weighted-average remaining lease term and discount rate for our operating leases as of September 30 are as follows:
September 30,December 31,
20202019
Weighted-average remaining lease term (years)8.59.0
Weighted-average discount rate3.86 %3.93 %
2019
Weighted-average remaining lease term (years)9.3
Weighted-average discount rate4.00%



Maturities of lease liabilities for our operating leases are as follows:
(in millions) (in millions)
2019 (Excluding the nine months ended September 30, 2019)
$38
2020128
2020 (Excluding the nine months ended September 30, 2020)2020 (Excluding the nine months ended September 30, 2020)$31 
2021109
2021114 
202292
202297 
202377
202379 
2024 and beyond417
2024202467 
2025 and beyond2025 and beyond360 
Total undiscounted lease payments$861
Total undiscounted lease payments$748 
Less: Imputed interest134
Less: Imputed interest83 
Present value of lease liabilities$727
Present value of lease liabilities$665 


Related Party Agreements

In March of 2018, the Company made a $20 million contribution to the S&P Global Foundation included in selling and general expenses.

In June of 2012, we entered into a license agreement (the "License Agreement") with the holder of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC noncontrolling interest, CME Group, replacing the 2005 license agreement between Indices and CME Group. Under the terms of the License Agreement, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC receives a share of the profits from the trading and clearing of CME Group's equity index products. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019,2020, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC earned $28$32 million and $87$119 million, respectively, of revenue under the terms of the License Agreement. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018,2019, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC earned $28 million and $82$87 million, respectively, of revenue under the terms of the License Agreement. The entire amount of this revenue is included in our consolidated statement of income and the portion related to the 27% noncontrolling interest is removed in net income attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Legal and Regulatory Matters

In the normal course of business both in the United States and abroad, the Company and its subsidiaries are defendants in a number of legal proceedings and are often the subject of government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries.

In the second quarter of 2020, Indices, a joint venture with CME Group controlled by the Company, received a “Wells Notice” from the Staff of the SEC stating that the Staff has made a preliminary determination to recommend that the SEC file an enforcement action against Indices.The proposed action would allege violations of federal securities laws with respect to the absence of disclosure of a quality assurance mechanism and the impact of that mechanism on certain volatility related index values published on one business day in 2018. The Staff’s recommendation may involve a civil injunctive action, a cease and desist proceeding, disgorgement, pre-judgment interest and civil money penalties. The Wells Notice is neither a formal allegation nor a finding of wrongdoing. It allows Indices the opportunity to provide its perspective and to address the issues raised by the Staff before any decision is made by the SEC on whether to authorize the commencement of an enforcement proceeding. Indices has been cooperating with the SEC in this matter and intends to continue to do so.

The Company is aware of a potential class action complaint relating to alleged investment losses in collateralized debt obligations rated by Ratings prior to the financial crisis, which was filed in Australia on August 7, 2020 against the Company and a subsidiary of the Company. The Company and its subsidiary have not been served. We can provide no assurance that we will not be obligated to pay significant amounts in order to resolve these matters on terms deemed acceptable.

From time to time, the Company receives customer complaints, particularly, though not exclusively, in its Ratings and Indices segments. The Company believes it has strong contractual protections in the terms and conditions included in its arrangements with customers. Nonetheless, in the interest of managing customer relationships, the Company from time to time engages in
26


dialogue with such customers in an effort to resolve such complaints, and if such complaints cannot be resolved through dialogue, may face litigation regarding such complaints. The Company does not expect to incur material losses as a result of these matters.

In addition, various government and self-regulatory agencies frequently make inquiries and conduct investigations into our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including those related to ratings activities and antitrust matters. For example, as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization registered with the SEC under Section 15E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, S&P Global Ratings is in ongoing communication with the staff of the SEC regarding compliance with its extensive obligations under the federal securities laws. Although S&P Global seeks to promptly address any compliance issues that it detects or that the staff of the SEC or another regulator raises, there can be no assurance that the SEC or another regulator will not seek remedies against S&P Global for one or more compliance deficiencies. Any of these proceedings, investigations or inquiries could ultimately result in adverse judgments, damages, fines, penalties or activity restrictions, which could adversely impact our consolidated financial condition, cash flows, business or competitive position.

In view of the uncertainty inherent in litigation and government and regulatory enforcement matters, we cannot predict the eventual outcome of such matters or the timing of their resolution, or in most cases reasonably estimate what the eventual judgments, damages, fines, penalties or impact of activity (if any) restrictions may be. As a result, we cannot provide assurance that such outcomes will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition, cash flows, business or competitive position. As litigation or the process to resolve pending matters progresses, as the case may be, we will continue to review the latest information available and assess our ability to predict the outcome of such matters and the effects, if any, on our consolidated financial condition, cash flows, business or competitive position, which may require that we record liabilities in the consolidated financial statements in future periods.



13. Recently Issued or Adopted Accounting Standards

In NovemberAugust of 2018,2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued guidance that amends the accounting for convertible instruments and the derivatives scopes exception for contracts in an entity's own equity. The guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020; however, early adoption is permitted. We do not expect this guidance to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In January of 2020, the FASB intended to clarify the interaction of the accounting for equity securities under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 321, investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting under ASC 323, and the accounting for certain forward contracts and purchased options accounted for under ASC 815. This guidance could change how the Company accounts for an equity security under the measurement alternative. The guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020; however, early adoption is permitted. We do not expect this guidance to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In December of 2019, the FASB issued guidance to simplify the accounting for income taxes. The guidance eliminates certain exceptions to the general principles of Topic 740. The guidance is effective for reporting periods after December 15, 2020; however, early adoption is permitted. We do not expect this guidance to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In November of 2018, the FASB issued guidance that provides clarification on whether certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should be accounted for as revenue under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC")ASC 606. The guidance iswas effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019; however early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact ofon January 1, 2020, and the adoption of this guidance did not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In August of 2018, the FASB issued guidance to align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. The guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019; however early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

In August of 2017, the FASB issued guidance to enhance the hedge accounting model for both nonfinancial and financial risk components, which includes amendments to address certain aspects of recognition and presentation disclosure. The guidance was effective on January 1, 2019,2020, and the adoption of this guidance did not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In January of 2017, the FASB issued guidance that simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill and eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the new guidance, an entity should perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value; however, the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, an entity should consider income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit when measuring the
27


goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. The guidance iswas effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019; however, earlyon January 1, 2020, and the adoption is permitted. We do not expectof this guidance todid not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In June of 2016, the FASB issued guidance that amendsamending the measurement of credit losses on certain financial instruments by requiring the use of an expected loss methodology, which will result in more timely recognition of credit losses. We adopted this guidance on January 1, 2020. The Company currently expects that the most notable impactadoption of this guidance may relate to its processes around the assessment ofimpacted our process for assessing the adequacy of itsour allowance for doubtful accounts on accounts receivable and the recognition of credit losses. We are continuing our evaluation of potential changes to our accounting policies, business processes, systems and internal controls to support the recognition and disclosure requirements under the new standard. The extent of the impact upon adoption will depend on the composition of the Company’s receivable portfolio and the impact of past events, current economic conditions atcontract assets by incorporating data points that date, as well as forecastsprovide indicators of future economic conditions thereafter, however, we do not expectincluding forecasted industry default rates and industry index benchmarks in concert with our historical process contemplating experienced receivable write off rates from past events and current economic conditions. The adoption of this guidance todid not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements. The guidance is effectiveDuring the nine months ended September 30, 2020, we incorporated the forecasted impact of future economic conditions into our allowance for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019.

In Februarydoubtful accounts measurement process including the expected adverse impact of 2016, the FASB issued guidance amending the accounting for leases that requires a lessee to recognize "right of use" assets with offsetting lease liabilitiesCOVID-19 on the balance sheet, with expenses recognized similarglobal economy.
28


14.    Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements

On November 26, 2019, we issued $500 million of 2.5% senior notes due in 2029 and $600 million of 3.25% senior notes due in 2049. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we used the net proceeds to previously issued guidance. This guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted. We adoptedfund the new lease standard effective January 1, 2019 usingredemption of the modified retrospective transition method. In July of 2018, the FASB issued a subsequent update providing entities an additional transition method to adopt the new lease standard, allowing entities to adopt the standard prospectively without restating prior period's financial statements. We have elected this transition method upon adoption on January 1, 2019. We have also elected to apply the "package" of practical expedients permitting entities to forgo reassessment of (1) the lease classification of expired or existing leases, (2) whether any expired or existing contracts contain leases, and (3) the accounting for initial direct costs of existing leases. This standard had a material impact on our consolidated balance sheet, but did not have an impact on our consolidated statements of income or cash flows. As part$700 million outstanding principal amount of our implementation process, we have refined our processes, procedures,3.3% senior notes due in 2020 and controls to capture the complete population of leases that incorporates a third party software solution to report the financial statement impactportion of the new standard. See Note 12 Commitments and Contingencies for further details on$400 million outstanding principal amount of our leases.


14.Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements

6.55% senior notes due in 2037. On May 17, 2018, we issued $500 million of 4.5% notes due in 2048. On September 22, 2016, we issued $500 million of 2.95% senior notes due in 2027. On May 26, 2015, we issued $700 million of 4.0% senior notes due in 2025. On August 18, 2015, we issued $2.0 billion of senior notes, consisting of $400 million of 2.5% senior notes that were repaid in 2018, $700 million of 3.3% senior notes due in 2020 and $900 million of 4.4% senior notes due in 2026. On August 13, 2020, we issued $600 million of 1.25% senior notes due in 2030 and $700 million of 2.3% senior notes due in 2060. In the third quarter of 2020, we used the net proceeds to fund the redemption and extinguishment of the $900 million outstanding principal amount of our 4.4% senior notes due in 2026 and a portion of the outstanding principal amounts of our 6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and our 4.5% senior notes due in 2048. See Note 4 Debt for additional information.

The senior notes described above are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, a 100% owned subsidiary of the Company. The following condensed consolidating financial statements present the results of operations, financial position and cash flows of S&P Global Inc., Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, and the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries of S&P Global Inc. and Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, and the eliminations necessary to arrive at the information for the Company on a consolidated basis.

 Statement of Income
 Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
 (Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$207
 $491
 $1,030
 $(39) $1,689
Expenses:         
Operating-related expenses40
 103
 334
 (39) 438
Selling and general expenses50
 58
 252
 
 360
Depreciation11
 3
 6
 
 20
Amortization of intangibles
 
 29
 
 29
Total expenses101
 164
 621
 (39) 847
Gain on dispositions(49) 
 
 
 (49)
Operating profit155
 327
 409
 
 891
Other (income) expense, net

(5) 
 13
 
 8
Interest expense (income), net37
 
 (5) 
 32
Non-operating intercompany transactions100
 (6) (107) 13
 
Income before taxes on income23
 333
 508
 (13) 851
Provision for taxes on income16
 80
 93
 
 189
Equity in net income of subsidiaries622
 
 
 (622) 
Net income$629
 $253
 $415
 $(635) $662
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
 
 
 (45) (45)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$629
 $253
 $415
 $(680) $617
Comprehensive income$632
 $253
 $376
 $(633) $628


 Statement of Income
 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
 (Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$617
 $1,416
 $3,047
 $(116) $4,964
Expenses:         
Operating-related expenses126
 330
 997
 (116) 1,337
Selling and general expenses124
 222
 769
 
 1,115
Depreciation33
 9
 19
 
 61
Amortization of intangibles
 
 92
 
 92
Total expenses283
 561
 1,877
 (116) 2,605
Gain on dispositions(49) 
 
 
 (49)
Operating profit383
 855
 1,170
 
 2,408
Other expense, net

96
 
 8
 
 104
Interest expense (income), net115
 
 (10) 
 105
Non-operating intercompany transactions291
 (42) (1,444) 1,195
 
Income before taxes on income(119) 897
 2,616
 (1,195) 2,199
(Benefit) provision for taxes on income(28) 239
 271
 
 482
Equity in net income of subsidiaries2,868
 
 
 (2,868) 
Net income$2,777
 $658
 $2,345
 $(4,063) $1,717
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
 
 
 (135) (135)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$2,777
 $658
 $2,345
 $(4,198) $1,582
Comprehensive income$2,869
 $658
 $2,310
 $(4,062) $1,775



 Statement of Income
 Three Months Ended September 30, 2018
 (Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$196
 $422
 $967
 $(39) $1,546
Expenses:         
Operating-related expenses30
 110
 309
 (39) 410
Selling and general expenses36
 79
 264
 
 379
Depreciation11
 2
 7
 
 20
Amortization of intangibles
 
 33
 
 33
Total expenses77
 191
 613
 (39) 842
Gain on dispositions
 
 
 
 
Operating profit119
 231
 354
 
 704
Other income, net


(5) 
 (1) 
 (6)
Interest expense (income), net39
 1
 (2) 
 38
Non-operating intercompany transactions90
 (11) (83) 4
 
Income before taxes on income(5) 241
 440
 (4) 672
(Benefit) Provision for taxes on income(65) 94
 108
 
 137
Equity in net income of subsidiaries440
 
 
 (440) 
Net income$500
 $147
 $332
 $(444) $535
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
 
 
 (40) (40)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$500
 $147
 $332
 $(484) $495
Comprehensive income$490
 $147
 $341
 $(441) $537


 Statement of Income
 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
 (Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$587
 $1,318
 $2,929
 $(113) $4,721
Expenses:         
Operating-related expenses105
 333
 962
 (113) 1,287
Selling and general expenses145
 222
 830
 
 1,197
Depreciation31
 6
 23
 
 60
Amortization of intangibles
 
 91
 
 91
Total expenses281
 561
 1,906
 (113) 2,635
Gain on dispositions
 
 
 
 
Operating profit306
 757
 1,023
 
 2,086
Other income, net


(21) 
 (1) 
 (22)
Interest expense (income), net105
 2
 (9) 
 98
Non-operating intercompany transactions277
 (54) (1,538) 1,315
 
Income before taxes on income(55) 809
 2,571
 (1,315) 2,010
(Benefit) Provision for taxes on income(52) 240
 252
 
 440
Equity in net income of subsidiaries2,804
 
 
 (2,804) 
Net income$2,801
 $569
 $2,319
 $(4,119) $1,570
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
 
 
 (123) (123)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$2,801
 $569
 $2,319
 $(4,242) $1,447
Comprehensive income$2,781
 $569
 $2,274
 $(4,118) $1,506














 Balance Sheet
 September 30, 2019
 (Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
ASSETS         
Current assets:         
Cash and cash equivalents$509
 $
 $1,487
 $
 $1,996
Restricted cash
 
 23
 
 23
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts248
 195
 1,043
 
 1,486
Intercompany receivable588
 2,598
 3,798
 (6,984) 
Prepaid and other current assets65
 
 152
 
 217
Total current assets1,410
 2,793
 6,503
 (6,984) 3,722
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation201
 1
 96
 
 298
Right of use assets415
 2
 243
 
 660
Goodwill283
 
 3,225
 7
 3,515
Other intangible assets, net
 
 1,427
 
 1,427
Investments in subsidiaries11,187
 6
 8,023
 (19,216) 
Intercompany loans receivable227
 
 1,234
 (1,461) 
Other non-current assets215
 39
 313
 (1) 566
Total assets$13,938
 $2,841
 $21,064
 $(27,655) $10,188
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY         
Current liabilities:         
Accounts payable$80
 $8
 $100
 $
 $188
Intercompany payable5,637
 52
 1,295
 (6,984) 
Accrued compensation and contributions to retirement plans116
 42
 169
 
 327
Short-term debt699
 
 
 
 699
Income taxes currently payable33
 
 81
 
 114
Unearned revenue275
 247
 1,092
 
 1,614
Other current liabilities194
 20
 217
 
 431
Total current liabilities7,034
 369
 2,954
 (6,984) 3,373
Long-term debt2,966
 
 
 
 2,966
Lease liabilities — non-current396
 1
 218
 
 615
Intercompany loans payable209
 
 1,251
 (1,460) 
Pension and other postretirement benefits160
 
 66
 
 226
Other non-current liabilities136
 81
 365
 (1) 581
Total liabilities10,901
 451
 4,854
 (8,445) 7,761
Redeemable noncontrolling interest
 
 
 2,025
 2,025
Equity:         
Common stock294
 
 2,378
 (2,378) 294
Additional paid-in capital60
 627
 9,664
 (9,516) 835
Retained income15,041
 1,763
 4,692
 (9,442) 12,054
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(206) 
 (524) 46
 (684)
Less: common stock in treasury(12,152) 
 (1) 
 (12,153)
Total equity - controlling interests3,037
 2,390
 16,209
 (21,290) 346
Total equity - noncontrolling interests
 
 1
 55
 56
Total equity3,037
 2,390
 16,210
 (21,235) 402
Total liabilities and equity$13,938
 $2,841
 $21,064
 $(27,655) $10,188

 Balance Sheet
 December 31, 2018
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
ASSETS         
Current assets:         
Cash and cash equivalents$694
 $
 $1,223
 $
 $1,917
Restricted cash
 
 41
 
 41
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts163
 109
 1,177
 
 1,449
Intercompany receivable550
 2,138
 2,873
 (5,561) 
Prepaid and other current assets58
 3
 136
 
 197
Total current assets1,465
 2,250
 5,450
 (5,561) 3,604
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation192
 
 78
 
 270
Right of use assets
 
 
 
 
Goodwill261
 
 3,265
 9
 3,535
Other intangible assets, net
 
 1,524
 
 1,524
Investments in subsidiaries8,599
 6
 8,030
 (16,635) 
Intercompany loans receivable130
 
 1,643
 (1,773) 
Other non-current assets194
 45
 286
 
 525
Total assets$10,841
 $2,301
 $20,276
 $(23,960) $9,458
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY         
Current liabilities:         
Accounts payable$89
 $15
 $107
 $
 $211
Intercompany payable4,453
 32
 1,076
 (5,561) 
Accrued compensation and contributions to retirement plans125
 33
 196
 
 354
Short-term debt
 
 
 
 
Income taxes currently payable1
 
 71
 
 72
Unearned revenue240
 235
 1,166
 
 1,641
Other current liabilities180
 16
 155
 
 351
Total current liabilities5,088
 331
 2,771
 (5,561) 2,629
Long-term debt3,662
 
 
 
 3,662
Lease liabilities — non-current
 
 
 
 
Intercompany loans payable114
 
 1,659
 (1,773) 
Pension and other postretirement benefits162
 
 67
 
 229
Other non-current liabilities166
 75
 393
 
 634
Total liabilities9,192
 406
 4,890
 (7,334) 7,154
Redeemable noncontrolling interest
 
 
 1,620
 1,620
Equity:         
Common stock294
 
 2,279
 (2,279) 294
Additional paid-in capital72
 618
 9,784
 (9,641) 833
Retained income12,622
 1,277
 3,824
 (6,439) 11,284
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(299) 
 (489) 46
 (742)
Less: common stock in treasury(11,040) 
 (13) 12
 (11,041)
Total equity - controlling interests1,649
 1,895
 15,385
 (18,301) 628
Total equity - noncontrolling interests
 
 1
 55
 56
Total equity1,649
 1,895
 15,386
 (18,246) 684
Total liabilities and equity$10,841
 $2,301
 $20,276
 $(23,960) $9,458



 Statement of Cash Flows
 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
 (Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Operating Activities:         
Net income$2,777
 $658
 $2,345
 $(4,063) $1,717
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:         
     Depreciation33
 9
 19
 
 61
     Amortization of intangibles
 
 92
 
 92
     Provision for losses on accounts receivable5
 1
 11
 
 17
     Deferred income taxes4
 1
 10
 
 15
     Stock-based compensation17
 9
 27
 
 53
     Gain on dispositions(49) 
 
 
 (49)
     Pension settlement charge, net of taxes85
 
 
 
 85
     Other12
 6
 31
 
 49
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:         
     Accounts receivable(90) (86) 126
 
 (50)
     Prepaid and other current assets(20) 2
 (41) 
 (59)
     Accounts payable and accrued expenses(17) (1) (36) 
 (54)
     Unearned revenue35
 21
 (83) 
 (27)
     Accrued legal settlements
 (1) 
 
 (1)
     Other current liabilities(62) (5) (14) 
 (81)
     Net change in prepaid/accrued income taxes49
 1
 8
 
 58
     Net change in other assets and liabilities(56) (3) 5
 

 (54)
Cash provided by operating activities2,723
 612
 2,500
 (4,063) 1,772
Investing Activities:         
     Capital expenditures(32) (3) (42) 
 (77)
     Acquisitions, net of cash acquired
 
 (25) 
 (25)
     Proceeds from dispositions85
 
 

 
 85
     Changes in short-term investments
 
 (3) 
 (3)
Cash provided by/(used for) investing activities53
 (3) (70) 
 (20)
Financing Activities:         
     Dividends paid to shareholders(421) 
 
 
 (421)
 Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net
 
 (100) 
 (100)
     Repurchase of treasury shares(1,144) 
 
 
 (1,144)
     Exercise of stock options36
 
 2
 
 38
Employee withholding tax on share-based payments and other(55) 
 (2) 
 (57)
     Intercompany financing activities(1,377) (609) (2,077) 4,063
 
Cash used for financing activities(2,961) (609) (2,177) 4,063
 (1,684)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
 
 (7) 
 (7)
Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash(185) 
 246
 
 61
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period694
 
 1,264
 
 1,958
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period$509
 $
 $1,510
 $
 $2,019


 Statement of Cash Flows
 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
 (Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc. Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries Eliminations S&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Operating Activities:         
Net income$2,801
 $569
 $2,319
 $(4,119) $1,570
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:         
     Depreciation31
 6
 23
 
 60
     Amortization of intangibles
 
 91
 
 91
     Provision for losses on accounts receivable1
 1
 14
 
 16
     Deferred income taxes(3) 
 24
 

 21
     Stock-based compensation21
 12
 40
 
 73
     Other36
 
 (16) 
 20
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:         
     Accounts receivable10
 (15) 67
 
 62
     Prepaid and other current assets(11) 1
 11
 
 1
     Accounts payable and accrued expenses(31) (58) (78) 
 (167)
     Unearned revenue(20) 23
 (75) 
 (72)
     Accrued legal settlements

 
 (180) 
 (180)
     Other current liabilities(15) (8) 5
 
 (18)
     Net change in prepaid/accrued income taxes51
 2
 9
 
 62
     Net change in other assets and liabilities(123) 23
 (38) 
 (138)
Cash provided by operating activities2,748
 556
 2,216
 (4,119) 1,401
Investing Activities:         
     Capital expenditures(63) (14) (11) 
 (88)
     Acquisitions, net of cash acquired
 
 (263) 
 (263)
     Changes in short-term investments
 
 5
 
 5
Cash used for investing activities(63) (14) (269) 
 (346)
Financing Activities:         
     Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net489
 
 
 
 489
     Payments on senior notes(403) 
 
 
 (403)
     Dividends paid to shareholders(379) 
 
 
 (379)
 Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net
 
 (116) 
 (116)
     Purchase of CRISIL shares
 
 (25) 
 (25)
     Repurchase of treasury shares(1,108) 
 
 
 (1,108)
     Exercise of stock options18
 
 6
 
 24
Employee withholding tax on share-based payments and other(61) 
 
 
 (61)
     Intercompany financing activities(968) (542) (2,609) 4,119
 
Cash used for financing activities(2,412) (542) (2,744) 4,119
 (1,579)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash(14) 
 (38) 
 (52)
Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash259
 
 (835) 
 (576)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period632
 
 2,147
 
 2,779
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period$891
 $
 $1,312
 $
 $2,203


Statement of Income
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
(Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$219 $541 $1,128 $(42)$1,846 
Expenses:
Operating-related expenses28 120 415 (44)519 
Selling and general expenses26 84 227 339 
Depreciation20 
Amortization of intangibles32 32 
Total expenses63 206 683 (42)910 
Gain on dispositions(5)(3)(8)
Operating profit161 335 448 944 
Other income, net(4)(2)(6)
Interest expense (income), net35 (1)35 
Loss on extinguishment of debt279 279 
Non-operating intercompany transactions103 (6)(172)75 
Income before taxes on income(252)340 623 (75)636 
(Benefit) provision for taxes on income(71)83 126 138 
Equity in net income of subsidiaries711 (711)
Net income$530 $257 $497 $(786)$498 
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(43)(43)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$530 $257 $497 $(829)$455 
Comprehensive income$503 $257 $554 $(789)$525 


29


Statement of Income
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
(Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$645 $1,717 $3,337 $(124)$5,575 
Expenses:
Operating-related expenses85 345 1,227 (124)1,533 
Selling and general expenses109 177 658 944 
Depreciation30 22 60 
Amortization of intangibles94 94 
Total expenses224 530 2,001 (124)2,631 
Gain on dispositions(5)(11)(16)
Operating profit426 1,187 1,347 2,960 
Other income, net(12)(4)(16)
Interest expense (income), net112 (4)109 
 Loss on extinguishment of debt279 279 
Non-operating intercompany transactions300 (26)(1,505)1,231 
Income before taxes on income(253)1,212 2,860 (1,231)2,588 
(Benefit) provision for taxes on income(80)296 343 559 
Equity in net income of subsidiaries3,289 (3,289)
Net income$3,116 $916 $2,517 $(4,520)$2,029 
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(144)(144)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$3,116 $916 $2,517 $(4,664)$1,885 
Comprehensive income$3,067 $916 $2,515 $(4,522)$1,976 



30


Statement of Income
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
(Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$207 $491 $1,030 $(39)$1,689 
Expenses:
Operating-related expenses64 103 352 (39)480 
Selling and general expenses26 58 234 318 
   Depreciation11 20 
   Amortization of intangibles29 29 
      Total expenses101 164 621 (39)847 
Gain on dispositions(49)(49)
Operating profit155 327 409 891 
Other (income) expense, net(5)13 
Interest expense (income), net37 (5)32 
Non-operating intercompany transactions100 (6)(107)13 
Income before taxes on income23 333 508 (13)851 
Provision for taxes on income16 80 93 189 
Equity in net income of subsidiaries622 (622)
Net income$629 $253 $415 $(635)$662 
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(45)(45)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$629 $253 $415 $(680)$617 
Comprehensive income$632 $253 $376 $(633)$628 

31


Statement of Income
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
(Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Revenue$617 $1,416 $3,047 $(116)$4,964 
Expenses:
Operating-related expenses195 330 1,051 (116)1,460 
Selling and general expenses55 222 715 992 
Depreciation33 19 61 
   Amortization of intangibles92 92 
      Total expenses283 561 1,877 (116)2,605 
Gain on dispositions(49)(49)
Operating profit383 855 1,170 2,408 
Other expense, net96 104 
Interest expense (income), net115 (10)105 
Non-operating intercompany transactions291 (42)(1,444)1,195 
Income before taxes on income(119)897 2,616 (1,195)2,199 
(Benefit) provision for taxes on income(28)239 271 482 
Equity in net income of subsidiaries2,868 (2,868)
Net income$2,777 $658 $2,345 $(4,063)$1,717 
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(135)(135)
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$2,777 $658 $2,345 $(4,198)$1,582 
Comprehensive income$2,869 $658 $2,310 $(4,062)$1,775 













32



Balance Sheet
September 30, 2020
(Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$1,818 $$1,330 $$3,148 
Restricted cash20 20 
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts216 209 1,002 1,427 
Intercompany receivable652 3,485 4,702 (8,839)
Prepaid and other current assets104 (1)143 246 
Total current assets2,790 3,693 7,197 (8,839)4,841 
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation188 110 298 
Right of use assets364 245 610 
Goodwill283 3,425 3,715 
Other intangible assets, net1,376 1,376 
Investments in subsidiaries12,739 8,228 (20,973)
Intercompany loans receivable17 1,107 (1,124)
Other non-current assets238 33 342 (1)612 
Total assets$16,619 $3,733 $22,030 $(30,930)$11,452 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$77 $10 $99 $$186 
Intercompany payable7,633 53 1,153 (8,839)
Accrued compensation and contributions to retirement plans138 50 204 392 
Income taxes currently payable16 63 79 
Unearned revenue308 245 1,167 1,720 
Other current liabilities171 13 254 438 
Total current liabilities8,343 371 2,940 (8,839)2,815 
Long-term debt4,110 4,110 
Lease liabilities — non-current351 211 563 
Intercompany loans payable1,124 (1,124)
Pension and other postretirement benefits174 88 262 
Other non-current liabilities204 76 413 693 
Total liabilities13,182 448 4,776 (9,963)8,443 
Redeemable noncontrolling interest2,511 2,511 
Equity:
Common stock294 2,375 (2,375)294 
Additional paid-in capital103 642 9,533 (9,361)917 
Retained income16,722 2,643 5,845 (11,842)13,368 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(224)(499)46 (677)
Less: common stock in treasury(13,458)(2)(13,460)
Total equity - controlling interests3,437 3,285 17,252 (23,532)442 
Total equity - noncontrolling interests54 56 
Total equity3,437 3,285 17,254 (23,478)498 
Total liabilities and equity$16,619 $3,733 $22,030 $(30,930)$11,452 

33


Balance Sheet
December 31, 2019
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$1,130 $$1,736 $$2,866 
Restricted cash20 20 
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts229 148 1,200 1,577 
Intercompany receivable675 2,855 3,983 (7,513)
Prepaid and other current assets102 145 249 
Total current assets2,136 3,005 7,084 (7,513)4,712 
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation204 116 320 
Right of use assets402 273 676 
Goodwill283 3,283 3,575 
Other intangible assets, net1,424 1,424 
Investments in subsidiaries12,134 8,088 (20,228)
Intercompany loans receivable17 1,229 (1,246)
Other non-current assets281 37 324 (1)641 
Total assets$15,457 $3,049 $21,821 $(28,979)$11,348 
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$80 $11 $99 $$190 
Intercompany payable6,288 27 1,198 (7,513)
Accrued compensation and contributions to retirement plans148 61 237 446 
Income taxes currently payable61 68 
Unearned revenue297 243 1,388 1,928 
Other current liabilities187 18 256 461 
Total current liabilities7,007 360 3,239 (7,513)3,093 
Long-term debt3,948 3,948 
Lease liabilities — non-current383 236 620 
Intercompany loans payable1,246 (1,246)
Pension and other postretirement benefits178 81 259 
Other non-current liabilities171 81 373 (1)624 
Total liabilities11,687 442 5,175 (8,760)8,544 
Redeemable noncontrolling interest2,268 2,268 
Equity:
Common stock294 2,377 (2,377)294 
Additional paid-in capital112 632 9,362 (9,203)903 
Retained income15,836 1,975 5,404 (11,010)12,205 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(175)(497)48 (624)
Less: common stock in treasury(12,297)(2)(12,299)
Total equity - controlling interests3,770 2,607 16,644 (22,542)479 
Total equity - noncontrolling interests55 57 
Total equity3,770 2,607 16,646 (22,487)536 
Total liabilities and equity$15,457 $3,049 $21,821 $(28,979)$11,348 

34


Statement of Cash Flows
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
(Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Operating Activities:
Net income$3,116 $916 $2,517 $(4,520)$2,029 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:
     Depreciation30 22 60 
     Amortization of intangibles94 94 
     Provision for losses on accounts receivable16 
     Deferred income taxes(12)(2)(14)
     Stock-based compensation24 10 26 60 
     Gain on dispositions(5)(11)(16)
     Pension settlement charge, net of taxes
     Loss on extinguishment of debt279 279 
     Other22 28 50 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:
     Accounts receivable(46)209 172 
     Prepaid and other current assets(46)21 (27)(52)
     Accounts payable and accrued expenses(19)(16)(62)(97)
     Unearned revenue12 (174)(158)
     Other current liabilities(18)(5)(5)(28)
     Net change in prepaid/accrued income taxes57 (28)(1)28 
     Net change in other assets and liabilities20 (13)(6)
Cash provided by operating activities3,473 855 2,618 (4,520)2,426 
Investing Activities:
     Capital expenditures(10)(5)(28)(43)
     Acquisitions, net of cash acquired(189)(189)
     Proceeds from dispositions
     Changes in short-term investments19 19 
Cash used for investing activities(10)(5)(189)(204)
Financing Activities:
     Proceeds from issuance of senior notes, net1,276 1,276 
 Payments on senior notes(1,394)(1,394)
     Dividends paid to shareholders(484)(484)
 Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net(143)(143)
     Repurchase of treasury shares(1,164)(1,164)
     Exercise of stock options11 14 
Employee withholding tax on share-based payments(55)(55)
     Intercompany financing activities(965)(850)(2,705)4,520 
Cash used for financing activities(2,775)(850)(2,845)4,520 (1,950)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash10 10 
Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash688 (406)282 
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period1,130 1,756 2,886 
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period$1,818 $$1,350 $$3,168 

35


Statement of Cash Flows
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
(Unaudited)
(in millions)S&P Global Inc.Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCNon-Guarantor SubsidiariesEliminationsS&P Global Inc. Consolidated
Operating Activities:
Net income$2,777 $658 $2,345 $(4,063)$1,717 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:
     Depreciation33 19 61 
     Amortization of intangibles92 92 
     Provision for losses on accounts receivable11 17 
     Deferred income taxes22 10 33 
     Stock-based compensation17 27 53 
     Gain on dispositions(49)(49)
     Pension settlement charge, net of taxes85 85 
     Other12 31 49 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:
     Accounts receivable(90)(86)126 (50)
     Prepaid and other current assets(20)(41)(59)
     Accounts payable and accrued expenses(17)(1)(36)(54)
     Unearned revenue35 21 (83)(27)
     Other current liabilities(62)(6)(14)(82)
     Net change in prepaid/accrued income taxes31 40 
     Net change in other assets and liabilities(56)(3)(54)
Cash provided by operating activities2,723 612 2,500 (4,063)1,772 
Investing Activities:
     Capital expenditures(32)(3)(42)(77)
     Acquisitions, net of cash acquired(25)(25)
     Proceeds from dispositions85 85 
     Changes in short-term investments(3)(3)
Cash used for investing activities53 (3)(70)(20)
Financing Activities:
     Dividends paid to shareholders(421)(421)
 Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net(100)(100)
     Repurchase of treasury shares(1,144)(1,144)
     Exercise of stock options36 38 
Employee withholding tax on share-based payments, and other(55)(2)(57)
     Intercompany financing activities(1,377)(609)(2,077)4,063 
Cash used for financing activities(2,961)(609)(2,177)4,063 (1,684)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash(7)(7)
Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash(185)246 61 
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period694 1,264 1,958 
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period$509 $$1,510 $$2,019 

36


Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Unaudited)

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 nine months ended September 30, 2019.2020. 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, 20182019 (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
Overview
Results of Operations — Comparing the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019
September 30, 2019 and 2018
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.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2019, the contract obligations for revenue from Kensho Technologies Inc.’s (“Kensho”) major customers were transferred to Market Intelligence for fulfillment.  As a result of this transfer, from January 1, 2019 revenue from contracts with Kensho’s customers is reflected in Market Intelligence’s results.  In 2018, the revenue from contracts with Kensho’s customers was reported in Corporate revenue. See Note 2 Acquisitions and Divestitures for additional information.
Key results for the periods ended September 30 are as follows: 
(in millions, except per share amounts)Three MonthsNine Months
20202019
% Change 1
20202019
% Change 1
Revenue$1,846 $1,689 9%$5,575 $4,964 12%
Operating profit 2
$944 $891 6%$2,960 $2,408 23%
Operating margin %51 %53 %53 %49 %
Diluted earnings per share from net income$1.88 $2.50 (25)%$7.78 $6.40 22%
(in millions, except per share amounts)Three Months
Nine Months

2019
2018
% Change 1

2019
2018
% Change 1
Revenue$1,689
 $1,546

9%
$4,964
 $4,721
 5%
Operating profit 2
$891
 $704

27%
$2,408
 $2,086
 15%
Operating margin %53% 46% 
 49% 44%  
Diluted earnings per share from net income$2.50
 $1.95
 28% $6.40
 $5.70
 12%
1 % changes in the tables throughout the MD&A are calculated off of the actual number, not the rounded number presented.

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 September 30, 2020 includes a gain on dispositions of $8 million, a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million and Kensho retention related expense of $2 million. Operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 includes a gain on dispositions of $16 million, employee severance charges of $12 million, a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million and Kensho retention related expense of $10 million. Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes a gain on dispositions related to the sale of SPIASRigData and RigDataStandard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC ("SPIAS") of $22$27 million and $27$22 million, respectively. The nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes employee severance charges of $20 million and a lease impairment charge of $5 million. Additionally, operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes Kensho retention related expense of $6 million and $17 million, respectively. Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 includes Kensho retention related expense of $11 million and $23 million, respectively, lease impairments of $11 million and restructuring charges related to a business disposition and employee severance charges of $9 million. Operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 includes legal settlement expenses of $73 million. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $32 million and $29 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $94 million and $92 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively2020 and $33 million and $91 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018,2019, respectively.

37


Three Months

Revenue increased 9% 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, and higherpartially offset by a decrease in bank loan ratings revenue. Revenue growth at Indices was favorably impacted by the buyout of the balance of intellectual property rights in a family of indices from one of our co-marketing and index development partners in the fourth quarter of 2018 and a retrospective fee for previously unlicensed and unreported index usage. 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 average levels of assets under management ("AUM") for ETFs and mutual funds, and an increase in data subscription revenue, partially offset by lower over-the-counter derivative revenue and exchange-traded derivative revenue. The revenue increase at Platts was primarily due to continued demand for market data and price assessment products. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 6%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of 2 percentage points. Excluding the unfavorable impact of a higher gain on dispositions in 2019 of 5 percentage points primarily related to the sale of RigData and SPIAS, operating profit increased 11%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"), partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional headcount.

Nine Months

Revenue increased 12% 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 Credit RiskData Management Solutions. Revenue growth at Indices was due to higher exchange-traded derivatives trading volumes, higher 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 27%23%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of 2 percentage points. Excluding the unfavorable impact of a higher gain on dispositions in 2019 of less than 1 percentage point. Excludingpoint primarily related to the favorable impactsale of RigData and SPIAS and a gain on our dispositionstechnology-related impairment charge of 8less than 1 percentage points, lease impairment charges in 2018 of 2 percentage points,point, partially offset by higher employee severance charges in 20182019 of less than 1 percentage point, a lease impairment charge in 2019 of less than 1 percentage point and higher Kensho retention related expense in 20182019 of 1 percentage point and lower amortization of intangibles in 2019 ofless than 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 14%23%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by higheran increase in incentive costs at Ratings, higher technology costs and higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional headcount.

Nine Months

Revenue increased 5% driven by increases atWe are closely monitoring the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 on all aspects of our reportable segments. The increase at Market Intelligence was driven by annualized contract value growthbusiness. While COVID-19 did not have a material adverse effect on our reported results for the three and nine months ended September 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 a three month recovery scenario, factoring in data points from both internal and external economists and a range of observable market sources and incorporated the Market Intelligence Desktop, Credit Risk Solutions and Data Management Solutions products. Revenue growth at Ratings was driven by an increase in corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by lower bank loan ratings revenue. Revenue growth at Indices was favorablyimpact into our 2020 guidance expectations, the extent to which our results of operations may be impacted by the buyout of the balance of intellectual property rights in a family of indices from one of our co-marketingCOVID-19 pandemic will depend largely on future developments, which are uncertain and index development partners in the fourth quarter of 2018, retrospective fees for previously unlicensed and unreported index usage and a benefit related to recent contract renegotiations. The increase at Platts was primarily due to continued demand for market data and price assessment products. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 15%, with a favorable impact from foreign exchange rates of less than 1 percentage point. Excluding the impact of higher legal settlement expenses in 2018 of 4 percentage points and a gain on our dispositions of 3 percentage points, partially offset by higher employee severance charges in 2019 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 9%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth at all of our reportable segments and decreased expenses at Corporate Unallocated driven by a $20 million reduction in contributions made to the S&P Global Foundation in 2018. These increases to operating profit were partially offset by increased expenses in 2019 from the acquisition of Kensho in April of 2018, higher technology costs and higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional headcount.

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 within the framework ofin line with our core values of integrity, excellence and relevance.

WeIn 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 across the globe. We strive for operational excellence, continuous innovation,by enhancing our foundational capabilities, evolving and a high performance culture driven bygrowing our best-in-class talent. Wecore businesses, and pursuing growth via adjacencies. In 2020, we will strive to deliver on our strategic priorities in the following four categories by:key areas:



38


Finance

DeliveringMeeting or exceeding revenue growth and EBITA margin targets and delivering on commitments to return capital to shareholders and create capacity to invest;shareholders;

Investing for mid- to long-term revenue growth that meets or exceeds market growth rates; andFunding organic opportunities with continued productivity gains;

Pursuing a disciplined acquisition, investment and partnership strategy.

Customer

Strengthening and growing the core businesses;

Delivering a modern, digital, integrated platform and user experience that enhances customer value, accompanied by thoughtful user migration plans;

Expanding our presence in China to capture market opportunities;

Building and promoting new products to solve customer pain points and deliver new commercial propositions in ESG, data marketplace, and small and medium-sized enterprises; and

Enhancing teamwork and adopting commercial tools and processes to improve the clarity and quality of insights we gather from customers, and improve revenue capture.

Operations

Transforming technology infrastructurestrategy to support growth, improve cost efficiencyour strategic initiatives; and mitigate cyber risk;

Adopting core management systems, toolsBetter serving our customers, employees, and processes across the Company to improve priortization and agility, drive execution, and reduce complexity;

Developing an enterprise-wide data strategy and execution plan, leveraging machine learning and data science; and

Further enhancingcommunities in which we operate through our commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability.

Customer

Continuing to drive excellence through our robustcore 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 internal controlwhile augmenting process maturity and compliance culture.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;engagement and aligns with our purpose of accelerating progress in the world;

Promoting internalcareer 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


RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — COMPARING THE THREE AND NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 20192020 AND 20182019

Consolidated Review 
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
20202019% Change20202019% Change
Revenue$1,846 $1,689 9%$5,575 $4,964 12%
Total Expenses:
Operating-related expenses519 480 8%1,533 1,460 5%
Selling and general expenses339 318 6%944 992 (5)%
Depreciation and amortization52 49 6%154 153 1%
Total expenses910 847 7%2,631 2,605 1%
Gain on dispositions(8)(49)(84)%(16)(49)(67)%
Operating profit944 891 6%2,960 2,408 23%
Other expense, net(6)N/M(16)104 N/M
Interest expense, net35 32 11%109 105 4%
Loss on extinguishment of debt279 — N/M279 — N/M
Provision for taxes on income138 189 (27)%559 482 16%
Net income498 662 (25)%2,029 1,717 18%
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(43)(45)3%(144)(135)(6)%
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$455 $617 (26)%$1,885 $1,582 19%
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 % Change 2019 2018 % Change
Revenue$1,689
 $1,546
 9% $4,964
 $4,721
 5%
Total Expenses:           
Operating-related expenses438
 410
 7% 1,337
 1,287
 4%
Selling and general expenses360
 379
 (5)% 1,115
 1,197
 (7)%
Depreciation and amortization49
 53
 (8)% 153
 151
 2%
Total expenses847
 842
 1% 2,605
 2,635
 (1)%
Gain on dispositions(49) 
 N/M (49) 
 N/M
Operating profit891
 704
 27% 2,408
 2,086
 15%
Other expense (income), net8
 (6) N/M 104
 (22) N/M
Interest expense, net32
 38
 (16)% 105
 98
 7%
Provision for taxes on income189
 137
 38% 482
 440
 9%
Net income662
 535
 24% 1,717
 1,570
 9%
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(45) (40) (14)% (135) (123) (10)%
Net income attributable to S&P Global Inc.$617
 $495
 25% $1,582
 $1,447
 9%

Revenue

The following table provides consolidated revenue information for the periods ended September 3030:
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
20202019% Change20202019% Change
Revenue$1,846 $1,689 9%$5,575 $4,964 12%
Subscription revenue$765 $713 7%$2,260 $2,117 7%
Non-subscription / transaction revenue505 414 22%1,589 1,187 34%
Non-transaction revenue370 355 4%1,077 1,043 3%
Asset-linked fees156 153 2%469 464 1%
Sales usage-based royalties50 54 (6)%180 153 18%
% of total revenue:
     Subscription revenue41 %42 %41 %43 %
     Non-subscription / transaction revenue27 %25 %29 %24 %
     Non-transaction revenue20 %21 %19 %21 %
     Asset-linked fees%%%10 %
     Sales usage-based royalties%%%%
U.S. revenue$1,076 $1,021 5%$3,384 $2,978 14%
International revenue:
     European region455 411 10%1,310 1,205 9%
     Asia214 174 23%585 522 12%
     Rest of the world101 83 22%296 259 14%
Total international revenue$770 $668 15%$2,191 $1,986 10%
% of total revenue:
     U.S. revenue58 %60 %61 %60 %
     International revenue42 %40 %39 %40 %
40


:
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 % Change 2019 2018 % Change
Revenue$1,689
 $1,546
 9% $4,964
 $4,721
 5%
            
Subscription revenue$713
 $685
 4% $2,117
 $1,978
 7%
Non-transaction revenue355
 347
 3% 1,043
 1,058
 (1)%
Non-subscription / transaction revenue414
 331
 25% 1,187
 1,112
 7%
Asset-linked fees153
 136
 13% 464
 411
 13%
Sales usage-based royalties54
 47
 14% 153
 162
 (6)%
            
% of total revenue:
 
   
 
  
     Subscription revenue42% 44%   43% 42%  
     Non-transaction revenue21% 22%   21% 22%  
     Non-subscription / transaction revenue25% 22%   24% 24%  
     Asset-linked fees9% 9%   9% 9%  
     Sales usage-based royalties3% 3%   3% 3%  
            
U.S. revenue$1,013
 $934
 8% $2,974
 $2,850
 4%
International revenue:           
     European region419
 378
 11% 1,212
 1,159
 5%
     Asia174
 160
 9% 522
 473
 10%
     Rest of the world83
 74
 12% 256
 239
 7%
Total international revenue$676
 $612
 11% $1,990
 $1,871
 6%
% of total revenue:           
     U.S. revenue60% 60%   60% 60%  
     International revenue40% 40%   40% 40%  


spgi-20200930_g2.jpgspgi-20200930_g3.jpg

chart-0153baf0754d5ece988.jpgchart-ebd0f49c92d3586f87d.jpg

Three Months

Subscription revenue increased primarily from growth in Market Intelligence's average contract values and continued demand for Platt'sPlatts proprietary content. Higher data subscription revenue at Indices also contributed to subscription revenue growth. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to higher surveillance revenue as well as higher entity credit ratings revenue, partially offset by a declinean increase in Ratings Evaluation Service activity.("RES") activity, partially offset by lower entity credit ratings revenue. Non-subscription / transaction revenue increased driven bydue to an increase in corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by lower bank loan ratings revenue. Asset linked fees increased reflecting higher average levels of assets under management for ETFs and mutual funds at Indices. The decrease in sales-usage based royalties was primarily driven by lower exchange-traded derivative revenue at Indices. See “Segment Review” below for further information.

The favorable impact of foreign exchange rates increased revenue by less than 1 percentage point. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons estimated by recalculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year.

Nine Months

Subscription revenue increased primarily from growth in Market Intelligence's average contract values and continued demand for Platts proprietary content. Higher data subscription revenue at Indices also contributed to subscription revenue growth. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to an increase in surveillance and royalty revenue, partially offset by lower entity credit ratings revenue. Non-subscription / transaction revenue increased due to an increase in corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by a decrease in bank loan ratings revenue at Ratings. Asset-linked fees was favorably impacted by the buyout of the balance of intellectual property rights in a family of indices from one of our co-marketing and index development partners in the fourth quarter of 2018 and a retrospective fee for previously unlicensed and unreported index usage. Additionally, assetAsset linked fees increased due to the impact of higher average levels of assets under management for ETFs and mutual funds at Indices. The increase in sales-usage based royalties was primarily driven by higher exchange-traded derivative volumes at Indices. See “Segment Review” below for further information.

The unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rates reduced revenue by less than 1 percentage point. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons estimated by recalculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year.

Nine Months
41


Subscription revenue increased primarily from growth in Market Intelligence's average contract values and continued demand for Platt's proprietary content. Higher data subscription revenue at Indices also contributed to subscription revenue growth. Non-transaction revenue decreased primarily due to the unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Non-transaction revenue benefited from increases in surveillance revenue partly due to new entities rated in 2018 and higher royalty revenue, partially offset by a decline in Ratings Evaluation Service activity and a decrease at CRISIL, primarily within the risk and analytics sector. Non-subscription / transaction revenue increased driven by an increase in corporate bond ratings revenue, partially offset by a decline in bank loan ratings revenue at Ratings. Asset-linked fees was favorably impacted by the buyout of the balance of intellectual property rights in a family of indices from one of our co-marketing and index development partners in the fourth quarter of 2018, retrospective fees for previously unlicensed and unreported index usage and a benefit related to recent contract renegotiations. Additionally, asset linked fees increased due to the impact of higher levels of assets under management for ETFs and mutual funds at Indices. The decline in sales-usage based royalties was primarily driven by lower exchange-traded derivative volumes at Indices in the first quarter of 2019. See “Segment Review” below for further information.

The unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rates reduced revenue by 1 percentage point. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons estimated by recalculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year.


Total Expenses

The following tables provide an analysis by segment of our operating-related expenses and selling and general expenses for the periods ended September 30:30:

Three Months

(in millions)2019 2018 % Change(in millions)20202019% Change
Operating-
related expenses
 Selling and
general expenses
 Operating-
related expenses
 Selling and
general expenses
 Operating-
related expenses
 Selling and
general expenses
Operating-
related expenses
Selling and
general expenses
Operating-
related expenses
Selling and
general expenses
Operating-
related expenses
Selling and
general expenses
Ratings$204
 $104
 $190
 $107
 7% (2)%
Market Intelligence 1
171
 144
 157
 138
 9% 4%
Ratings 1
Ratings 1
$243 $96 $219 $85 11%12%
Market Intelligence
Market Intelligence
221 124 203 122 9%2%
Platts53
 49
 54
 45
 (1)% 8%Platts48 47 48 49 1%(4)%
Indices33
 36
 32
 33
 2% 10%Indices34 47 33 35 1%34%
Intersegment eliminations 2
(32) 
 (32) 
 1% N/M
Intersegment eliminations 2
(35)(32)— (11)%-
Total segments429
 333
 401
 323
 7% 3%Total segments511 316 471 291 8%8%
Corporate Unallocated expense 3
9
 27
 9
 56
 1% (52)%
Corporate Unallocated expense 3
23 27 (7)%(16)%
Total$438
 $360
 $410
 $379
 7% (5)%Total$519 $339 $480 $318 8%6%
N/M - not meaningful
1    In 2020, selling and general expenses include a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million.
2 Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.
1
In 2018, selling and general expenses include restructuring charges related to a business disposition and employee severance charges of $2 million.
2
Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.
3 In 2020 and 2019, selling and general expenses include Kensho retention related expense of $6 million. In 2018, selling and general expenses include Kensho retention related expense of $11 million, lease impairments of $11$2 million and employee severance charges of $7 million.$6 million, respectively.

Operating-Related Expenses

Operating-related expenses increased 7%8% driven by increasesan increase at Ratings and Market Intelligence and Ratings.Intelligence. The increase at Ratings was primarily driven by higher incentive costs. The increase at Market Intelligence was primarily due to an increase in compensation costs associated with investments in growth initiatives and the acquisition of 451 Research, LLC, higher technology costs, higher compensationincentive costs and an increase in intersegment royalties tied to annualized contract value growth. Ratings increased due to an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs partially related to additional headcount from the acquisition of the Global Technology Center in India in July of 2019,These increases were partially offset by lower professional fees.a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19.

Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

Selling and General Expenses

Selling and general expenses decreased 5%increased 6%. Excluding the favorable impact of leasea technology-related impairment charges in 2018charge of 31 percentage points, higher employee severance charges in 2018 of 2 percentage points andpoint, partially offset by higher Kensho related retention related expense in 20182019 of 1 percentage point, selling and general expenses increased 2%6%. This increase was primarily driven by increasesan increase at Market Intelligence, Platts and Indices partially offset by decreases at Corporate and Ratings. Market IntelligenceThe increase at Indices was primarily driven by an increase in legal related costs and PlattsRatings increased primarily due to higher technology costs and Indices increased due to higher legal expenses. These increases were offset by a decrease in expenses at Kensho and a reduction in legal fees at Ratings.incentive costs.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization decreased 8% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018increased 1% due to a decreasean increase in amortization expense primarily related to assets being fully amortized at Plattsdriven by the acquisitions of RobecoSAM and a revision of the expected lives of customer relationships at Kensho at the end of 2018.451 Research, LLC in January 2020 and December 2019, respectively.






42


Nine Months

(in millions)20202019% Change
Operating-
related expenses
Selling and
general expenses
Operating-
related expenses
Selling and
general expenses
Operating-
related expenses
Selling and
general expenses
Ratings 1
$681 $257 $665 $290 2%(11)%
Market Intelligence 2
669 363 606 368 10%(1)%
Platts 3
144 140 146 149 (2)%(6)%
Indices115 108 109 95 5%14%
Intersegment eliminations 4
(102)— (95)— (7)%-
Total segments1,507 868 1,431 902 5%(4)%
Corporate Unallocated expense 5
26 76 29 90 (6)%(16)%
Total$1,533 $944 $1,460 $992 5%(5)%
(in millions)2019 2018 % Change
 Operating-
related expenses
 Selling and
general expenses
 Operating-
related expenses
 Selling and
general expenses
 Operating-
related expenses
 Selling and
general expenses
Ratings 1
$626
 $344
 $622
 $404
 1% (15)%
Market Intelligence 2
513
 431
 492
 405
 4% 6%
Platts3
163
 146
 155
 146
 5% —%
Indices101
 104
 95
 98
 6% 6%
Intersegment eliminations 4
(95) 
 (92) 
 (3)% N/M
Total segments1,308
 1,025
 1,272
 1,053
 3% (3)%
Corporate Unallocated expense 5
29
 90
 15
 144
 76% (37)%
Total$1,337
 $1,115
 $1,287
 $1,197
 4% (7)%


1    In 2020, selling and general expenses include a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million. In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $11 million.
1
2 In 2020, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $2 million. In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $1 million.
3
In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $11 million. In 2018, selling and general expenses include legal settlement expenses of $73 million.
2
In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $1 million. In 2018, selling and general expenses include restructuring charges related to a business disposition and employee severance charges of $2 million.
3
In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $1 million.
4
Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.
5 In 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $1 million.
4    Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.
5 In 2020 and 2019, selling and general expenses include employee severance charges of $10 million and $7 million, respectively. In 2019, selling and general expenses include a lease impairment charge of $5 million. In 2020 and 2019, selling and general expenses include Kensho retention related expense of $10 million and $17 million, employee severance charges of $7 million and a lease impairment of $5 million. In 2018, selling and general expenses include Kensho retention related expense of $23 million, lease impairments of $11 million and employee severance charges of $7 million.respectively.

Operating-Related Expenses

Operating-related expenses increased 4%5% primarily driven by the acquisition of Kensho in April of 2018an increase at Market Intelligence and increases at all of our reportable segments.Ratings. The increase at Market Intelligence was due to higher technologycompensation costs driven by investments in growth initiatives and the acquisition of 451 Research, LLC, higher compensationincentive costs and an increase in intersegment royalties tied to annualized contract value growth. Platts increased due to higher compensation costs primarily related to annual merit increases and higher costs to support business initiatives. The increase at IndicesRatings was primarily related to increased costs to support revenue growth and business initiatives anddriven by higher compensationincentive costs. Ratings increased due to an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs partially related to additional headcount from the acquisition of the Global Technology Center in India in July of 2019,These increases were partially offset by lower professional fees.a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19.

Intersegment eliminations primarily relate to a royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings.

Selling and General Expenses

Selling and general expenses decreased 7%5%. Excluding the impact of legal settlement expenseshigher Kensho related retention expense in 2018 of 6 percentage points and higher lease impairment charges in 20182019 of 1 percentage point partially offset by the unfavorable impact ofand higher employee severance charges in 2019 of 1 percentage point, selling and general expenses decreased 1%3%. This decrease was primarily driven by a $20 million contribution made by the Companydecreases at Ratings, Platts and Market Intelligence due to the S&P Global Foundation in 2018 and a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses at Kensho,from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by an increase at Market Intelligence due to higher technology and compensationIndices driven by an increase in legal related costs.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization increased 2% compared to the nine months ended September 30, 20181% due to an increase in amortization expense fromdriven by the acquisitionacquisitions of KenshoRobecoSAM and 451 Research, LLC in April of 2018,January 2020 and December 2019, respectively, partially offset by a decrease at Platts relatedin depreciation expense due to assets being fully amortized.depreciated.


43


Gain on Dispositions
During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019,2020, we completed the following transactionsdisposition that resulted in a pre-tax gain of $49$3 million and $11 million, respectively, which was included in gainGain on dispositionsdisposition in the consolidated statementstatements of income:

In JulyJanuary of 2019, we completed the sale of RigData,2020, Market Intelligence entered into a strategic alliance to transition S&P Global Market Intelligence's Investor Relations ("IR") webhosting business within our Platts segment, to Drilling Info,Q4 Inc. RigData is("Q4"), a third party provider of daily information on rig activityinvestor relations related services. This alliance will integrate Market Intelligence's proprietary data into Q4's portfolio of solutions, enabling further opportunities for the natural gas and oil markets across North America.commercial collaboration. In connection with transitioning its IR webhosting business to Q4, Market Intelligence made a minority investment in Q4. During the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2019,2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $27$3 million ($262 million after-tax) and $11 million ($10 million after-tax), respectively, in gainGain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of RigData.IR.

In MarchSeptember of 2019,2020, we entered into an agreement to sell Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC  ("SPIAS"), a business withinsold our Market Intelligence segment, to Goldman Sachs Asset Management ("GSAM"). SPIAS provides non-discretionary investment advice across institutional sub-advisory and intermediary distribution channels globally. On July 1, 2019, we completed the sale of SPIAS to GSAM.facility at East Windsor, New Jersey. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019,2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $22$4 million ($123 million after-tax) in gainGain on dispositions in the consolidated statementstatements of income related to the sale of SPIAS.East Windsor.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $1 million ($1 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statements of income related to the sale of SPIAS within our Market Intelligence segment in July of 2019.
Operating Profit
We consider operating profit to be an important measure for evaluating our operating performance and we evaluate operating profit for each of the reportable business segments in which we operate.
We internally manage our operations by reference to operating profit with economic resources allocated primarily based on each segment's contribution to operating profit. Segment operating profit is defined as operating profit before Corporate Unallocated. Segment operating profit is not, however, a measure of financial performance under U.S. GAAP, and may not be defined and calculated by other companies in the same manner.
In the first quarter of 2020, we changed our allocation methodology for allocating our centrally managed technology-related expenses to our reportable segments to more accurately reflect each segment's respective usage. Prior-year amounts have been reclassified to conform with current presentation.
The tabletables below reconcilesreconcile segment operating profit to total operating profit for the periods ended September 30:30:

Three Months
(in millions)20202019% Change
Ratings 1
$544 $477 14%
Market Intelligence 2
164 161 2%
Platts 3
121 136 (11)%
Indices 4
151 162 (7)%
Total segment operating profit980 936 5%
Corporate Unallocated expense 5
(36)(45)20%
Total operating profit$944 $891 6%
1 2020 includes a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million. 2019 includes employee severance charges of $11 million. 2020 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $3 million.
2    2020 includes a gain on dispositions related to the sale of Investor Relations and SPIAS of $4 million and 2019 includes a gain on the sale of SPIAS of $22 million. 2020 and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $19 million.
3    2019 includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 million. 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $2 million.
4    2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million.
5    2020 includes a gain on disposition of $4 million. 2020 and 2019 include Kensho retention related expense of $2 million and $6 million, respectively. 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $7 million.
44


(in millions)2019 2018 % Change
Ratings 1
$472
 $395
 19%
Market Intelligence 2
171
 147
 17%
Platts 3
132
 98
 35%
Indices 4
161
 135
 19%
Total segment operating profit936
 775
 21%
Corporate Unallocated 5
(45) (71) 36%
Total operating profit$891
 $704
 27%

1
2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million.
2
2019 includes a gain on the sale of SPIAS of $22 million. 2018 includes restructuring charges related to a business disposition and employee severance charges of $2 million. 2019 and 2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $19 million.
3
2019 includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 million. 2019 and 2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $2 million and $4 million, respectively.
4
2019 and 2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million.
5
2019 includes Kensho retention related expense of $6 million and amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $7 million. 2018 includes Kensho retention related expense of $11 million, lease impairments of $11 million, employee severance charges of $7 million and amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $8 million.

Segment Operating Profit — Increased 21%5% as compared to 2018.2019. Excluding the favorableunfavorable impact of a higher gain on our dispositions in 2019 of 75 percentage points primarily related to the sale of RigData and higher employee severance chargesSPIAS and a technology-related impairment charge in 20182020 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 13%11%. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenue at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by increasedan increase in incentive costs at Market Intelligence and Ratings.higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional headcount. See “Segment Review” below for further information.


Corporate Unallocated Expense— Corporate Unallocated expense includes costs for corporate functions, select initiatives, unoccupied office space and Kensho, included in selling and general expenses, and Kensho revenue in 2018.expenses. Corporate Unallocated improved 36%expense decreased 20% compared to 2018.2019. Excluding the favorable impact of lease impairment chargesa gain on disposition in 20182020 of 148 percentage points and higher employee severance charges in 2018 of 9 percentage points, lower Kensho retention related expense in 2019 of 6 percentage points and lower deal-related amortization in 2019 of 27 percentage points, Corporate Unallocated improvedexpense decreased 5% driven by lower rental expense from a reduction in professional fees.the Company's real estate footprint, a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses and proceeds from a company owned life insurance policy, partially offset by a contribution to the S&P Global Foundation made in 2020.

Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact on operating profit of less than 12 percentage point.points. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons and the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities. Constant currency impacts are estimated by re-calculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year. Remeasurement impacts are based on the variance between current-year and prior-year foreign exchange rate fluctuations on assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the individual businesses functional currency.

Nine Months

(in millions)20202019% Change
Ratings 1
$1,758 $1,305 35%
Market Intelligence 2
469 431 9%
Platts 3
357 348 3%
Indices 4
504 474 6%
Total segment operating profit3,088 2,558 21%
Corporate Unallocated expense 5
(128)(150)15%
Total operating profit$2,960 $2,408 23%
(in millions)2019 2018 % Change
Ratings 1
$1,290
 $1,173
 10%
Market Intelligence 2
462
 384
 20%
Platts 3
333
 285
 17%
Indices 4
473
 420
 13%
Total segment operating profit2,558
 2,262
 13%
Corporate Unallocated 5
(150) (176) 15%
Total operating profit$2,408
 $2,086
 15%
1     2020 includes a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million. 2019 includes employee severance charges of $11 million. 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $5 million and $2 million, respectively.
2    2020 includes a gain on dispositions related to the sale of Investor Relations and SPIAS of $12 million and employee severance charges of $2 million. 2019 includes a gain on the sale of SPIAS of $22 million and employee severance charges of $1 million. 2020 and 2019 includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $58 million and $56 million, respectively.
3    2019 includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 milllion and employee severance charges of $1 million. 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $7 million and $9 million, respectively.
4    2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $4 million.
5    2020 and 2019 include employee severance charges of $10 million and $7 million, respectively, and Kensho retention related expense of $10 million and $17 million, respectively. 2020 includes and gain on disposition of $4 million and 2019 includes a lease impairment charge of $5 million. 2020 and 2019 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $20 million and $21 million, respectively.
1
2019 includes employee severance charges of $11 million and 2018 includes legal settlement expenses of $73 million. 2019 and 2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $2 million.
2
2019 includes a gain on the sale of SPIAS of $22 million and employee severance charges of $1 million. 2018 includes restructuring charges related to a business disposition and employee severance charges of $2 million. 2019 and 2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $56 million and $55 million, respectively.
3
2019 includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 million and employee severance charges of $1 million. 2019 and 2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $9 million and $13 million, respectively.
4
2019 and 2018 include amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $4 million.
5
2019 includes Kensho retention related expense of $17 million, employee severance charges of $7 million, a lease impairment charge of $5 million and amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $21 million. 2018 includes Kensho retention related expense of $23 million, lease impairments of $11 million, employee severance charges of $7 million and amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $17 million.

Segment Operating Profit — Increased 13%21% as compared to 2018.2019. Excluding the impact of higher legal settlement expenses in 2018 of 4 percentage points and a gain on our dispositions in 2019 of 2 percentage points, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of a higher employee severance chargesgain on dispositions in 2019 of 1 percentage point primarily related to the sale of RigData and SPIAS, operating profit increased 8%22%. ThisThe increase was primarily driven bydue to an increase in revenue at all of our reportable segments combined with a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by increasedan increase in incentive costs at Market Intelligence.and higher compensation costs driven by annual merit increases and additional headcount. See “Segment Review” below for further information.

Corporate Unallocated Expense— Corporate Unallocated expense includes costs for corporate functions, select initiatives, unoccupied office space and Kensho, included in selling and general expenses, and Kensho revenue in 2018.expenses. Corporate Unallocated improvedexpense decreased 15% compared to 2018.2019. Excluding the favorable impact of higher lease impairment charges in 2018 of 1 percentage point and lower Kensho retention related expense in 2019 of 3 percentage points, a gain on disposition in 2020 of 2 percentage points, a lease impairment charge in 2019 of 2 percentage points, higher amortization of intangibles in 2019 of 1 percentage point, partially offset by the unfavorable impacthigher employee severance charges in 2020 of higher deal-related amortization in 2019 of 1 2
45


percentage point, corporate unallocated improved 16% primarilypoints, Corporate Unallocated expense decreased 8%. This decrease was driven by lower rental expense from a $20 million contribution madereduction in the Company's real estate footprint, a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses and lower professional fees, partially offset by the Companycontributions to the S&P Global Foundation made in 2018 and a reduction in professional fees.2020.

Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact on operating profit of less than 12 percentage point.points. This impact refers to constant currency comparisons and the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities. Constant currency impacts are estimated by re-calculating current year results of foreign operations using the average exchange rate from the prior year. Remeasurement impacts are based on the variance between current-year and prior-year foreign exchange rate fluctuations on assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the individual businesses functional currency.


Other (Income) Expense, (Income), net

Other (income) expense, (income), net primarily includes the net periodic benefit cost for our retirement and post retirement plans. Other expense, net was $8 million and other income, net wasincreased to $6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 compared to other expense, net of $8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, primarily due to a higher loss on investments for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to 2018.2019. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, lump sum withdrawals exceeded the combined total anticipated annual service and interest cost of our U.K. pension plan, triggering the recognition of a non-cash pre-tax settlement charge of $3 million. During the first quarternine months of 2019, the Company purchased a group annuity contract under which an insurance company assumed the Company’s obligation to pay pension benefits to approximately 4,600 retirees and beneficiaries. This purchase eliminates all future investment or mortality risk associated with these retirees. The purchase of this group annuity contract was funded with pension plan assets. As a result, the Company’s outstanding pension benefit obligation was reduced by approximately $370 million, representing approximately 24% of the total obligations of the Company’s qualified pension plans. In connection with this transaction, the Company recorded a pre-tax settlement charge of $113 million reflecting the accelerated recognition of a portion of unamortized actuarial losses in the plan. Other expense, net was $104 million for the first nine months of 2019 andExcluding these pension settlement charges, other income, net was $22$19 million for the first nine months of 2018. Excluding this pension settlement charge, other income, net was $8 million and $22 million for nine months ended September 30, 2020 compared to $8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, due to a higher loss on investments for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to 2018.2019.

Interest Expense, net

Net interest expense decreased 16%increased 11% and 4% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018 driven by the release of reserves for accrued interest in 2019 related to the resolution of various tax audits. Net interest expense increased 7% compared to theand nine months ended September 30, 2018 driven by the release2019, respectively, primarily due to a decrease in interest income in 2020 as a result of reserves for accrueda decrease in interest rates and lower cash balances in 2018international locations.

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt

The three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 includes $279 million related to the resolutionredemption fee on the early retirement of various tax audits.our 4.4% senior notes due in 2026 and a portion of the 6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and 4.5% senior notes due in 2048 in the third quarter of 2020.

Provision for Income Taxes

The effective income tax rate was 21.7% and 21.6% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and 22.2% and 20.4%21.9% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. The decrease in the three months ended September 30, 201930,2020 was primarily due to taxes on the deductible pre-tax loss on extinguishment of debt related to the redemption and September 30, 2018, respectively. Provisional tax expense was originally recorded upon enactmentextinguishment of our 4.4% senior notes due in 2026 and a portion of the Tax Cuts6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and Jobs Act4.5% senior notes due in December2048 in the third quarter of 2017. A favorable adjustment to that provisional estimate was recorded during the three months ended September 30, 2018. Primarily as a result of this favorable adjustment, the effective income tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2019 increased as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018.2020. The effective tax rate was 21.9% for bothdecrease in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018.2020 was primarily due to a decrease in taxes on foreign operations.

Segment Review

Ratings

Ratings is an independent provider of credit ratings, research, and analytics to investors, issuers and other market participants. Credit ratings are one of several tools investors can use when making decisions about purchasing bonds and other fixed income investments. They are opinions about credit risk and our ratings express our opinion about the ability and willingness of an issuer, such as a corporation or state or city government, to meet its financial obligations in full and on time. Our credit ratings can also relate to the credit quality of an individual debt issue, such as a corporate or municipal bond, and the relative likelihood that the issue may default.

46


Ratings differentiatesdisaggregates its revenue between transaction and non-transaction. Transaction revenue primarily includes fees associated with:
ratings related to new issuance of corporate and government debt instruments, andas well as structured finance debt instruments;
bank loan ratings; and
corporate credit estimates, which are intended, based on an abbreviated analysis, to provide an indication of our opinion regarding creditworthiness of a company which does not currently have a Ratings credit rating.

Non-transaction revenue primarily includes fees for surveillance of a credit rating, annual fees for customer relationship-based pricing programs, fees for entity credit ratings and global research and analytics at CRISIL. Non-transaction revenue also includes an intersegment royalty charged to Market Intelligence for the rights to use and distribute content and data developed by Ratings. Royalty revenue was $32 million and $95 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and $30 million and $87 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and $28 million and $81 million for the three and nine September 30, 2018, respectively.


The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the periods ended September 30:30: 
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
20202019% Change20202019% Change
Revenue$894 $789 13%$2,725 $2,286 19%
Transaction revenue$490 $402 22%$1,546 $1,148 35%
Non-transaction revenue$404 $387 4%$1,179 $1,138 4%
% of total revenue:
     Transaction revenue
55 %51 %57 %50 %
     Non-transaction revenue45 %49 %43 %50 %
U.S. revenue$489 $457 7%$1,601 $1,309 22%
International revenue$405 $332 22%$1,124 $977 15%
% of total revenue:
     U.S. revenue55 %58 %59 %57 %
     International revenue45 %42 %41 %43 %
Operating profit 1
$544 $477 14%$1,758 $1,305 35%
Operating margin %61 %60 %65 %57 %
1Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 include a technology-related impairment charge of $5 million. Operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes employee severance charges of $11 million. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $3 million and $5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and $2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.
47

(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 % Change 2019 2018 % Change
Revenue$789
 $700
 13% $2,286
 $2,223
 3%
            
Transaction revenue 1
$402
 $321
 25% $1,148
 $1,073
 7%
Non-transaction revenue 1
$387
 $379
 2% $1,138
 $1,150
 (1)%
% of total revenue:           
     Transaction revenue51% 46%   50% 48%  
     Non-transaction revenue49% 54%   50% 52%  
            
U.S. revenue$457
 $400
 14% $1,309
 $1,266
 3%
International revenue$332
 $300
 11% $977
 $957
 2%
% of total revenue:           
     U.S. revenue58% 57%   57% 57%  
     International revenue42% 43%   43% 43%  
 

 

 
 

 

 
Operating profit 2
$472
 $395
 19% $1,290
 $1,173
 10%
Operating margin %60% 56%   56% 53%  
1

In the third quarter of 2019, we reevaluated our transaction and non-transaction revenue presentation which resulted in a reclassification from transaction revenue to non-transaction revenue of $7 million for the first, second and third quarters of 2019 and 2018 and $21 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.
2
Operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 includes employee severance charges of $11 million and legal settlement expenses of $73 million, respectively. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and $2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

Three Months

Revenue increased 13%, with a and benefited by 1 percentage point unfavorablefrom the impact from foreign exchange rates.of recent acquisitions. Transaction revenue increasedgrew due to higheran increase in corporate bond ratings revenue primarily driven by an increase inhigher U.S. investment grade and high-yield corporate bond issuance volumes mainly resulting from historically low borrowing costs. Highercosts and central bank loan ratings revenue driven by higher issuance volumes in the U.S. also contributed to transaction revenue growth. These increaseslending programs. The increase in transaction revenue werewas partially offset by a decrease in structured finance revenue driven primarily by decreased U.S. collateralizedbank loan obligations ("CLO") and U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") issuance.ratings revenue. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to higher surveillance revenue as well as higher entity credit ratings revenue, partially offset by a declinean increase in Ratings Evaluation Service activity.("RES"), partially offset by lower entity credit ratings revenue. Transaction and non-transaction revenue also benefited from improved contract terms across product categories. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point. Revenue was favorably impacted by the acquisitions of the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM and Greenwich Associates LLC in January of 2020 and February of 2020, respectively. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q for further discussion.

Operating profit increased 19%14%, with a 12 percentage point unfavorablefavorable impact from foreign exchange rates. ThisExcluding the impact of a technology-related impairment charge in 2020 of 1 percentage point and higher amortization of intangibles in 2020 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 16%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth and a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19. These increases were partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs due to annual merit increases and additional headcount.

Nine Months

Revenue increased 19% and with a favorably benefit of less than 1 percentage point from the impact of recent acquisitions. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by an increase in transaction revenue. Transaction revenue grew due to an increase in corporate bond ratings revenue primarily driven by higher corporate bond issuance in the U.S. mainly resulting from historically low borrowing costs and central bank lending actions initially announced at the end of the first quarter of 2020, partially offset by a decrease in bank loan ratings revenue. Non-transaction revenue increased primarily due to an increase in surveillance and royalty revenue, partially offset by lower entity credit ratings revenue. Transaction and non-transaction revenue also benefited from improved contract terms across product categories. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of 1 percentage point. Revenue was favorably impacted by the acquisitions of the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM and Greenwich Associates LLC in January of 2020 and February of 2020, respectively. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q for further discussion.

Operating profit increased 35%, with a 2 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Excluding the impact of employee severance charges in 2019 of 2 percentage points, partially offset by the impact of a technology-related impairment charge in 2020 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 34%. The operating profit increase was primarily due to the increase in revenue discussed above combined with lower professional fees and a reduction in legalexpenses. Expenses decreased primarily due to the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates, a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs partially related to additional headcount from the acquisition of the Global Technology Center in India in July of 2019. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures for further discussion.


Nine Months

Revenue increased 3%, with a 1 percentage point unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Transaction revenue increased due to higher corporate bond ratings revenue primarily driven by an increase in U.S. investment gradeannual merit increases and high-yield corporate bond issuance volumes, partially offset by lower bank loan ratings revenue mainly driven by reduced issuance volumes in the U.S. during the first half of 2019. Additionally, transaction revenue was unfavorably impacted by a decrease in structured finance revenue driven mainly by decreased CLO and CMBS issuance. Non-transaction revenue decreased primarily due to the unfavorable
impact from foreign exchange rates. Non-transaction revenue benefited from increases in surveillance revenue partly due to new entities rated in 2018 and higher royalty revenue, partially offset by a decline in Ratings Evaluation Service activity and a decrease at CRISIL, primarily within the risk and analytics sector. Transaction and non-transaction revenue also benefited from improved contract terms across product categories.

additional headcount.
Operating profit increased 10%, with a 1 percentage point unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Excluding the impact of higher legal settlement expenses in 2018 of 7 percentage points, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of higher employee severance charges in 2019 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 5%. This increase was primarily due to the increase in revenue discussed above combined with lower professional fees and a reduction in legal expenses, partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and an increase in costs related to the development of the Global Technology Center in India acquired in July 2019. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures for further discussion.

Market Issuance Volumes

We monitor market issuance volumes regularly within Ratings. Market issuance volumes noted within the discussion that follows are based on where an issuer is located or where the assets associated with an issue are located. Structured Finance issuance includes amounts when a transaction closes, not when initially priced and excludes domestically-rated Chinese issuance. The following tables depict changes in issuance levels as compared to the prior year based on data from SDC Platinum for Corporate bond issuance and based on a composite of external data feeds and Ratings' internal estimates for Structured Finance issuance.
 Third Quarter
Compared to Prior Year
Year-to-Date
Compared to Prior Year
Corporate Bond Issuance *U.S.EuropeGlobalU.S.EuropeGlobal
High-yield issuance94%3%41%79%13%32%
Investment-grade issuance(5)%(7)%6%64%16%30%
Total issuance11%(5)%9%67%15%30%
 
Third Quarter
Compared to Prior Year
 
Year-to-Date
Compared to Prior Year
Corporate Bond Issuance *U.S. Europe Global U.S. Europe Global
High-yield issuance43% 61% 70% 29% 5% 27%
Investment-grade issuance33% (10)% 15% 8% (8)% 7%
Total issuance34% (3)% 19% 11% (7)% 9%
*Includes Industrials and Financial Services.

*     Includes Industrials and Financial Services.

Corporate issuance was up in the U.S. was up in the quarter and the first nine months driven by a strong double-digit increase in high-yield issuance as accommodating views from the U.S. Federal Reserve regarding interest rates throughout 2019 moved investors toward more fixed-rate debt. Strength was also seen in investment grade issuance as issuers were taking advantage of historically low borrowing costs. The decline in corporateIssuance was also aided by central bank
48


lending actions intended to provide market stabilization. Corporate issuance in Europe for the quarter and year-to-date was mainly driven by uncertaintydown in the European markets primarily related to Brexit.
 Third Quarter Compared to Prior Year Year-to-Date Compared to Prior Year
Structured Finance IssuanceU.S. Europe Global U.S. Europe Global
Asset-backed securities (“ABS”)8% 19% 7% (6)% (26)% (5)%
Structured credit (primarily CLOs)(47)% (44)% (46)% (46)% (40)% (44)%
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”)(7)% 55% (9)% (4)% (20)% (7)%
Residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”)104% (9)% 22% 59% (12)% 19%
Covered bonds* (25)% (12)% * 11% 8%
Total issuance(11)% (20)% (12)% (16)% (5)% (10)%
*Represents no activity in 2019 and 2018.

ABS issuance was up in the U.S. for the quarter driven by strengthweakness in auto transactions and Europe increased due to a higherinvestment-grade issuance. A number of deals, although from a low 2018 base. ABSlarge financing transactions contributed to the increase in investment-grade issuance in the U.S. was downand Europe for the first nine months of the year reflecting a declinemonths.

 Third Quarter Compared to Prior YearYear-to-Date Compared to Prior Year
Structured Finance IssuanceU.S.EuropeGlobalU.S.EuropeGlobal
Asset-backed securities (“ABS”)10%(27)%1%(16)%81%(7)%
Structured credit (primarily CLOs)(47)%(17)%(40)%(32)%(31)%(31)%
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”)(30)%(70)%(35)%(25)%(41)%(24)%
Residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”)(1)%58%17%(13)%33%—%
Covered bonds*(43)%(43)%*(41)%(33)%
Total issuance(12)%(17)%(14)%(21)%(17)%(18)%
*     Represents no activity in student loan2020 and credit card transactions. 2019.


ABS issuance was downincreased in Europe for the

U.S. in the quarter driven by an increase in certain asset lease deals and decreased in the first nine months primarily from a low Q2 issuance after the market shutdown at the outset of COVID-19. ABS issuance in Europe decreased, primarily in Autos, as the ECB introduced more attractive targeted longer-term refinancing operation (TLTRO III) liquidity and increased in the first nine months reflecting low prior year reflecting uncertainty caused by regulation introducing aactivity as issuers were trying to comply with the new EU framework for simple, transparentSTS Securitization (Simple, Transparent, and standardized ("STS") securitizations effective January 1, 2019, and a decline in auto transactions.Standardized).

Issuance was down in the U.SU.S. and European structured credit markets driven by a decline in CLO transactions.transactions as demand for leveraged loans decreased as borrowers turned to the high-yield bond market.

CMBS issuance in the U.S. was down in the quarterU.S. and first nine months of the yearEurope reflecting decreased market volume primarily attributabledue to fewer single asset single borrower deals. CMBS issuance in Europe was up inpoor market environment and the quarter reflecting increased market volume, although from a low 2018 base.impact of the COVID-19 crisis limiting third party site inspections and appraisal reports.
RMBS issuance was up in the U.S. reflecting increased market volume primarily driven by nonqualified mortgages.
RMBS issuance was down in the U.S. reflecting decreased market volume in Non-Performing Loans (NPL) due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the uncertainty on collateral performance. RMBS issuance increased in Europe reflecting uncertainty caused by regulations introducing a new framework for STS securitizations effective January 1, 2019.number of large jumbo deals in the quarter.

Covered bond (debt securities backed by mortgages or other high-quality assets that remain on the issuer's balance sheet) issuance in Europe was down for the quarter driven by difficult market conditions and up for the first nine months of the year partiallydecreased due to the impactinexpensive central bank funding with TLTRO III.

For a further discussion of new regulations bringing consistency across countries within Europecompetitive and from the European Central Bank's covered bond asset purchase program.
other risks inherent in our Ratings business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q and our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment see Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q.

Market Intelligence

Market Intelligence's portfolio of capabilities are designed to help investment professionals, government agencies, corporations and universities track performance, generate alpha, identify investment ideas, understand competitive and industry dynamics, perform valuations and assess credit risk.

49


In MarchJanuary of 2019, we2020, Market Intelligence entered into an agreementa strategic alliance to sell Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC  ("SPIAS"),transition S&P Global Market Intelligence's IR webhosting business to Q4, a third party provider of investor relations related services. This alliance will integrate Market Intelligence's proprietary data into Q4's portfolio of solutions, enabling further opportunities for commercial collaboration. In connection with transitioning its IR webhosting business within ourto Q4, Market Intelligence segment, to Goldman Sachs Asset Management ("GSAM"). SPIAS provides non-discretionarymade a minority investment advice across institutional sub-advisory and intermediary distribution channels globally. On July 1, 2019, we completed the sale of SPIAS to GSAM.in Q4. During the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2019,2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $22$3 million ($122 million after-tax) and $11 million ($10 million after-tax), respectively, in gainGain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of SPIAS.IR.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $1 million ($1 million after-tax) in Gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC ("SPIAS") in July of 2019.

Market Intelligence includes the following business lines:
Desktop a product suite that provides data, analytics and third-party research for global finance professionals, which includes the Market Intelligence Desktop (which are inclusive of the S&P Capital IQ and SNL Desktop products);
Data Management Solutions integrated bulk data feeds and application programming interfaces that can be customized, which includes Compustat, GICS, Point In Time Financials and CUSIP; and
a product suite that provides data, analytics and third-party research for global finance professionals, which includes the Market Intelligence Desktop (which are inclusive of the S&P Capital IQ and SNL Desktop products);
Data Management Solutions integrated bulk data feeds and application programming interfaces that can be customized, which includes Compustat, GICS, Point In Time Financials and CUSIP; and
Credit Risk Solutions commercial arm that sells Ratings' credit ratings and related data, analytics and research, which includes subscription-based offerings, RatingsDirect® and RatingsXpress®, and Credit Analytics.
Subscription revenue at Market Intelligence is primarily derived from distribution of data, analytics, third party research, and credit ratings-related information primarily through web-based channels, including Market Intelligence Desktop, RatingsDirect®, RatingsXpress®, and Credit Analytics. Non-subscription revenue at Market Intelligence is primarily related to certain advisory, pricing and analytical services.

The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the periods ended September 30: 
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
20202019% Change20202019% Change
Revenue$530 $488 9%$1,565 $1,457 7%
Subscription revenue$517 $477 8%$1,525 $1,416 8%
Non-subscription revenue$13 $10 30%$39 $31 27%
Asset-linked fees$— $(83)%$$10 (92)%
% of total revenue:
     Subscription revenue98 %98 %97 %97 %
     Non-subscription revenue%%%%
     Asset-linked fees— %— %— %%
U.S. revenue$337 $312 8%$1,007 $923 9%
International revenue$193 $176 10%$558 $534 5%
% of total revenue:
     U.S. revenue64 %64 %64 %63 %
     International revenue36 %36 %36 %37 %
Operating profit 1
$164 $161 2%$469 $431 9%
Operating margin %31 %33 %30 %30 %
1 Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 includes a gain on dispositions of $4 million and $12 million, respectively. Operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 also includes employee severance charges of $2 million. Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes a gain on the disposition of SPIAS of $22 million and employee severance charges of $1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit also includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $19 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, and $58 million and $56 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

50

(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 % Change 2019 2018 % Change
Revenue$488
 $466
 5% $1,457
 $1,355
 8%
            
Subscription revenue$477
 $453
 5% $1,416
 $1,309
 8%
Non-subscription revenue$10
 $8
 13% $31
 $31
 —%
Asset-linked fees$1
 $5
 (85)% $10
 $15
 (35)%
% of total revenue:           
     Subscription revenue98% 97%   97% 97%  
     Non-subscription revenue2% 2%   2% 2%  
     Asset-linked fees% 1%   1% 1%  
            
U.S. revenue$301
 $300
 —% $912
 $877
 4%
International revenue$187
 $166
 13% $545
 $478
 14%
% of total revenue:           
     U.S. revenue62% 64%   63% 65%  
     International revenue38% 36%   37% 35%  
 

 

 
 

 

 
Operating profit 1
$171
 $147
 17% $462
 $384
 20%
Operating margin %35% 31%   32% 28%  
Note - In the fourth quarter of 2018, Trucost was transferred from Indices to Market Intelligence and historical reporting was retroactively revised to reflect the change.
1
Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes a gain on the disposition of SPIAS of $22 million and employee severance charges of $1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 includes restructuring charges related to a business disposition and employee severance charges of $2 million. Operating profit includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $19 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 and $56 million and $55 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Three Months

Revenue increased 5%9% and was unfavorablyfavorably impacted by less than 12 percentage pointpoints from the net impacteffect of athe recent acquisition of 451 Research, LLC, offset by the disposition of Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC and disposition.the IR webhosting business. The increase in revenue was driven by growth in annualized contract values for our data feed products within Data Management Solutions, CUSIP, RatingsXpress®, RatingsDirect®, and Market Intelligence Desktop products. Excluding the impact of the acquisition and disposition, revenue increased driven by growth in annualized contract values in the Market Intelligence Desktop products, certain of our Data feed products and CUSIP within Data Management Solutions, and RatingsXpress® and RatingsDirect®. Excluding the impact of the acquisition and disposition which unfavorably impacteddispositions favorably impacting Desktop revenue growth by 24 percentage points, revenue growth at Data Management Solutions, Credit Risk Solutions, and Desktop was 8%12%, 5%11% and 5%3%, respectively. Both U.S. revenue and international revenue increased compared to the three months ended September 30, 2019. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of less than 1 percentage point. Revenue was unfavorably impacted by the disposition of SPIAS in July of 2019 and favorably impacted by the transfer of Kensho revenue from Corporate in January of 2019. See Note 1 - Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation and Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures for further discussion.

Operating profit increased 17%, with a 1 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Excluding the favorable impact of the gain on the disposition of SPIAS of 15 percentage points, employee severance charges in 2018 of 1 percentage point and restructuring charges related to a business disposition in 2018 of 1 percentage point, operating profit remained unchanged. Revenue growth was offset by an increase in technology costs, higher compensation costs primarily driven by additional headcount and an increase in intersegment royalties tied to annualized contract value growth.

Nine Months

Revenue increased 8% and was favorably impacted by 1 percentage point from the net impact of recent acquisitions and a disposition. Excluding the impact of the acquisitions and disposition, revenue increased driven by growth in annualized contract values in the Market Intelligence Desktop products, RatingsXpress® and RatingsDirect®, and certain of our Data feed products and CUSIP within Data Management Solutions. Excluding the impact of the acquisitions and disposition which favorably impacted Desktop revenue growth by less than 1 percentage point, revenue growth at Data Management Solutions, Credit Risk Solutions and Desktop

was 11%, 9% and 5%, respectively. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of less than one percentage point. Revenue was favorably impacted by the acquisitions of Panjiva Inc. and RateWatch in February of 2018 and June of 2018, respectively, and the transfer of Kensho revenue from Corporate in January of 2019, and unfavorably impacted by the disposition of SPIAS in July of 2019. See Note 1 - Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation and Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures for further discussion.

Operating profit increased 20%2%, with a 3 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Excluding the unfavorable impact of a gain on the disposition of SPIAS in 2019 of 13 percentage points, partially offset by the favorable impact of the gain on the disposition of SPIASthe IR webhosting business in 2020 of 71 percentage points,point, operating profit increased 13%14%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth and a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by an increase in technology costs, higher compensation costs primarily driven by additional headcount, higher incentive costs and an increase in intersegment royalties tied to annualized contract value growth.

Nine Months

Revenue increased 7% and was favorably impacted by less than 1 percentage point from the net effect of the recent acquisition of 451 Research, LLC, offset by the disposition of Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC and the IR webhosting business. The increase in revenue was driven by growth in annualized contract values for RatingsXpress®, RatingsDirect®, CUSIP, our data feed products within Data Management Solutions and our Market Intelligence Desktop products. Excluding the impact of the acquisition and dispositions favorably impacting Desktop revenue growth by 3 percentage points, revenue growth at Credit Risk Solutions, Data Management Solutions and Desktop was 10%, 9% and 4%, respectively. Both U.S. revenue and international revenue increased compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of less than one percentage point.

Operating profit increased 9%, with a 3 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates. Excluding the unfavorable impact of a gain on the disposition of SPIAS in 2019 of 4 percentage points, partially offset by the favorable impact of the gain on disposition of the IR webhosting business in 2020 of 2 percentage point, operating profit increased 11%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth and a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, partially offset by an increase in compensation costs primarily driven by additional headcount, higher incentive costs and an increase in intersegment royalties tied to annualized contract value growth.
For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Market Intelligence business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q and our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment see Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q.

Platts

Platts is the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodity and energy markets. Platts provides essential price data, analytics, and industry insight enabling the commodity and energy markets to perform with greater transparency and efficiency.

On July 31, 2019, we completed the sale of RigData, a business within our Platts segment, to Drilling Info, Inc. RigData is a provider of daily information on rig activity for the natural gas and oil markets across North America. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $27 million ($26 million after-tax) in gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of RigData.

Platts' revenue is generated primarily through the following sources:
Subscription revenue primarily from subscriptions to our real-time news, market data and price assessments, along with other information products;
Sales usage-based royalties primarily from licensing of our proprietary market price data and price assessments to commodity exchanges; and
Non-subscription revenue conference sponsorship, consulting engagements, and events.
51


Sales usage-based royalties primarily from licensing of our proprietary market price data and price assessments to commodity exchanges; and
Non-subscription revenue conference sponsorship, consulting engagements, and events.
The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the periods ended September 30: 
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
20202019% Change20202019% Change
Revenue$222 $212 5%$654 $632 4%
Subscription revenue$205 $194 6%$603 $579 4%
Sales usage-based royalties$15 $16 (6)%$47 $45 5%
Non-subscription revenue$$(45)%$$(41)%
% of total revenue:
     Subscription revenue92 %91 %92 %92 %
     Sales usage-based royalties%%%%
     Non-subscription revenue%%%%
U.S. revenue$70 $72 (3)%$211 $212 —%
International revenue$152 $140 8%$443 $420 6%
% of total revenue:
     U.S. revenue32 %34 %32 %34 %
     International revenue68 %66 %68 %66 %
Operating profit 1
$121 $136 (11)%$357 $348 3%
Operating margin %55 %65 %55 %55 %
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 % Change 2019 2018 % Change
Revenue$212
 $204
 4% $632
 $604
 5%
            
Subscription revenue$194
 $188
 3% $579
 $556
 4%
Sales usage-based royalties$16
 $14
 18% $45
 $40
 12%
Non-subscription revenue$2
 $2
 25% $8
 $8
 (6)%
% of total revenue:           
     Subscription revenue91% 92%   92% 92%  
     Sales usage-based royalties8% 7%   7% 7%  
     Non-subscription revenue1% 1%   1% 1%  
            
U.S. revenue$72
 $70
 2% $212
 $210
 1%
International revenue$140
 $134
 5% $420
 $394
 6%
% of total revenue:           
     U.S. revenue34% 34%   34% 35%  
     International revenue66% 66%   66% 65%  
            
Operating profit 1
$132
 $98
 35% $333
 $285
 17%
Operating margin %62% 48%   53% 47%  
11Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes a gain on the sale of RigData of $27 million and employee severance charges of $1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and $7 million and $9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Operating profit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes a gain on the disposition of RigData of $27 million and employee severance charges of $1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Operating profit includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $2 million and $4 million, for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $9 million and $13 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.


Three Months

Revenue increased 4%5% and was unfavorably impacted by less than 1 percentage point from the net impacteffect of recent acquisitions of Enerdata and a disposition. ExcludingLive Rice Index and the acquisitions and disposition revenueof RigData. Revenue increased primarily due to continued demand for market data and price assessment products driven by both expanded product offerings to our existing customers combined with enhanced contract terms. Additionally, revenue growthThis increase was drivenpartially offset by an increasea decrease in sales usage-based royalties from the licensing of our proprietary market price data and price assessments to commodity exchanges mainly due to increaseddecreased trading volumes in Fuel Oil, Gasoil, LNGPetroleum and Iron Ore.Gas and a decrease in conference revenue as a result of cancellation and postponement of events due to COVID-19. Demand for market data and price assessment products was driven by international customers. Petroleum continuesInternational revenue grew and U.S. revenue decreased compared to be the most significantthree months ended September 30, 2019 with the U.S revenue driver, with power & gas, metals and petrochemicals also contributing to revenue growth. Revenue wasgrowth rate being unfavorably impacted by the disposition of RigData in July of 20192019. Petroleum continues to be the most significant revenue driver, followed by metals & agriculture, petrochemicals and favorably impacted by the acquisitionspower & gas, also contributing to revenue growth. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of Live Rice Index and Enerdata in August 2019 and September 2019, respectively. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures for further discussion.less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 35%,decreased 11% with a 1 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates.rates of less than 1 percentage point. Excluding the favorableunfavorable impact of the gain on the disposition of RigData of 28 percentage points and lower amortization of intangibles in 2019 of 221 percentage points, operating profit increased 5%10%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth combined with a reduction in expenses. Expenses decreased primarily due to a decrease in travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 and lower costs as a result of cancellation and postponement of events due to COVID-19. These decreases were partially offset by increased operating costs to support revenue growth and business initiatives at Platts, including Asia expansion initiatives, an increase in the bad debt provision in the current year,incentive costs and higher compensation costs primarily due to increasedannual merit increases and additional headcount.

Nine Months
Nine Months

Revenue increased 5%4% and was unfavorably impacted by less than 1 percentage point from the net impacteffect of recent acquisitions of Enerdata and a disposition. ExcludingLive Rice Index and the acquisitions and disposition revenueof RigData. Revenue increased primarily due to continued demand for market data and price assessment products driven by both expanded product offerings to our existing customers combined with
52


enhanced contract terms. Additionally,terms, partially offset by a decrease in conference revenue as a result of cancellation and postponement of events due to COVID-19. International revenue grew and U.S. revenue decreased slightly compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2019 with the U.S revenue growth was driven by an increase in sales usage-based royalties from the licensing of our proprietary market price data and price assessments to commodity exchanges mainly due to increased trading volumes in Fuel Oil, Gasoil, LNG and Iron Ore. Demand for market data and price assessment products was driven by international customers. Petroleum continues to be the most significant revenue driver, with power & gas, metals and petrochemicals also contributing to revenue growth. Revenue wasrate being unfavorably impacted by the disposition of RigData in July of 20192019. Petroleum continues to be the most significant revenue driver, followed by power & gas, metals & agriculture and favorably impacted by the acquisitionspetrochemicals also contributing to revenue growth. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of Live Rice Index and Enerdata in August 2019 and September 2019, respectively. See Note 2 - Acquisitions and Divestitures for further discussion.less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 17%,3% with a 3 percentage point favorable impact from foreign exchange rates.rates of less than 1 percentage point. Excluding the favorableunfavorable impact of the gain on the disposition of RigData of 107 percentage points, and lower amortization of intangibles in 2019 of 1 percentage point, operating profit increased 6%10%. The increase was primarily due to revenue growth partially offset by an increasecombined with a reduction in operating costs to support revenue growth and business initiatives at Platts, including Asia expansion initiatives, an increase in compensation costsexpenses. Expenses decreased primarily due to annual merit increasesa decrease in travel and increased headcount, higher technologyentertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, lower costs an increase inas a result of cancellation and postponement of events due to COVID-19 and the bad debt provision in the current year andfavorable impact of a benefit resulting from one-time costs related to the discontinuation of a product line at Platts.Platts in 2019. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in incentive costs and higher compensation costs due to annual merit increases and additional headcount.

For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Platts business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q and our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment see Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q.
Indices

Indices is a global index provider maintaining a wide variety of indices to meet an array of investor needs. Indices’ mission is to provide transparent benchmarks to help with decision making, collaborate with the financial community to create innovative products and provide investors with tools to monitor world markets.
Indices primarily derives revenue from asset-linked fees when investors direct funds into its proprietary designed or owned indexes, sales-usage based on the S&P and Dow Jones Indicesroyalties of its indices, and to a lesser extent generatesdata subscription revenue and sales-usage based royalties.arrangements. Specifically, Indices generates revenue from the following sources:
Investment vehicles asset-linked fees such as ETFs and mutual funds, that are based on the S&P Dow Jones Indices' benchmarks that generate revenue through fees based on assets and underlying funds;
Exchange traded derivatives generate sales usage-based royalties based on trading volumes of derivatives contracts listed on various exchanges;
Index-related licensing fees fixed or variable annual and per-issue asset-linked fees for over-the-counter derivatives and retail-structured products; and
Data and customized index subscription fees fees from supporting index fund management, portfolio analytics and research.

53


Exchange traded derivatives generate sales usage-based royalties based on trading volumes of derivatives contracts listed on various exchanges;
Index-related licensing fees fixed or variable annual and per-issue asset-linked fees for over-the-counter derivatives and retail-structured products; and
Data and customized index subscription fees fees from supporting index fund management, portfolio analytics and research.


The following table provides revenue and segment operating profit information for the periods ended September 30:30: 
(in millions)Three MonthsNine Months
20202019% Change20202019% Change
Revenue$234 $232 1%$733 $684 7%
Asset-linked fees$156 $152 2%$468 $454 3%
Subscription revenue$43 $42 3%$132 $122 8%
Sales usage-based royalties$35 $38 (7)%$133 $108 23%
% of total revenue:
     Asset-linked fees67 %66 %64 %66 %
     Subscription revenue18 %18 %18 %18 %
     Sales usage-based royalties15 %16 %18 %16 %
U.S. revenue$197 $196 —%$619 $582 7%
International revenue$37 $36 2%$114 $102 10%
% of total revenue:
     U.S. revenue84 %85 %84 %85 %
     International revenue16 %15 %16 %15 %
Operating profit 1
$151 $162 (7)%$504 $474 6%
Less: net operating profit attributable to noncontrolling interests41 43 136 128 
Net operating profit$110 $119 (7)%$368 $346 6%
Operating margin %65 %70 %69 %69 %
Net operating margin %47 %51 %50 %51 %
(in millions)Three Months Nine Months
 2019 2018 % Change 2019 2018 % Change
Revenue$232
 $203
 14% $684
 $621
 10%
            
Asset-linked fees$152
 $131
 17% $454
 $396
 15%
Subscription revenue$42
 $39
 9% $122
 $103
 19%
Sales usage-based royalties$38
 $33
 12% $108
 $122
 (12)%
% of total revenue:           
     Asset-linked fees66% 64%   66% 64%  
     Subscription revenue18% 19%   18% 16%  
     Sales usage-based royalties16% 17%   16% 20%  
            
            
U.S. revenue$196
 $174
 13% $580
 $530
 9%
International revenue$36
 $29
 24% $104
 $91
 14%
% of total revenue:           
     U.S. revenue85% 86%   85% 85%  
     International revenue15% 14%   15% 15%  
            
Operating profit 1
$161
 $135
 19% $473
 $420
 13%
Less: net operating profit attributable to noncontrolling interests43
 36
 
 128
 112
 
Net operating profit$118
 $99
 19% $345
 $308
 12%
Operating margin %69% 67%   69% 68%  
Net operating margin %51% 49%   50% 49%  
Note - In1 Operating profit includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, Trucost was transferred from Indices to Market Intelligencethree months ended September 30, 2020 and historical reporting was retroactively revised to reflect2019 and $4 million for the change.
1nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019.
Operating profit includes amortization of intangibles from acquisitions of $1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, and $4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.


Three Months

Revenue at Indices increased 14% and was favorably impacted by the buyout of the balance of intellectual property rights in a family of indices from one of our co-marketing and index development partners in the fourth quarter of 2018 and a retrospective fee for previously unlicensed and unreported index usage. Higher1% primarily due to higher average levels of assets under management ("AUM") for ETFs and mutual funds, as well asand an increase in data subscription revenue. These increases were partially offset by lower over-the-counter derivative revenue and exchange-traded derivatives volumes contributed to revenue growth. Ending AUM for ETFs in the third quarterderivative revenue. Average levels of 2019 increased 3% to $1.555 trillion and average AUM for ETFs increased 5%12% to $1.531$1.714 trillion and ending AUM for ETFs increased 11% to $1.727 trillion compared to the third quarter of 2018. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 19%. The impact of revenue growth was partially offset by higher legal expenses and increased operating costs to support revenue growth and business initiatives at Indices, partially offset by a reduction in professional fees. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of 1 percentage point.


Nine Months

Revenue at Indices increased 10% and was favorably impacted by the buyout of the balance of intellectual property rights in a family of indices from one of our co-marketing and index development partners in the fourth quarter of 2018, retrospective fees for previously unlicensed and unreported index usage and a benefit related to recent contract renegotiations. Higher levels of assets under management ("AUM") for ETFs and mutual funds contributed to revenue growth. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in exchange-traded derivatives revenue primarily driven by lower volumes in the first quarter of 2019. Ending AUM for ETFs in the first nine months of 2019 increased 3% to $1.555 trillion and average AUM for ETFs increased 5% to $1.473 trillion compared to first nine months of 2018. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

Operating profit decreased 7% due to an increase in legal related costs, higher incentive costs and an increase in compensation costs due to annual merit increases and additional headcount as well as professional costs, partially offset by lower cost of sales and the increase in revenue discussed above. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

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Nine Months

Revenue at Indices increased 7% primarily due to higher exchange-traded derivative trading volumes from market volatility, higher average levels of AUM for ETFs and an increase in data subscription revenue. These increases were partially offset by the unfavorable impact of benefits related to a 2019 contract renegotiation and a retrospective fee for previously unlicensed and unreported index usage that were recognized in the first nine months of 2019. Average AUM for ETFs increased 10% to $1.620 trillion compared to the first nine months of 2019. Ending AUM for ETFs increased 11% to $1.727 trillion compared to the first nine months of 2019. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of 1 percentage point.

Operating profit increased 13%6%. The impact of revenue growth and lower travel and entertainment expenses from non-essential travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 was partially offset by increased operatingan increase in legal related costs, to support revenue growth and business initiatives at Indices, higher legal expenses and increased compensation costs primarily driven by additional headcount, partially offset by lowerdue to annual merit increases, an increase in incentive costs as well as professional costs. Foreign exchange rates had a favorable impact of less than 1 percentage point.

For a further discussion of competitive and other risks inherent in our Indices business, see Item 1A, Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q and our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a further discussion of the legal and regulatory environment see Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

We continue to maintain a strong financial position. Our primary source of funds for operations is cash from our businesses. Cash on hand, cash flows from operations and availability under our existing credit facility are expected to be sufficient to meet any additional operating and recurring cash needs into the foreseeable future. We use our cash for a variety of needs, including but not limited to: ongoing investments in our businesses, strategic acquisitions, share repurchases, dividends, repayment of debt, capital expenditures and investment in our infrastructure.

Cash Flow Overview

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash were $2,019$3,168 million as of September 30, 2019,2020, an increase of $61$282 million from December 31, 2018.2019.

The following table provides cash flow information for the nine months ended September 30: 
(in millions)20202019% Change
Net cash provided by (used for):
Operating activities$2,426 $1,772 37%
Investing activities$(204)$(20)N/M
Financing activities$(1,950)$(1,684)16%
(in millions)2019 2018 % Change
Net cash provided by (used for):     
Operating activities$1,772
 $1,401
 26%
Investing activities$(20) $(346) (94)%
Financing activities$(1,684) $(1,579) 7%

In the first nine months of 2019,2020, free cash flow increased to $1,595$2,240 million compared to $1,197$1,595 million in the first nine months of 2018.2019. The increase is primarily due to an increase in cash provided by operating activities as discussed below. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure and reflects our cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures and distributions to noncontrolling interest holders. Capital expenditures include purchases of property and equipment and additions to technology projects. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information” below for a reconciliation of cash flow provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, to free cash flow and free cash flow excluding certain items.

Operating activities

Cash provided by operating activities increased $371$654 million to $1,772$2,426 million for the first nine months of 2019.2020. The increase is mainly due to higher operating results lower legal settlement paymentsin 2020 and lower incentive compensation paymentsimproved cash collections on accounts receivable in 2019.2020.

Investing activities

Our cash outflows from investing activities are primarily for acquisitions and capital expenditures, while cash inflows are primarily proceeds from dispositions.

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Cash used for investing activities decreasedincreased to $20$204 million for the first nine months of 20192020 compared to $346$20 million in the first nine months of 2018,2019, primarily due to cash used for the acquisitionacquisitions of Kenshothe ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM and Greenwich Associates LLC in 2018.2020. See Note 2 Acquisitions and Divestitures to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q for further discussion.


Financing activities

Our cash outflows from financing activities consist primarily of share repurchases, dividends to shareholders and repayments of short-term and long-term debt, while cash inflows are primarily attributable to the borrowing of short-term and long-term debt and proceeds from the exercise of stock options.

Cash used for financing activities increased $105$266 million to $1,684$1,950 million for the first nine months of 2019.2020. The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in dividends paid to shareholders and an increase in cash used for share repurchasesthe redemption and extinguishment of the $900 million outstanding principal amount of our 4.4% senior notes due in 2019.2026 and a portion of the outstanding principal amounts of our 6.55% senior notes due in 2037 and our 4.5% senior notes due in 2048 in 2020, partially offset by proceeds from the issuance of senior notes in 2020. See Note 4 Debt to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q for further discussion.

During the first nine months ended September 30, 2020, we purchased a total of 4.0 million shares for $1,161 million of cash. During the fourth quarter of 2019, we repurchased shares for $3 million, which settled in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in $1,164 million of cash used cash to repurchase shares. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we received 5.4 million shares, for $1,144 million. We entered into an accelerated share repurchase ("ASR") agreement with a financial institution on August 5,including 0.4 million shares received in January of 2019 related to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million. Theour October 29, 2018 ASR agreement, was structured as a capped ASR agreementresulting in which we paid $500$1,144 million and received an initial delivery of approximately 1.6 million shares and an additional amount of 0.2 million shares during the month of August 2019, representing the minimum number of shares of our common stockcash used to be repurchased based on a calculation using a specified capped price per share. We completed the ASR agreement on October 1, 2019 and received an additional 0.1 millionrepurchase shares. We repurchased a total of 2.0 million shares under the ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $253.36 per share. The total number of shares repurchased under the ASR agreement is equal to $500 million divided by the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. The repurchased shares are held in Treasury. The ASR agreement was executed under the current share repurchase program, approved by the Board of Directors on December 4, 2013.

We entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution on February 11, 2019 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $500 million. The ASR agreement was structured as an uncapped ASR agreement in which we paid $500 million and received an initial delivery of approximately 2.2 million shares, representing 85% of the $500 million at a price equal See Note 8 Equity to the then market priceconsolidated financial statements of the Company. We completed the ASR agreement on July 31, 2019 and received an additional 0.1 million shares. We repurchased a total of 2.3 million shares under the ASR agreementthis Form 10-Q for an average purchase price of $214.65 per share. The total number of shares repurchased under the ASR agreement is equal to $500 million divided by the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. The repurchased shares are held in Treasury. The ASR agreement was executed under the current share repurchase program, approved by the Board of Directors on December 4, 2013.further discussion.

During the first nine months of 2018, we used cash to repurchase 5.7 million shares for $1,108 million. We entered into an ASR agreement with a financial institution on March 6, 2018 to initiate share repurchases aggregating $1 billion. The ASR agreement was structured as an uncapped ASR agreement in which we paid $1 billion and received an initial delivery of approximately 4.5 million shares, representing 85% of the $1 billion at a price equal to the then market price of the Company. We completed the ASR agreement on September 25, 2018 and received an additional 0.6 million shares. We repurchased a total of 5.1 million shares under the ASR agreement for an average purchase price of $197.49 per share. The total number of shares repurchased under the ASR agreement is equal to $1 billion divided by the volume weighted-average share price, less a discount. The repurchased shares are held in Treasury. The ASR agreement was executed under the current share repurchase program, approved by the Board of Directors on December 4, 2013.

Additional Financing

We have the ability to borrow a total of $1.2 billion through our commercial paper program, which is supported by our revolving $1.2 billion five-year credit agreement (our "credit facility") that we entered into on June 30, 2017. This credit facility will terminate on June 30, 2022. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, there werewas no commercial paper issued or outstanding, and we similarly did not draw or have any borrowings outstanding.outstanding from the credit facility during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019.

Depending on our corporate credit rating, we pay a commitment fee of 8 to 17.5 basis points for our credit facility, whether or not amounts have been borrowed. We currently pay a commitment fee of 10 basis points. The interest rate on borrowings under our credit facility is, at our option, calculated using rates that are primarily based on either the prevailing London Inter-Bank Offer Rate, the prime rate determined by the administrative agent or the Federal Funds Rate. For certain borrowings under this credit facility, there is also a spread based on our corporate credit rating.

Our credit facility contains certain covenants. The only financial covenant requires that our indebtedness to cash flow ratio, as defined in our credit facility, is not greater than 4 to 1, and this covenant level has never been exceeded.

Dividends

On January 30, 2019,29, 2020, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly common stock dividend from $0.50$0.57 per share to $0.57$0.67 per share.


RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure and reflects our cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures and distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net. Capital expenditures include purchases of property and equipment and additions to technology projects. Our cash flow provided by operating activities is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to free cash flow. Additionally, we have considered certain items in evaluating free cash flow, which are included in the table below.

We believe the presentation of free cash flow and free cash flow excluding certain items allows our investors to evaluate the cash generated from our underlying operations in a manner similar to the method used by management. We use free cash flow to conduct and evaluate our business because we believe it typically presents a more conservative measure of cash flows since capital expenditures and distributions to noncontrolling interest holders are considered a necessary component of ongoing
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operations. Free cash flow is useful for management and investors because it allows management and investors to evaluate the cash available to us to prepay debt, make strategic acquisitions and investments and repurchase stock.

The presentation of free cash flow and free cash flow excluding certain items are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Free cash flow, as we calculate it, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. The following table presents a reconciliation of our cash flow provided by operating activities to free cash flow excluding the impact of the item below for the nine months ended September 30: 

(in millions)2019 2018 % Change(in millions)20202019% Change
Cash provided by operating activities$1,772
 $1,401
 26%Cash provided by operating activities$2,426 $1,772 37 %
Capital expenditures(77) (88) 

Capital expenditures(43)(77)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net 1
(100) (116) 

Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders, net 1
(143)(100)
Free cash flow1,595
 1,197
 33%Free cash flow2,240 1,595 40 %
Settlement of prior-year tax audits51
 71
  Settlement of prior-year tax audits— 51 
Payment of legal settlements1
 180
 

Payment of legal settlements— 
Tax benefit from legal settlements

(44) 

Free cash flow excluding certain items$1,647
 $1,404
 17%Free cash flow excluding certain items$2,240 $1,647 36 %

1Distributions to noncontrolling interest holders is net of amounts owed to the S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC joint venture by the noncontrolling interest holders.holders.


(in millions)20202019% Change
Cash used for investing activities(204)(20)N/M
Cash used for financing activities(1,950)(1,684)16 %
N/M - not meaningful
(in millions)2019 2018 % Change
Cash used for investing activities(20) (346) (94)%
Cash used for financing activities(1,684) (1,579) 7 %

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

Our accounting policies are described in Note 1 Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements in our most recent Form 10-K. As discussed in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in our most recent Form 10-K, we consider an accounting estimate to be critical if it required assumptions to be made that were uncertain at the time the estimate was made and changes in the estimate or different estimates could have a material effect on our results of operations. These critical estimates include those related to revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, pension plans, incentive compensation and stock-based compensation, income taxes, contingencies and redeemable non-controlling interests. We base our estimates on historical experience, current developments and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under these circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about carrying values of assets and liabilities that cannot readily be determined from other sources. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ from those estimates. Since the date of our Form 10-K, there have been no material changes to our critical accounting estimates.


RECENTLY ISSUED OR ADOPTED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

See Note 13 – Recently Issued or Adopted Accounting Standards to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q for further information.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains “forward-looking statements,” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.These statements, including statements about COVID-19, which express management’s current views concerning future events, trends, contingencies or results, appear at various places in this report and use words like “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “future,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “strategy,” “target” and similar terms, and future or conditional tense verbs like “could,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “will” and “would.” For example, management may use forward-looking statements when addressing topics such as: the outcome of contingencies; future actions by regulators; changes in the Company’s business strategies and methods of generating revenue; the development and performance of the Company’s services and products; the expected impact of acquisitions and dispositions; the Company’s effective tax rates; and the Company’s cost structure, dividend policy, cash flows or liquidity.

Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements include, among other things:

worldwide economic, financial, political and regulatory conditions, and factors that contribute to uncertainty and volatility including the upcoming U.S. presidential election, natural and man-made disasters, civil unrest, pandemics (e.g., COVID-19), geopolitical uncertainty, and conditions that may result from legislative, regulatory, trade and policy changes associated with the current U.S. administration or the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union;administration;
the rapidly evolving regulatory environment, in Europe, the United States and elsewhere, affecting Ratings, S&P Global Platts, Indices, and S&P Global Market Intelligence, including new and amended regulations and the Company’s compliance therewith;
the impact of the recent acquisition of Kensho, including the impact on the Company’s results of operations; any failure to successfully integrate Kensho into the Company’s operations; any failure to attract and retain key employees; and the risk of litigation, unexpected costs, charges or expenses relating to the acquisition;
the Company’s ability to maintain adequate physical, technical and administrative safeguards to protect the security of confidential information and data, and the potential of a system or network disruption that results in regulatory penalties, remedial costs or improper disclosure of confidential information or data;
our ability to make acquisitions and dispositions and successfully integrate the businesses we acquire;
the outcome of litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries;
the health of debt and equity markets, including credit quality and spreads, the level of liquidity and future debt issuances and the potentially adverse impact of increased access to cash resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act;
the demand and market for credit ratings in and across the sectors and geographies where the Company operates;
concerns in the marketplace affecting the Company’s credibility or otherwise affecting market perceptions of the integrity or utility of independent credit ratings, benchmarks and indices;
the effect of competitive products and pricing, including the level of success of new product developments and global expansion;
consolidation in the Company’s end-customer markets;
the introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies;
the impact of customer cost-cutting pressures, including in the financial services industry and the commodities markets;
a decline in the demand for credit risk management tools by financial institutions;
the level of merger and acquisition activity in the United States and abroad;
the volatility of the energy marketplace;
the health of the commodities markets;
our ability to attract, incentivize and retain key employees;
our ability to adjust to changes in European and United Kingdom markets as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union; the impact of the United Kingdom’s departure on our offerings in the European Union; and the impact of the United Kingdom’s departure on our credit rating activities and other European and United Kingdom offerings, particularly in the event of the United Kingdom's departure without an agreement on terms with the European Union;
the Company’s ability to successfully recover should it experience a disaster or other business continuity problem from a hurricane, flood, earthquake, terrorist attack, pandemic, security breach, cyber-attack,cyber attack, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-made event;
changes in applicable tax or accounting requirements,event, including the impactability to function remotely during long-term disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic;
the Company’s ability to maintain adequate physical, technical and administrative safeguards to protect the security of confidential information and data, and the Tax Cutspotential for a system or network disruption that results in regulatory penalties and Jobs Act;remedial costs or improper disclosure of confidential information or data;
the outcome of litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries;
the health of debt and equity markets, including credit quality and spreads, the level of liquidity and future debt issuances, demand for investment products that track indices and assessments and trading volumes of certain exchange traded derivatives;
the demand and market for credit ratings in and across the sectors and geographies where the Company operates;
concerns in the marketplace affecting the Company’s future cash flowscredibility or otherwise affecting market perceptions of the integrity or utility of independent credit ratings, benchmarks and capital investments;indices;
the impact oneffect of competitive products and pricing, including the Company’s revenuelevel of success of new product developments and net income caused by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; andglobal expansion;
the Company’s exposure to potential criminal sanctions or civil penalties for noncompliance with foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that are applicable in the domestic and international jurisdictions in which it operates, including sanctions laws relating to countries such as Iran, Russia, Sudan, Syria and Syria,Venezuela, anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, and local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials, as well as import and export restrictions.restrictions;

the continuously evolving regulatory environment, in Europe, the United States and elsewhere, affecting S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Platts, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Market Intelligence, including the Company’s compliance therewith;

the Company’s ability to make acquisitions and dispositions and successfully integrate the businesses we acquire;
consolidation in the Company’s end-customer markets;
the introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies;
the impact of customer cost-cutting pressures, including in the financial services industry and the commodities markets;
a decline in the demand for credit risk management tools by financial institutions;
the level of merger and acquisition activity in the United States and abroad;
the volatility and health of the energy and commodities markets;
our ability to attract, incentivize and retain key employees;
the level of the Company’s future cash flows and capital investments;
the impact on the Company’s revenue and net income caused by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
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the Company's ability to adjust to changes in European and United Kingdom markets as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, and the impact of the United Kingdom’s departure on our credit rating activities and other offerings in the European Union and United Kingdom; and
the impact of changes in applicable tax or accounting requirements, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the Company.

The factors noted above are not exhaustive. The Company and its subsidiaries operate in a dynamic business environment in which new risks emerge frequently. Accordingly, the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which it is made, except as required by applicable law. Further information about the Company’s businesses, including information about factors that could materially affect its results of operations and financial condition, is contained in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the “Risk Factors” sectionItem 1A, Risk Factors, in the Company’sour most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K.10-K and Item 1A, Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q.
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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Our exposure to market risk includes changes in foreign exchange rates. We have operations in foreign countries where the functional currency is primarily the local currency. For international operations that are determined to be extensions of the parent company, the U.S. dollar is the functional currency. We typically have naturally hedged positions in most countries from a local currency perspective with offsetting assets and liabilities. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, we entered into foreign exchange forward contracts in order to mitigate the change in fair value of specific assets and liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. These forward contracts are not designated as hedges and do not qualify for hedge accounting. As of September 30, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, we entered into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge the effect of adverse fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and a cross-currency swap contracts to hedge a portion of our net investment in a foreign subsidiary against volatility in foreign exchange rates. We have not entered into any derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. See Note 5 - Derivative Instruments to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q for further discussion.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed so that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As of September 30, 2019,2020, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the CEO and CFO, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Based on that evaluation, management, including the CEO and CFO, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2019.2020.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the most recent quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of our workforce began working remotely in March 2020. These changes to the working environment did not have a material effect on our internal controls over financial reporting during the most recent quarter.



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PART II – OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings

See Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies - Legal & Regulatory Matters to the consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-Q for information on our legal proceedings.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

In addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A Risk Factors in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened, and in some cases manifested, certain of the risks we normally face in operating our business, including those disclosed in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the risk factor disclosure in the Form 10-K is qualified by the information relating to COVID-19 that is described in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including the new risk factor set forth below.There have been no material changes to the risk factors we have previously disclosed in Item 1A, Risk Factors, in our most recent Form 10-K, except as follows:

The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects have affected, and may have a material adverse effect on, our results of operations.

Following the outbreak of an infectious respiratory illness caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), the World Health Organization declared a global emergency on January 30, 2020 and subsequently declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

COVID-19 has spread globally, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other jurisdictions in which we operate. As its impacts have become more severe, governments across the world have taken steps to contain the virus by restricting human movement through numerous measures including travel bans and restrictions, social distancing, quarantines, shelter in place orders, enhanced health screenings at ports of entry and elsewhere, and business shutdowns. These measures have resulted in an unprecedented near halt of the global economy. Such measures may remain in place to varying degrees for a significant period of time and they are likely to continue to adversely affect the global economy.

While the initial economic disruption was triggered by non-economic factors, continuation of the shutdown of businesses and entire industries, increases in unemployment, implementation of furloughs, lost wages across populations and a significant drop in consumer and business spending, are expected to result in a recession, the duration and gravity of which is unknown and cannot be known at this time. In particular, the United States entered into a recession in February 2020. A return to more ordinary course economic activity is dependent on the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, which are in turn dependent on a series of evolving factors, including the severity and transmission rate of the virus, the extent and effectiveness of containment efforts, the potential resurgence of the virus, and policy decisions made by governments across the globe as they react to evolving local and global conditions. There are no comparable recent events that can provide guidance as to the effect of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and, as a result, the ultimate impact of the coronavirus outbreak or a similar health epidemic is highly uncertain. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted our operations and may ultimately have a material adverse impact on our results of operations in the future, particularly in the event of a severe recession. The extent to which the pandemic will continue to affect our businesses, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

Increased volatility and uncertainty in the global economy, and the financial and commodities markets
The global economy has been disrupted as a result of the ongoing health crisis and the financial and commodities markets have reacted with unprecedented volatility. Governmental authorities worldwide have taken increased measures to stabilize the markets and support economic growth. The success of these measures is unknown, and they may not be sufficient to address the market dislocations or avert severe and prolonged reductions in economic activity. Even after the pandemic subsides, the U.S. economy and other major economies may continue to experience a recession, and we anticipate our businesses would be materially and adversely affected by a prolonged recession in the U.S. and other major markets. Because there are no comparable recent events that can provide guidance on the impact to the global economy, we cannot predict the extent to which our business may be impacted. In addition, the increase in revenue of Ratings was primarily driven by higher corporate bond issuance in the U.S. mainly resulting from historically low borrowing costs, increased borrowing demand from companies to increase their liquidity in light of uncertainties associated with COVID-19, and central bank lending actions. There can be no guarantee that such favorable conditions would continue in the future, and our businesses, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected absent such favorable conditions. Moreover, the unprecedented volatility observed in the markets since the outset of COVID-19 may result in sudden unexpected changes in market structures that were not previously anticipated by laws, rules, regulations or general market practices. Risks posed to our businesses, financial condition and results of operations from volatility in the financial and commodities markets are described in our risk factor
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entitled, “Changes in the volume of securities issued and traded in domestic and/or global capital markets, asset levels and flows into investment products, changes in interest rates and volatility in the financial markets, and volatility in the commodities markets impact our business, financial condition or results of operations”, in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Decreased demand for our subscription services
Our clients are being impacted to varying degrees. Some may no longer be in business by the time the COVID-19 crisis comes to an end, others will face significant spending constraints in order to continue to operate, and others may reduce their workforces permanently. As a result of the impact on our clients, our subscription services may face pricing pressure on renewals, delayed renewals, and challenges to new sales which would in turn reduce revenue, ultimately impacting our results of operations. Limited human mobility has, among other things, significantly reduced demand for energy for transportation and the decrease in demand has been exacerbated by political tensions between large oil producing countries.

This could put additional pressure on Platts clients and translate into slower demand for our subscription and related products and services. Moreover, while our business continuity program has been effective to date, the current restrictions on human mobility limit our ability to interact with subscribers and effectively demonstrate new products and may have a negative effect on our ability to secure new subscriptions and renewals.

Our businesses assess and analyze the impact of economic events
Our divisions are all actively engaged in analyzing and providing views on the quickly evolving economic conditions. We are publishing articles and research pieces that attempt to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world economy and its components, both geographic and sectoral. In addition, we are taking actions (including, but not limited to, rating actions, revising the composition of our indices, etc.), consistent with our business procedures, in response to the evolving conditions. Notwithstanding the care we take in carrying out our work, the views and assumptions we express, the conclusions we draw, the actions we take, and the work our divisions are producing today are likely to be heavily scrutinized with the benefit of hindsight. We have faced significant regulatory and media scrutiny following prior periods of volatility and economic uncertainty. Such scrutiny has in the past and may in the future impact our reputation, brand and credibility and result in government and regulatory proceedings, investigations, inquiries and litigation. See our risk factors entitled “Exposure to litigation and government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations” and “Our reputation, credibility, and brand are key assets and competitive advantages of our Company and our business may be affected by how we are perceived in the marketplace” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Business continuity
Our business continuity program has been effective to date. Some portion of our employee population has been working remotely since January, and by mid-March nearly our entire employee population was working remotely. While we have been able to continue our operations during this time, maintaining a remote work environment for an extended period of time may have a material adverse effect on our productivity and our ability to meet the needs of our clients and exposes us to operational risks. See our risk factor entitled “Our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem could cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, a portion of our information technology resources have been diverted to establishing and maintaining an infrastructure that supports a sustained remote working environment. Such efforts limit the resources available for improvement and innovation projects. Moreover, given the extent to which we are utilizing a remote working environment, we face increased vulnerability. Although there has not been a cyber attack that has had a material adverse effect on the Company to date, we have noted an increase in cyber threats targeted at our remote work environment and there can be no assurance that there will not be a material adverse effect in the future. See our risk factor entitled “We are exposed to risks related to cybersecurity and protection of confidential information” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, while our employee base currently has adequate resources to pursue new clients or expand existing relationships, we have no control over the business continuity resources available to our clients. As a result, our ability to maintain, expand, or establish new client relationships may be limited.

Return of capital
While our capital position has not been materially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there can be no assurance that a recession triggered by the pandemic will not have a material negative impact on our capital position. Our Board of Directors has determined that, in these unprecedented times, it is prudent that the Company not initiate any new share repurchase plan at this time. The Board has made no changes to the dividend guidance. There can be no assurance that our dividend or share repurchases will remain unchanged.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

On January 29, 2020, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of 30 million
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shares (the "2020 Repurchase Program"), which was approximately 12% of the total shares of our outstanding common stock at that time. During the third quarter of 2020, we did not repurchase any shares under the 2020 Repurchase Program and, as of September 30, 2020, 30 million shares remained under the 2020 Repurchase Program.

On December 4, 2013, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of up to 50 million shares (the "2013 Repurchase Program"), which was approximately 18% of the Company's outstanding shares at that time. During the third quarter of 2019,2020, we repurchased 2.0 million shares which included 0.1 million shares received fromcompleted the conclusion of our accelerated share repurchase ("ASR") agreementASR agreements that we entered into on February 11, 20192020 and 1.8received an additional 0.5 million shares received from our ASR agreement that we entered into on August 5, 2019. Further discussion relating to our ASR agreement can be found in Note 8 - Equity.shares. As of September 30, 2019, 5.22020, 0.8 million shares remained under our current share repurchase program.the 2013 Repurchase Program.

Repurchased shares may be used for general corporate purposes, including the issuance of shares for stock compensation plans and to offset the dilutive effect of the exercise of employee stock options. Our current share repurchase program has2013 and 2020 Repurchase Programs have no expiration date and purchases under this program may be made from time to time on the open market and in private transactions, depending on market conditions.

The following table provides information on our purchases of our outstanding common stock during the third quarter of 20192020 pursuant to our current share repurchase program2013 and 2020 Repurchase Programs (column c). In addition to these purchases, the number of shares in column (a) include shares of common stock that are tendered to us to satisfy our employees’ tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of awards of restricted shares (we repurchase such shares based on their fair market value on the vesting date).

There were no other share repurchases during the quarter outside the repurchases noted below.

Period(a) Total Number of Shares Purchased(b) Average Price Paid per Share(c) Total Number of Shares Purchased as
Part of Publicly Announced Programs
(d) Maximum Number of Shares that may yet be Purchased Under the Programs
July 1 — July 31, 2020 1
514,429 $295.91 512,522 30.8 million
Aug 1 — Aug 31, 20202,254 351.37 — 30.8 million
September 1 — September 30, 20201,572 351.75 — 30.8 million
Total — Quarter518,255 $296.32 512,522 30.8 million
Period (a) Total Number of Shares Purchased (b) Average Price Paid per Share 
(c) Total Number of Shares Purchased as
Part of Publicly Announced Programs
 (d) Maximum Number of Shares that may yet be Purchased Under the Programs
July 1 — July 31, 2019  1, 3
 136,018
 238.52
 133,967
 7.1 million
August 1 — August 31, 2019 2, 3 
 1,850,358
 255.46
 1,848,078
 5.2 million
September 1 — September 30, 2019 2,320
 258.47
 
 5.2 million
Total — Quarter 1,988,696
 $251.29
 1,982,045
 5.2 million

1 Includes 0.10.5 million shares received from the conclusion of our ASR agreement that we entered into on February 11, 2019.2020.
2 Includes 1.8 million shares received from the initiation of our ASR agreement that we entered into on August 5, 2019.

3 Average price paid per share information does not include the accelerated share repurchase transactions as discussed in more detail above.
Item 5. Other Information

IRAN THREAT REDUCTION AND SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACT DISCLOSURE

Pursuant to Section 219 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, which amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, an issuer is required to disclose in its annual or quarterly reports, as applicable, whether, during the reporting period, it or any of its affiliates knowingly engaged in certain activities, transactions or dealings relating to Iran or with individuals or entities designated pursuant to certain Executive Orders. Disclosure is generally required even where the activities, transactions or dealings were conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.


Revenue duringDuring the third quarter of 20192020, the Company recorded no revenue or net profit attributable to the transactions or dealings bydescribed below. The amount recorded in connection with the Company described below was approximately $781,058 with net profit from such sales being a fractionforegoing reflects the uncertainty of the revenues.collection.

During the third quarter of 2019,2020, Platts, a division of the Company that provides energy-related information in over 150 countries, sold information and informational materials, which are generally exempt from U.S. economic sanctions, to subscribers that are owned or controlled, or appear to be owned or controlled, by the Government of Iran.Iran or are otherwise subject to disclosure pursuant to Section 219 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012. Platts provided such subscribers access to proprietary data, analytics, and industry information that enable commodities markets to perform with greater transparency and efficiency, generating revenue that was a de minimis portion of both the division's and the Company’s revenue.efficiency. The Company will continue to monitor its provision of products and services to such subscribers. In addition, S&P Global Market Intelligence had a commercial relationship with an entity that became designated pursuant to Executive Order 13224 during the third quarter. The Company has terminated its relationship with such entity and will not collect revenue relating to this relationship.

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Item 6. Exhibits

(4.1)
(4.2)
(15)
(4.3)
(15)
(31.1)
(31.2)
(32)
(101.INS)Inline XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
(101.SCH)Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
(101.CAL)Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
(101.LAB)Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
(101.PRE)Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase
(101.DEF)Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
(104)Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL with applicable taxonomy extension information contained in Exhibit 101)



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Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this quarterly report on Form 10-Q to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
 
S&P Global Inc.
Registrant
Date:October 27, 2020S&P Global Inc.
Registrant

Date:October 29, 2019By:
/s/ Ewout L. Steenbergen
Ewout L. Steenbergen
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Date:October 29, 201927, 2020By:
/s/ Christopher F. Craig
Christopher F. Craig
Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer

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