S&P Global 10-K 2017-12-31

10-K 1 spgi-20171231x10k.htm 10-K

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

OR

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number 1-1023

S&P Global Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-438-1000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

YES þ NO ¨

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

YES ¨ NO þ

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 þ NO ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Date File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).

YES þ NO ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “small reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

YES ¨ NO þ

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. ¨

The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2017, was $37.5 billion, based on the closing price of the common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange of $145.99 per common share. For purposes of this calculation, it is assumed that directors, executive officers and beneficial owners of more than 10% of the registrant outstanding stock are affiliates. The number of shares of common stock of the Registrant outstanding as of January 26, 2018 was 253.9 million shares.

Part III incorporates information by reference from the definitive proxy statement for the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements,” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, 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:

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 Item 1a, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

PART I

Overview

S&P Global Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the “Company,” the “Registrant,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is 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, metals, petrochemicals and agriculture. We serve our global customers through a broad range of products and services available through both third-party and proprietary distribution channels. We were incorporated in December of 1925 under the laws of the state of New York.

Our Businesses

Our operations consist of three reportable segments: Ratings, Market and Commodities Intelligence and S&P Dow Jones Indices ("Indices"). For a discussion on the competitive conditions in our businesses, see “MD&A – Segment Review” contained in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In December of 2017, we announced that S&P Global Platts, a business line within Market and Commodities Intelligence, will be managed as a separate business and comprise a separate reportable segment effective January 1, 2018. We will begin reporting the financial results of S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Platts as a separate reportable segments beginning with the first quarter of 2018.

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 debt issue may default.

With offices in over 25 countries around the world, Ratings is an important part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for over 150 years in providing investors with information and independent benchmarks for their investment and financial decisions as well as access to the capital markets. The key constituents Ratings serves are investors, corporations, governments, municipalities, commercial and investment banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and other debt issuers.

As the capital markets continue to evolve, Ratings is well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities, driven by continuing regulatory changes, through its global network, well-established position in corporate markets and strong investor reputation.

Ratings differentiates its revenue between transaction and non-transaction. Transaction revenue primarily includes fees associated with:

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.

Market and Commodities Intelligence

Market and Commodities Intelligence's portfolio of capabilities are designed to help the financial community, corporations and professional service firms track performance, generate better investment returns, identify new trading and investment ideas, perform risk analysis, develop mitigation strategies and provide high-value information to the commodity and energy markets that enable its customers to make better informed trading and business decisions. Key customers served by Market and Commodities Intelligence include investment managers, investment banks, private equity firms, insurance companies, commercial banks,

corporations, professional services firms, government agencies and regulators; and producers, traders and intermediaries within energy, metals and agriculture markets.

Market and Commodities Intelligence includes the following business lines:

We completed the sale of J.D. Power on September 7, 2016, with the results included in Market and Commodities Intelligence results through that date.

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 based on the S&P and Dow Jones indices and to a lesser extent generates subscription revenue and transaction revenue. Specifically, Indices generates revenue from the following sources:

Segment and Geographic Data

The relative contribution of our operating segments to operating revenue, operating profit, long-lived assets and geographic area for the three years ended December 31, 2017 are included in Note 12 – Segment and Geographic Information to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our Personnel

As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately 20,400 employees located worldwide, of which approximately 5,200 were employed in the U.S.

Available Information

The Company's investor kit includes Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Proxy Statements, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, the current earnings release and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. For online access, go to http://investor.spglobal.com. Requests for printed copies, free of charge, can be e-mailed to investor.relations@spglobal.com or mailed to Investor Relations, S&P Global Inc., 55 Water Street, New York, NY 10041-0001. Interested parties can also call Investor Relations toll-free at 866-436-8502 (domestic callers) or 212-438-2192 (international callers). The information on our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be part hereof or incorporated into this or any of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Access to more than 10 years of the Company's filings made with the SEC is available through the Company's Investor Relations website. Go to http://investor.spglobal.com and click on the SEC Filings link. In addition, these filings are available to the public on the Commission's website through their EDGAR filing system at www.sec.gov. Interested parties may also read and copy materials that the Company has filed with the SEC at the SEC's public reference room located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549 on official business days between the hours of 10AM and 3PM. Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room.

The following risk factors and other information included in this annual report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. These risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or which we currently believe to be immaterial may also impair our business operations.

We operate in the capital and commodities markets. The capital markets include asset managers, investment banks, commercial banks, insurance companies, exchanges, trading firms, and issuers; the commodities markets include producers, traders and intermediaries within energy, metals, petrochemicals and agriculture. Certain risk factors are applicable to certain of our individual segments while other risk factors are applicable company-wide.

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.

Our acquisitions and other strategic transactions may not produce anticipated results.

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 could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Increasing regulation of our Ratings business in the United States, Europe and elsewhere can increase our costs of doing business and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

multinational bodies and are likely to continue to be considered in the future, including provisions seeking to reduce regulatory and investor reliance on credit ratings, and liability standards applicable to credit rating agencies.

Our Indices and Market and Commodities Intelligence businesses are subject to the potential for increased or changing regulation in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, which can increase our costs of doing business globally and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

subject to new or more stringent regulations that will increase the cost of doing business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Recent and future legislation, regulatory reform or policy changes under the current U.S. administration could have a material effect on our business and results of operations.

Regulatory changes and economic conditions leading up to and following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We may become subject to liability based on the use of our products by our clients.

Increased competition could result in a loss of market share or revenue.

Introduction of new products or services could impact our profitability.

Our ability to develop, adapt, or implement new and improved processes and technology may adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

A significant increase in operating costs and expenses could have a material adverse effect on our profitability.

Increased availability of free or relatively inexpensive information sources may reduce demand for our products and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Consolidation of customers as well as staffing levels across our customer base could impact our available markets and revenue growth.

lower-cost offerings, or by self-sourcing their need for financial and commodity market products and services. If customers elect to consolidate their spending on financial and commodity market products and services with other vendors and not us, if we lose business to lower priced competitors, or if customers elect to self-source their product and service needs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

If we lose key outside suppliers of data and products or if the data or products of these suppliers have errors or are delayed, we may not be able to provide our clients with the information and products they desire.

Changes in the legislative, regulatory, and commercial environments in which we operate may materially and adversely impact our ability to collect, compile, use, and publish data and may impact our financial results.

Our ability to protect our intellectual property rights could impact our competitive position.

We are exposed to multiple risks associated with the global nature of our operations.

Adverse developments in any of these areas could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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.

Outsourcing certain aspects of our business could result in disruption and increased costs.

We rely heavily on network systems and the Internet and any failures or disruptions may adversely affect our ability to serve our customers.

Our operations and infrastructure may malfunction or fail, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are exposed to risks related to cybersecurity and protection of confidential information.

Inability to attract and retain key qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our brand and reputation are key assets and competitive advantages of our Company and our business may be affected by how we are perceived in the marketplace.

None.

Our corporate headquarters are located in leased premises located at 55 Water Street, New York, NY 10041. We lease office facilities at 97 locations; 31 are in the U.S. In addition, we own real property at 7 locations, of which 2 are in the U.S. Our properties consist primarily of office space used by each of our segments. We believe that all of our facilities are well maintained and are suitable and adequate for our current needs.

For information on our legal proceedings, see Note 13 – Commitments and Contingencies under Item 8, Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Not applicable.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

The following individuals are the executive officers of the Company:

Mr. Berisford, prior to becoming President of S&P Global Ratings on November 3, 2015, was Executive Vice President, Human Resources since 2011. Prior to that, he held senior management positions at PepsiCo, including Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Pepsi Beverages Company.

Mr. Cafferillo, prior to becoming Chief Technology Officer on January 1, 2018, was and continues to serve as Chief Operating Officer, S&P Global Market Intelligence. Prior to joining S&P Global, Mr. Cafferillo was Chief Operating Officer of SNL Financial LC.

Ms. Cheung, prior to becoming Head of Global Risk Services on November 3, 2015, held management positions at S&P Global Ratings and was most recently S&P Global’s Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining S&P Global, she worked in the consulting industry, first in Accenture’s Financial Services Strategy group and later as a Partner at Mitchell Madison Consulting.

Mr. Chinn, prior to becoming President, S&P Global Market Intelligence and Executive Vice President, Data and Technology Innovation on January 1, 2018, he was President of Market and Commodities Intelligence since September 2016. Mr. Chinn has been and continues to be President of S&P Global Market Intelligence since September 2015. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of SNL since 2010 and President of SNL since 2000.

Mr. Fraenkel, prior to becoming President of S&P Global Platts in September 2016, was Global Head of Content, responsible for leading Platts’ 450-member global editorial and analytics team, as well as being a member of the Platts Executive Committee regarding the division’s strategy and offerings in data, pricing, news and analysis. Mr. Fraenkel joined S&P Global Platts in June 2015 from CME Group, where he was Managing Director and Global Head of Energy.

Ms. Geduldig, prior to becoming Executive Vice President, Public Affairs on May 1, 2015, was Managing Director, Global Government and Public Policy since 2013, and Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs at S&P Global Ratings. Prior to that, she was Managing Director and Head of Federal Government Relations at the Financial Services Forum.

Mr. Kocherlakota, prior to becoming Chief Information Officer on January, 1, 2018, was Global Head of Infrastructure & Cloud and Enterprise Services since July, 2017. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, Global Head of Technology Operations & Infrastructure at Visa, Inc.

Mr. Kemps, prior to becoming Executive Vice President, General Counsel at S&P Global in August 2016, served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Quanta Services, where he oversaw all legal affairs and advised the business on regulatory, ethical and compliance matters. Prior to joining Quanta, he served as General Counsel of Hess Retail Corporation and Dean Foods Company.

Ms. Luquette, prior to becoming Senior Vice President, Chief Risk & Audit Executive for S&P Global in June 2016, led the S&P Global Internal Audit function and the Ratings Risk Review function for S&P Global Ratings as the Chief Audit Executive for the Company. She became S&P Global’s Chief Risk & Audit Executive and assumed leadership of the Risk Management function in June 2016. Before joining the Company, Ms. Luquette was Vice President and General Auditor for Avaya, and prior to that was a Partner in PwC’s Internal Audit and Global Risk Management Services practices.

Mr. Matturri, prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer at S&P Dow Jones Indices on July 2, 2012, served as an Executive Managing Director of S&P Indices. Prior to joining S&P Indices, Mr. Matturri served as Senior Vice President and Director of Global Equity Index Management at Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI). He previously held management positions with Deutsche Asset Management’s Index and Quantitative Investment business and The Bank of New York.

Mr. Peterson, prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer on November 1, 2013, was President of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services since 2011. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of Citibank, NA.

Mr. Steenbergen, prior to becoming Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at S&P Global in November 2016, was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Voya Financial, Inc. Prior to his role as Voya's Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Steenbergen was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer for ING Asia-Pacific and held a number of management roles for ING Group, including serving as regional general manager in Hong Kong and as a Chief Executive Officer of RVS, an ING Group company based in the Netherlands.

PART II

Price Range of Common Stock

On January 26, 2018, the closing price of our common stock was $183.80 per share as reported on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “SPGI”. S&P Global Inc. began trading under its new ticker symbol "SPGI" on April 28, 2016. Previously, the Company's common stock traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "MHFI". The approximate number of record holders of our common stock as of January 26, 2018 was 3,093. The high and low sales prices of S&P Global Inc.'s common stock on the NYSE for the past two fiscal years are as follows:

The performance graph below compares our cumulative total shareholder return during the previous five years with a performance indicator of the overall market (i.e., S&P 500), and our peer group. The peer group consists of the following companies: Thomson Reuters Corporation, Moody’s Corporation, CME Group Inc., MSCI Inc., FactSet Research Systems Inc. and IHS Markit Ltd. Returns assume $100 invested on December 31, 2012 and total return includes reinvestment of dividends through December 31, 2017.

Dividends

We expect to continue our policy of paying regular cash dividends, although there is no assurance as to future dividend payments because they depend on future earnings, capital requirements and our financial condition. Regular quarterly dividends per share of our common stock for 2017 and 2016 were as follows:

On February 2, 2018, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly common stock dividend from $0.41 per share to $0.50 per share.

Transfer Agent and Registrar for Common Stock

Computershare is the transfer agent for S&P Global. Computershare maintains the records for the Company's registered shareholders and can assist with a variety of shareholder related services.

Shareholder correspondence should be mailed to:

Computershare

P.O. Box 505000

Louisville, KY 40233

Overnight correspondence should be mailed to:

Computershare

462 South 4th Street, Suite 1600

Louisville, KY 40202

Visit the Investor Center™ website to view and manage shareholder account online: www.computershare.com/investor

For shareholder assistance:

Repurchase of Equity Securities

On December 4, 2013, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of up to 50 million shares, which was approximately 18% of the Company's outstanding shares at that time. During the fourth quarter of 2017, we repurchased 1.4 million shares which included 0.5 million shares received from the conclusion of our accelerated share repurchase ("ASR") agreement that we entered into on August 1, 2017. Further discussion relating to our ASR agreement can be found in Note 9 - Equity. As of December 31, 2017, 19 million shares remained under our current 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 repurchase program has 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 fourth quarter of 2017 pursuant to our current share repurchase program (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.

1 Includes 0.5 million shares received from the conclusion of our ASR agreement that we entered into on August 1, 2017.

Equity Compensation Plan

For information on securities authorized under our equity compensation plans, see Item 12, Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

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, the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The MD&A should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”).

The MD&A includes the following sections:

Certain of the statements below are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, any projections of future results of operations and cash flows are subject to substantial uncertainty. See Forward-Looking Statements on page 4 of this report.

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, metals, petrochemicals and agriculture.

Our operations consist of three reportable segments: Ratings, Market and Commodities Intelligence and S&P Dow Jones Indices ("Indices").

In December of 2017, we announced that S&P Global Platts, a business line within Market and Commodities Intelligence, will be managed as a separate business and comprise a separate reportable segment effective January 1, 2018. We will begin reporting the financial results of S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Platts as separate reportable segments beginning with the first quarter of 2018.

Major Portfolio Changes

The following significant changes by segment were made to our portfolio during the three years ended December 31, 2017:

2016

Market and Commodities Intelligence

houses and data services. During year ended December 31, 2016, we recorded a pre-tax gain of $364 million ($297 million after-tax) in gain on dispositions in the consolidated statement of income related to the sale of SPSE and CMA.

2015

Market and Commodities Intelligence

In 2015, we further reduced our real estate footprint by completing the consolidation of our corporate headquarters with our operations in New York City.

Increased Shareholder Return

During the three years ended December 31, 2017, we have returned approximately $4.3 billion to our shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and our quarterly dividends: we completed share repurchases of approximately $3.1 billion and distributed regular quarterly dividends totaling approximately $1.2 billion. Also, on February 2, 2018, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly common stock dividend from $0.41 per share to $0.50 per share.

Key Results

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Our exposure to market risk includes changes in foreign exchange rates. We have operations in various 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. During the year ended December 31, 2017, 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. During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we entered into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge the effect of adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We have not entered into any derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. See Note 6 – Derivative Instruments to our consolidated financial statements for further information.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

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

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of S&P Global Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in Item 15(a)(2) (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company at December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated February 9, 2018 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. 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 Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1969.

New York, New York

February 9, 2018

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

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

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited S&P Global Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, S&P Global Inc. (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of S&P Global Inc. as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in Item 15(a)(2) and our report dated February 9, 2018 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. 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 Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our

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None.

We have filed the required certifications under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 incorporated herein by reference from Exhibits (31.1) and (31.2) to this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition we have filed the required certifications under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 incorporated herein by reference from Exhibit (32) to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

This Item 9a. includes information concerning the controls and control evaluations referred to in the required certifications.

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 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 December 31, 2017, 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 U.S. 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 December 31, 2017.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act, management is required to provide the following report on our internal control over financial reporting:

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.

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 in 2017 attributable to the transactions or dealings by the Company described below was approximately $545,000 with net profit from such sales being a fraction of the revenues.

During 2017, one of the Company’s divisions, a provider of energy-related information in over 150 countries, sold information and informational materials, which are generally exempt from U.S. economic sanctions, to fifteen subscribers that are owned or controlled, or appear to be owned or controlled, by the Government of Iran (the “GOI”), including one that was also designated by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) pursuant to Executive Order 13382 for part of the first quarter of 2016. The Company, among other things, offers customers that subscribe to its publications access to proprietary data, analytics, and industry information that enable commodities markets to perform with greater transparency and efficiency. This division provided such data related to the energy and petrochemicals markets to the subscribers referenced above, generating revenue that was a de minimis portion of both the division's and the Company’s revenue. Seven of the subscribers are identified by OFAC as GOI entities; and nine appear, based on publicly available information, to be owned or controlled by GOI entities. In addition, as previously reported, during the third quarter of 2017, this division entered into a contract to sell information and informational materials to another subscriber that is owned or controlled by the Government of Iran, and began to provide informational materials to this subscriber under the contract, but no revenues were received under this contract in 2017. We believe that these transactions were permissible under U.S. sanctions pursuant to certain statutory and regulatory exemptions for the exportation of information and informational materials. The Company will continue to monitor its provision of products and services to these Iranian customers so that such activity continues to be permissible under U.S. sanctions.

PART III

Information about our directors is contained under the caption “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance-Director Biographies” in our Proxy Statement for our 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 (the “2018 Proxy Statement”) and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information under the heading “Executive Officers of the Registrant” in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is also incorporated herein by reference.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to our CEO, CFO, chief accounting officer and senior financial officers. To access such code, go to the Corporate Governance section of our Investor Relations website at http://investor.spglobal.com. Any waivers that may in the future be granted from such Code will be posted at such website address. In addition to our Code of Ethics for the CEO and senior financial officers noted above, the following documents may be found on our website at the above website address:

The foregoing documents are also available in print, free of charge, to any shareholder who requests them. Requests for printed copies may be e-mailed to corporate.secretary@spglobal.com or mailed to the Corporate Secretary, S&P Global Inc., 55 Water Street, New York, NY 10041-0001.

Information about the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to our Board of Directors can be found in our 2018 Proxy Statement under the caption “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance-Committees of the Board of Directors-Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Information concerning the composition of the Audit Committee and our Audit Committee financial experts is contained in our 2018 Proxy Statement under the caption “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance-Committees of the Board of Directors-Audit Committee” and is incorporated herein by reference.

New York Stock Exchange Certification

Promptly following the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, we intend to file with the NYSE the CEO certification regarding our compliance with the NYSE’s corporate governance listing standards as required by NYSE Rule 303A.12. Last year, we filed this CEO certification with the NYSE on May 5, 2017.

Information about director and executive officer compensation, Compensation Committee interlocks and the Compensation Committee Report is contained in our 2018 Proxy Statement under the captions “2017 Director Compensation,” “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance-Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Set forth below is information with respect to securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans:

The following table details our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2017:

The 2002 Plan is also governed by certain share recapture provisions. The aggregate number of shares of stock available under the 2002 Plan for issuance are increased by the number of shares of stock granted as an award under the 2002 Plan that are:

Information on the number of shares our common stock beneficially owned by each director and named executive officer, by all directors and executive officers as a group and on each beneficial owner of more than 5% of our common stock is contained under the caption “Ownership of Company Stock” in our 2018 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Information with respect to certain relationships and related transactions and director independence is contained under the captions “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance-Transactions with Related Persons” in our 2018 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, Ernst & Young LLP audited the consolidated financial statements of the Registrant and its subsidiaries.

Information on our Audit Committee’s pre-approval policy for audit services and information on our principal accountant fees and services is contained in our 2018 Proxy Statement under the caption “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s Fees and Services” and is incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

(a) Documents filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

All other schedules have been omitted since the required information is not present or not present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedule, or because the information required is included in the consolidated financial statements or the notes thereto.

S&P Global

Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts

(in millions)

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

February 9, 2018

Each individual whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Douglas L. Peterson and Ewout L. Steenbergen, and each of them singly, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents with full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all the said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or their or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed on February 9, 2018 on behalf of the Registrant by the following persons who signed in the capacities as set forth below under their respective names.

• These exhibits relate to management contracts or compensatory plan arrangements.

None.