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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

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(b) of the Act

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 ☑ 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 ☑

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 the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

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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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of

the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.

7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

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

Yes ☐ No ☑

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, 2020, was $79.4 billion, based on the closing price of the common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange of $329.48 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 February 5, 2021 was 240.7 million shares.

Part III incorporates information by reference from the definitive proxy statement for the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders.

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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 and the merger (the “Merger”) between a subsidiary of the Company and IHS Markit Ltd. (“IHS Markit”), 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, 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;

• the satisfaction of the conditions precedent to consummation of the Merger, including the ability to secure regulatory approvals on the terms expected, the Company’s shareholder approval and the IHS Markit shareholder approval at all or in a timely manner;

• the occurrence of events that may give rise to a right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger agreement;

• uncertainty relating to the impact of the Merger on the businesses of the Company and IHS Markit, including potential adverse reactions or changes to the market price of the Company’s common stock and IHS Markit shares resulting from the announcement or completion of the Merger and changes to existing business relationships during the pendency of the acquisition that could affect the Company’s and/or IHS Markit’s financial performance;

• risks relating to the value of the Company’s stock to be issued in the Merger, significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities;

• the ability of the Company to successfully integrate IHS Markit’s operations and retain and hire key personnel of both companies;

• the ability of the Company to retain customers and to implement its plans, forecasts and other expectations with respect to IHS Markit’s business after the consummation of the Merger and realize expected synergies;

• business disruption following the Merger;

• the possibility that the Merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events;

• the Company’s and IHS Markit’s ability to meet expectations regarding the accounting and tax treatments of the Merger;

• 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, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-made event, including the ability to function remotely during long-term disruptions such as the ongoing 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 potential for a system or network disruption that results in regulatory penalties and 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 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;

• 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 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;

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• 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;

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

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PART I