S&P Global Inc at Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : Terrific. And then what are some of S&P's key priorities for 2025?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : So you kind of foreshadowed this one already, but you met with 85% of your largest strategic customers during the CEO transition period. Did anything surprise you during those meetings?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : So since becoming the CEO of S&P Global, you've really filled out your management team. In October, S&P announced the new Head of your Market Intelligence segment. What were you trying to achieve with that change?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : I think sometimes investors struggle with the complexity of S&P Global and the perception that the company is so diverse that there's always going to be something going wrong somewhere. How do you respond to that perception?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : S&P's preliminary expectations for 2025 calls for 5% to 7% revenue growth in aggregate and up to 100 basis points of operative margin expansion. What are the key assumptions that underlie this outlook, and do you think that the upside opportunity and the downside risks are pretty evenly balanced?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : So speaking of investments, your 2025 CapEx outlook of $190 million to $200 million compares to an average spend of about $130 million over the last two years. So what are some of the specific areas that you're ramping up some of these capital expenditures?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : So S&P's rating franchise, which you led prior to becoming CEO, not only had a very strong 2024 but also seems to be doing a bit better than your closest peer, particularly in structured finance. What do you think has been driving S&P's relative share gains in that business?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : Speaking of structured finance, there was actually an article in the Wall Street Journal, I think either today or yesterday, talking about how structured finance has really taken back off, and there's a recent conference in Los Angeles -- or Las Vegas that was really well attended. What are you seeing in structured finance right now in terms of market demand for some of that content and some of the innovation in that space?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : So despite 2024 being a really strong year for ratings revenue and some of your investments that you're making in structured finance headcount, I think I saw that your ratings headcount was actually down 1% at year-end '24 versus year end' 23. What does that decline say about your ability to scale that ratings business going forward?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : Let's talk about a couple of key trends that are relevant for S&P across multiple segments, maybe starting with the private assets ecosystem, and you touched on this a little bit earlier. How is S&P uniquely positioned to play a role in private assets?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : And then gen AI, obviously another key trend, and you kind of mentioned it in context of efficiencies in your ratings business. Where else is gen AI playing a role, whether it's market intelligence or mobility or other segments?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : How are you and the Board currently think about M&A? Does a different antitrust philosophy in Washington DC or presumably different antitrust philosophy broaden the universe of potential acquisitions that you would consider?

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : You touched on index innovation a little bit ago. What are some of the innovations that S&P is currently working on, and how does that take advantage of some of the key secular themes in the index space? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 03, 2025 / 7:15PM, SPGI.N - S&P Global Inc at Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference

Question: Patrick O'Shaughnessy - Raymond James - Analyst : How do we think about pricing power right now and has it changed at all in recent years and how does it apply across the different segments?